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What the national media thinks the Broncos will do with the No. 10 pick By Joe Nguyen Denver Post April 6, 2019

The NFL is 20 days away, and from fans to NFL experts to draft gurus, it seems like everyone has an opinion on how the NFL draft is going to shape up.

Here’s a look at the latest on who some members of the national media think the Broncos will select with the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft:

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.: Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson “We know Joe Flacco loves throwing to tight ends, and Hockenson would give him a true No. 1 tight end to target.”

ESPN’s Todd McShay: Missouri Drew Lock “I don’t love this pairing, but I also don’t think Flacco is the long-term quarterback answer. If Lock is already off the board, pass-catcher or defensive line makes the most sense for John Elway at No. 10.”

Washington Post’s John Clayton: Hockenson “The Broncos have to consider a quarterback at this spot, and if they took one, I believe it would be Drew Lock, not Haskins. But tight end is also a big need, and Hockenson is very good as a blocker and a pass catcher.”

CBS Sports’ Sean Wagner-McGough: LSU “Vic Fangio’s defenses typically feature very good inside , from and NaVorro Bowman in San Francisco to and in Chicago. White’s the best linebacker in this draft class and the Broncos have a hole at linebacker after letting Brandon Marshall leave.”

NFL.com’s Peter Schrager: Ohio State quarterback Joe Flacco will be the Broncos’ quarterback for 2019, but don’t sleep on the team snagging Haskins or Drew Lock if one of those two falls to 10. Haskins ripped it at his pro day and, from what I’m told, was a “pied piper” leader on an offense littered with future professional players. John Elway swings for a quarterback again.

Bonus second round picks:

Kiper: Kansas State offensive lineman Dalton Risner McShay: South Carolina Deebo Samuel

Broncos mock draft roundup: April 5, 2019 By Staff DenverBroncos.com April 6, 2019

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN: TE T.J. Hockenson, Iowa

We know Joe Flacco loves throwing to tight ends, and Hockenson would give him a true No. 1 tight end to target. [April 3]

Todd McShay, ESPN: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

I don't love this pairing, but I also don't think Flacco is the long-term quarterback answer. If Lock is already off the board, pass-catcher or defensive line makes the most sense for John Elway at No. 10. [April 3]

Robert Klemko, Sports Illustrated: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

John Elway takes another shot at drafting Denver's quarterback of the future in Lock, who will benefit from a year on the bench behind the newly acquired Joe Flacco. After Murray and Haskins, there's a drop-off in QB talent in this draft, but that won't stop a QB-desperate team from spending an early pick on a developmental player with great physical tools like Lock. [April 3]

Will Brinson, CBSSports.com: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

I get that John Elway's professed his love for Joe Flacco and says the aging veteran is just entering his prime. I think Flacco could be pretty good this year. But if Elway has a chance to get an insurance option as well as a future building block and he loves Lock as much as we think he does, he won't pass on him here. [April 3]

Eddie Brown, Union-Tribune: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

This is John Elway utilizing the “kitchen sink” strategy to find a franchise quarterback. He solved his short-term issues at the position by trading for a veteran ( MVP Joe Flacco). It was clear he was smitten with Lock in Mobile. The Mizzou signal caller shares some traits with the college version of . Both have elite arm talent, can extend plays with their athleticism and are overaggressive with their decision-making. [April 3]

Nick Klopsis, Newsday: LB Devin Bush, Michigan

The Broncos traded for Joe Flacco, got him some line help in Ja’Wuan James and rebuilt their secondary with Bryce Callahan and Kareem Martin. That leaves linebacker as the biggest remaining hole. Devin Bush — the son of the former Falcons first-rounder of the same name — is only 5-11, but he’s a tough linebacker with great speed and instincts. [April 3]

Charles Davis, NFL.com: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

I know John Elway recently said that trade acquisition Joe Flacco is not a stopgap at QB -- in fact, he said he thinks Flacco is entering his prime -- but when I watch Lock play, I see elements of what made Elway so incredible during his playing career. Perhaps Elway sees it, too. [April 2]

Danny Kelly, The Ringer: QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State

Pocket passer who combines size and arm talent with quality decision-making, but who has to prove he can excel when pressured. [April 1]

Dan Kadar, SB Nation: TE T.J. Hockenson, Iowa

Oliver would be the ideal choice for the Broncos, but they’ll have some good options here. If Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is available, he would be in play despite the Broncos trading for formerly elite veteran Joe Flacco. But if Denver is committed to Flacco as the starter for a year or two, getting him a top tight end target like Hockenson is the smart, safe play. [April 1]

