What is a Rookie?

[braven112]

We talked about this a bit before the draft but I wanted to share my view of this and get any feedback.

In my mind I break this into two questions.

Who is eligible for the Rookie draft?
I'd say any one that is eligible for the NFL draft. Guys from the supplemental draft, international rookies, or professionals who played in the Arena League or the CFL would also not be part of the rookie draft in our league.

Who is eligible for the Practice Squad?
My understanding is the NFL defines a rookie as anyone who doesn't have 6 NFL games under his belt. I'm not certain but I'm guessing MFL uses a similar method to determine rookies. We use MFL's distinction's for Rookies, just like we do for IR or Positions. They'll make the call on who is listed as a rookie and thus eligible for the Practice Squad.

What does this mean?
Guys like Duron Carter or Jarryd Hayne, (or Kurt Warner, Doug Flutie, etc.) wouldn't be eligible for our rookie draft. Carter because he was eligible for the 2013 draft and thus a free agent once he went undrafted and Jarryd Hayne because he is an international rookie and also not eligible for the NFL draft.

Any of these player would likely be eligible for the Practice Squad though as long as MFL classifies them as a rookie.

[Achon44]

and that's why we call him Commish.

[bonscott]

While I take the stance that Duron is not really a rookie, making exceptions is just a pain to try to track and enforce so if MFL lists him as a rookie then so be it. Same goes for me in my IDP leagues, doesn't matter if you don't agree that a guy is listed as a LB or not, if that's what MFL lists him as (which comes from official depth charts on Rotoworld) it doesn't matter, MFL is our "bible" when it comes to player listings and frankly...anything.

[Cybergeek]

I guess that my stance would be that once a player is rostered in this league, they can't be given rookie status the following season. Duron Carter was rostered last season. MFL has given him rookie status this season. He can't be a rookie in this league no matter what MFL says.

I think that we are knowledgeable and fair enough to determine player eligibility. While the MFL player database is a great tool, it is not league specific.

[bocious]

I agree with Amish for all the reasons he stated ... until right now with regard to Duron Carter for all the reasons GIG stated. Is it possible to just point out the error to MFL and ask them to change it?

[braven112]

I agree with Amish for all the reasons he stated ... until right now with regard to Duron Carter for all the reasons GIG stated. Is it possible to just point out the error to MFL and ask them to change it?

I had the same reaction when doing my rookie research. Some places listed him a rookie. In my mind there is no way a guy that was signed as a free agent could ever be in a rookie draft. It made no sense to me.

At the same time how do you argue that a player that has never played in the NFL is anything other than a rookie. He was signed by the colts in February. MFL purposefully listed him as a rookie and won't change how he is listed.

I also came across this 2008 thread on footballguys regarding this subject that I thought was interesting.
https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/i ... -a-rookie/

[Cybergeek]

The difference with Duron Carter is that he was acquired through blind bidding waivers in this league last season. He was also subsequently dropped and picked up by another team before the 2014 season ended.

Carter was then traded to Vitside in March.

Carter, of course, was not eligible for this years' rookie draft because he was already on Vitside's roster.

MFL lists him as a rookie, but MFL does not know the history of the players in this league. We do know of Carters' history and should have the ability to determine whether or not to bestow rookie status.

[Achon44]