The supplemental draft is off.
The NFL informed clubs it will not conduct a supplemental draft this year, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, per a source informed of the decision.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL may elect to hold a supplemental draft, but given the current conditions due to COVID-19, and after discussions with the NFL Management Council Executive Committee, the decision was made not to hold one in 2020, Pelissero added.
Prospective supplemental draft picks will not be free agents, but can enter the 2021 NFL Draft instead, Pelissero reported.
The NFL's supplemental draft allows teams to bid on players who, for various reasons, had their college eligibility affected and did not enter the regular spring draft. Teams bid the following year's draft picks on eligible players. The club submitting the highest pick is granted that player, forfeiting the corresponding pick in the coming year's spring draft.
Last year, only one player was selected, defensive back Jalen Thompson out of Washington State by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round. 2018 saw cornerback Sam Beal taken by the New York Giants in the third round and CB Adonis Alexander by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round. In the previous two years, no players were selected. Famously, Josh Gordon was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the second round in 2012, and Terrelle Pryor was picked by the Oakland Raiders in the 2011 third round of the supplemental draft.