Ryan Wilson, CBSSports.com: DT Ed Oliver, Houston

Oliver is a top-five talent, and he reminded teams of that at his pro day last week. [April 1]

Chad Reuter, NFL.com: LB Devin White

Denver gets the defensive leader at ILB that it needs now that Brandon Marshall was allowed to move on. White's an all-around talent who should eventually be a candidate. [March 28]

Peter Schrager, NFL.com: QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State

Joe Flacco will be the Broncos' quarterback for 2019, but don't sleep on the team snagging Haskins or Drew Lock if one of those two falls to 10. Haskins ripped it at his pro day and, from what I'm told, was a "pied piper" leader on an offense littered with future professional players. John Elway swings for a quarterback again. [March 26]

Ranking All 32 NFL Teams’ Running Back Situations, Best to Worst By Connor Orr MMQB April 6, 2019

We had so much fun ranking the pre-draft quarterback situations of all 32 NFL teams (and reading your feedback) that we decided to open it up to a few different positions in the weeks leading up to the draft. As always, we’re looking at the big picture here, and are including the positional spending relative to the entirety of the team’s active contracts.

Do you think your team should draft a running back at the end of the month? Do you think they shouldn’t? Here’s a look at what we think, with all 32 teams ranked in order of how set they are at the position:

1. , $9.8 / $155.7 million

Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Elijhaa Penny, Paul Perkins, Robert Martin

The Giants are No. 1 by a razor-thin measure, and only because Barkley was the best back in football last season. The scary thing: If Barkley gets hurt, this offense will cave in on itself. If he stays healthy, he could shatter the record books.

2. , $5.3 / $166.5 million

Alvin Kamara, Martez Carter, Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington

Kamara carries the load here. From a production standpoint, Latavius Murray can fill the gap left by Mark Ingram’s departure, but will he fit into the offense as well? Regardless, few teams supplement their star back as well as the Saints on a yearly basis (and they can afford to given Kamara’s $807,000 base salary in 2019), which is why Sean Payton seemed to be so upset about losing Ingram in the first place.

3. , $6.3 / $195 million

Christian McCaffrey, Cameron Artis-Payne, Reggie Bonnafon, Elijah Hood

McCaffrey was a star last year and is still extraordinarily affordable, with two years left on his rookie deal. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Panthers upgrade a little in the mid rounds, though, even if McCaffrey rarely leaves the field.

4. Cowboys, $10.8 / $187.6 million

Ezekiel Elliott, Darius Jackson, Jordan Chunn Significant increases in the receiving game aided Elliott’s 2018 season, though he is about to be very expensive and there isn’t a reliable option to defray his carries heading into the next phase of his career.

5. LA Rams, $10.5 / $181.6 million

Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown, Justin Davis, John Kelly

Gurley’s arthritis scare certainly has everyone on notice, plus the loss of a capable backup like C.J. Anderson doesn’t help them much here. Could Malcolm Brown pace this offense?

6. Denver Broncos, $3.6 / $167.6 million

Phillip Lindsay, , , Khalfani Muhammad

If you find a Pro Bowler as an undrafted free agent, and supplement him with a bigger-bodied third- round pick capable of giving a breather and grinding time, you’re going to have flexibility in other spots.

7. , $13.1/ $179.7 million

James Develin, Rex Burkhead, , James White, Brandon Bolden

There are so many perfect pieces to this offense, plus, in Michel, a first- and second-down back who can wreck a game even when teams know what’s coming.

8. , $19.1 / $193.1 million

Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Dayes, Matt Breida, Jeffery Wilson, , Kyle Juszczyk

The 49ers have made the heaviest investment in 2019 for one team, but it may pay off. From the best value free agent signing on the board in Coleman, to the best fullback in the NFL right now. We haven’t even seen the aggressive Jerick McKinnon in this offense yet, either.

9. LA Chargers, $8.8 /$178.5 million

Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, Detrez Newsome, Troymaine Pope

Both Gordon and Ekeler had 100-plus attempts and averaged more than five yards per carry last year.

10. , $5.1 million / $174.2

Jordan Howard, , Josh Adams, , Boston Scott,

This is a lot of talent for $5.1 million. Josh Adams was coming on last year, Corey Clement is a solid receiving option and the Jordan Howard trade continues Howie Roseman’s run of finding high-ceiling backs for low investments.

11. , $4.8 / $188.5 million

James Conner, , , Malik Williams, Ralph Williams

Conner was fantastic a year ago, and the arrow is pointing up. I tried to figure out a way to move them up, thanks to a strong performance from Jaylen Samuels at the end of last season, but left them here. I’m bullish on this RB room, and they could finish the season as a top five unit.

