ASHBURN | Lorenzo Alexander’s workday at Washington Redskins headquarters lasted all of eight minutes. Anthony Armstrong was there only a little longer.
The two players arrived at Redskins Park on Tuesday morning, hoping to get in a workout after hearing that the NFL lockout had been lifted. They were met by general manager Bruce Allen in the lobby and were told they would be allowed in the building and little else.
“It was a little weird,” Armstrong said. “It felt like you were sneaking into the club or something like that, and they knew you weren’t supposed to be in there but they hadn’t done anything about it yet. Just a little awkward. Just wish you get in there and so some real live work, looking at film, getting on the field.”
Alexander said that even though the lockout had been lifted, he was told the Redskins wanted to get a “crystal clear” understanding of all the ramifications of the ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson in Minneapolis.
“The legal jargon and stuff sometimes can be very complicated,” Alexander said. “Just went in there, it was not a scene or nothing. Just talked to me real quick, so I picked up my mail and I’ll go work out now where I’ve been training at.”
Both players knew the lockout could be put back in place at any time. The NFL was asking for Nelson’s ruling to be put on hold during an appeal.
Alexander said he would call his teammates and tell them there wasn’t much reason to show up. There was one motivation for some players to drop by - they have workout bonuses in their contracts.
“I do have a workout bonus,” Alexander said. “And since the lockout is lifted out, I wanted to make sure I took full advantage to come up here and work out because I don’t want some technicality to happen later: ’You didn’t show up. You didn’t come.’ And then I’m out of my workout bonus. I play this game because I love it but I also want to provide for my family.”
Alexander made another lockout statement by his choice of vehicle. Rather than the usual high-end gas guzzlers favored by most NFL players, he drove up in a small hybrid.
“I’m saving some money in the lockout,” he said.
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