The NFL draft provides football fans with a peek into the exhilaration that comes with entering the league. Far less publicized is a player's exit from the game, which carries its own emotional weight.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the NFL Spring Meeting in Boston that he had met with league officials about ways to better service players when their careers are over. Those talks Tuesday included discussions with NFL senior vice president Troy Vincent, Goodell said.
"We look at our players from a total wellness standpoint," Goodell said. "It's not just a physical wellness, it's a mental wellness. And what can we do to try and make sure that we're helping our players make the transitions through life and to make sure they're getting the kind of help they need at any point."
Goodell added: "And today one of the focuses was the cutdown process as an example. How do we make the process more dignified? It is in some cases the last experience a player has with a team or any team in the NFL. So we have to do a better job of doing that in a humane way and a way that will make sure they understand the respect we have for them and the pride we have in what they accomplished.
"Make sure they understand what they'll be experiencing as they separate from an NFL team and make sure they have the services that are available to them, which we provide and we think can be incredibly valuable to them."
If you've ever watched HBO's "Hard Knocks," you know the process of cutting players gives that series some of its most heart-wrenching moments. It's a traumatic time for any player, and exploring ways to help them through that process makes sense for the NFL.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.