12. , $7.2 / $173 million

Joe Mixon, , Mark Walton, Quinton Flowers

In a more imaginative offense, this combination of power and a receiving option should be brought to life. Mixon almost hit five yards per carry last season, and flashed a little more of his receiving ability.

13. , $5.2 / $170.4 million

Chris Carson, , JD McKissic, CJ Prosise, Bo Scarbrough

Chris Carson topped the 1,000-yard mark in 2018 and, while we haven’t seen the scope of this backfield’s unique skill sets, the expected development of Rashaad Penny should make this a very formidable backfield at an affordable price.

14. , $10.4 / $174.2 million

Le’Veon Bell, Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon, De’Angelo Henderson

The big experiment is upon us. Can a team win by spending on a veteran free agent running back? Le’Veon Bell has (mostly) everything he wants now. Will he still be willing and able to touch the ball 300- plus times in 2019?

15. , $3.9 / $182.5 million

Mike Davis, , , Taquan Mizzel

Behind Denver, Chicago has maybe the best value backfield in the NFL, and that’s even after shedding a premiere rusher for a sixth-round draft pick. Cohen is a magician in this -inspired Matt Nagy offense, and Mike Davis is primed for a breakout this year (alongside some additions Chicago may make via the draft).

16. , $11.8 / $159.7 million

David Johnson, Chase Edmonds, TJ Logan, DJ Foster,

Johnson is a major unknown after a down year in 2018. While his receiving skills would theoretically suit him well in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, it’s almost impossible to tell how this is going to translate. It’s lazy to assume that Kingsbury didn’t run the ball a lot (he did), and had DeAndre Washington over 1,100 yards in each of his two final seasons in Lubbock.

17. Falcons, $10.1 / $182 million

Devonta Freeman, Ito Smith, Kenjon Barner, Brian Hill,

Coming off a season lost to a groin injury and a new (old) offensive coordinator coming into the fold, it’s going to be an interesting year for Freeman. He’s a 27-year-old entering the last meaty year of his five- year, $41.250 million extension. Ito Smith was a solid backup with a high catch percentage, but is a tremendous loss.

18. Washington Redskins, $9.8/ $184.9 million

Derrius Guice, , , Chris Thompson, Byron Marshall, , Rob Kelley

Everyone (myself included) was wrong about Adrian Peterson a year ago. I’m very excited to see what Washington can do if Guice, who missed his whole rookie year with a torn ACL, has a healthy season as well. This is a tandem that could negate some deficiencies up front, with two backs who are adept at breaking tackles and wearing defenses down physically.

19. , $7.8 / $166.2 million

Kerryon Johnson, C.J. Anderson, Zach Zenner, Mark Thompson, Theo Riddick, Kerwynn Williams

The addition of Anderson gives the Lions a Patriots-like cornucopia in their backfield along with Riddick and Zenner. Situationally, this should be one of the harder backfields to account for in the league if new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell can get them into open space.

20. , $6.8 (not including Kareem Hunt) / $200 million

Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt (suspended), Duke Johnson, Dontrell Hilliard, Devante Mays

Chubb will be RB1 in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. Kareem Hunt is theoretically in the picture post-suspension (he'll return after eight games) though a lot can happen between now and then. Cleveland looks to be moving on from Duke Johnson as a result of the crowd. Chubb was promising in 2019, and this backfield could eventually be dangerous.

21. , $9.1 / $164.5 million

Leonard Fournette, David Williams, Thomas Rawls, Dimitri Flowers

Carlos Hyde was a little expensive to keep, which is understandable, and maybe the addition of makes this offense less reliant on the running back position as a whole. I would still like to see them add a more experienced supplemental back in the draft to challenge Rawls. Fournette also has to clear up a dicey season from a year ago.

22. , $9.1 /$187.5 million

Derrick Henry, Dion Lewis, David Fluellen, Jeremy McNichols, Dalyn Dawkins

I would normally give more of a nod to Henry here, as backs who can take over games are still hard to come by. The Titans haven’t found a sweet spot for him, though, and consistency remains an issue.

23. , $6.5 / $152 million

Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, Kenneth Dixon, De’Lance Turner, Christopher Ezeala, Tyler Ervin

This is a backfield I expect will improve in the draft. John Harbaugh was clear in his desire to add running backs who can protect the ball and get upfield, especially if Baltimore is all in on this new attack helmed by .

24. , $4.7 million / $181.2 million

Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, Tra Carson, Kapri Bibbs, Lavon Coleman

One of the most frustratingly underutilized backfields in the NFL last year could get a makeover in Matt LaFleur’s new offense. I may be underrating Jones a bit, who hit 5.5 yards per carry and scored eight a year ago.

