NFL players return to work

“I think our relationship is much deeper than that,” Brady said. “I don’t think it’s Tom Brady suing Robert Kraft. … It’s certainly not personal. He was at my wedding. We have a great relationship. We’ve always had (one). And I’m sure that’s going to continue.”

But the legal fight is far from over despite the halting steps back toward football. The league has asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to restore the lockout as soon as possible, hoping for a friendlier venue than the federal courts in Minnesota.

The league wants the appellate court to put Nelson’s decision on hold so it can argue that it should be overturned altogether. The players were told to respond to the league’s motion for a stay by midday Friday, and the NFL’s reply to that is due on Monday morning.

Goodell, who was roundly booed by passionate and impatient fans at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, said he feared the fight could last for a while.

Friday morning, he said he gets why fans booed him: “It’s the fans’ frustration, and I understand that.”

“It’d be great to have everybody back in the building, but the real thing is we’ve got to get back to the negotiating table and get a CBA,” Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said.

At least for now, football activities can take place.

Mandatory minicamps and voluntary offseason practices can begin under rules of the old CBA. Team-supervised workouts will count toward bonuses in player contracts, and players also can work out on their own at team facilities if they have health insurance in place.

The league also will arrange for substance abuse and drug programs to start back up, and players can participate in team-sponsored community and charity functions.

At least 11 Redskins showed up at the practice facility at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., including Hall, Kedric Golston, Graham Gano and Lorenzo Alexander, who was turned away from the workout room the previous three days.

Players also started trickling in with the Giants, Chiefs, Bears, Jets, Seahawks and Dolphins, including receiver Brandon Marshall, who recently was hospitalized following a domestic dispute. Marshall’s wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after authorities said she stabbed him with a kitchen knife.

Giants receiver Devin Thomas flew in from Michigan on Thursday night so that he could be sure to get in a workout and talk to his coaches. His only problem? The tubs weren’t filled up.

“I was geeked; I had to get back,” he said.

The Detroit Lions already have scheduled organized team activities for Wednesday, and the Bears have set a rookie camp for next weekend.

“There is a little uncertainty because we know we can get started and they can pull the plug on us, so that’s the part that is upsetting,” Thomas said. “We’re going to do what we have to do.”

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