25. , $2.9 / $187.3 million

Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines, Jordan Wilkins, Jonathan Williams

Mack’s emergence, plus some solid supplemental appearances from Hines, make this a great backfield on a budget. Something tells me Chris Ballard wants a little more juice at the position, though.

26. , $4.3 / $190.6 million

Dalvin Cook, Michael Boone, Ameer Abdullah,

The idea that Ameer Abdullah could have a bit of a career revival here is attractive. Dalvin Cook went from injured to stuck in an offense that vacated the run too early. He’s undeniably talented but has yet to crack 615 yards and two touchdowns in a season.

27. , $6.8 / $167.1 million

Damien Williams, , Darrel Williams

Carlos Hyde is a smart addition and a tough runner. The Chiefs are going to need a more diverse weapon set in 2019, though.

28. , $9.3 / $180.2 million

Lamar Miller, D’Onta Foreman, Gregory Howell, Josh Ferguson

Miller isn’t cheap and he’s about to turn 28. Maybe this is an unfair placement for a back who nearly had a 1,000-yard season here, but we’re evaluating current situations. What would you rather have right now? Something that may soon need replacing, or something brand new?

29. , $15.3 / $164 million

LeSean McCoy, , Keith Ford, Senorise Perry

McCoy is great, but this is a ton of money allocated to a 30-plus-year-old running back who has a 35- year-old (albeit, indestructible) backup. Expect the Bills to be involved in the first three rounds on a long- term replacement plan. needs this to thrive. One reason I thought about ranking them higher: Imagine a rookie with upside coming in and watching these two guys work.

30. Oakland Raiders, $6.9 / $166.7 million

Isaiah Crowell, Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, Chris Warren, James Butler

This is a smaller backfield that got a little better thanks to the addition of Crowell. Richard is a top receiving back in the NFL and could again haul passes at the rate of a second wide receiver.

31. , $5.3 / $199.2 million

Peyton Barber, Ronald Jones, Shaun Wilson, Andre Ellington, Dare Ogunbowale

Peyton Barber led the way with 871 yards and five touchdowns last year (on 3.7 yards per carry). While the Buccaneers were a fundamentally broken team a year ago, they did have a good offensive coordinator in Todd Monken who provided some solid looks. Will Bruce Arians have a major impact here?

32. , $2.9 / $121.3 million

Kenyan Drake, Kalen Ballage

Drake is heading into year four of his NFL career, with a 644 yard, three season and a 535 yard, four touchdown season under his belt. Kalen Ballage has upside as a bigger change of pace back and gained more than five yards a carry last season, but the Dolphins round out our list in last place.

Broncos looking for discipline Vic Fangio will bring By Darrin Gantt Pro Football Talk April 6, 2019

If new Broncos coach Vic Fangio runs an old-school training camp this year, it will be welcomed by his new players.

Not because they need the conditioning, but because they look back at recent seasons and see a lack of discipline.

Via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, a number of players cited problems the last two years under coach Vance Joseph (now the defensive coordinator in Arizona) which mounted over time.

“You’d see it on the field,” fullback Andy Janovich said. “We’d shoot ourselves in the foot and guys just aren’t tuned in all the time. Come game day, that kills you.”

Outside linebacker said he could tell an immediate difference under Fangio.

“The first team meeting — it started at 8 but guys were in there at 7:55 in their seats,” Chubb said. “I remember a couple times last year, guys would be rolling in at 7:59. Just a culture change like that. Everybody wants to be better than when we were at 5-11 and 6-10.”

At least this year, there will be a premium on being on time.

“If you’re running a meeting, whether it be a team meeting, offense or defense meeting, a position coach meeting and a player walks in, say 30 seconds late, 45 seconds late — that act in it of itself really has no impact on whether you’re going to win or lose that week,” Fangio said. “But if you let it slide, the next day there’s two or three guys late or it went from 30 seconds to two minutes. It causes an avalanche of problems.

“That’s ‘death by inches.’”

The Broncos were 11-21 the last two seasons, the first back-to-back losing seasons for the franchise since the mid-1970s.It will take more than punctuality to turn that around, but it’s at least a start.

Why the XFL could succeed where the AAF failed By Brent Schrotenboer USA Today April 6, 2019

Rich people sometimes aren’t very smart. Even the ones who didn’t inherit their fortunes make bad business decisions, as evidenced recently by Tom Dundon, the billionaire investment honcho.

Dundon at first said he was committing $250 million to the Alliance of , a new pro football league that launched in February.

He said then that his investment commitment would be enough to fund the league for “five years, something like that.”

Then after the league’s television ratings sagged during prime college season last month (not surprisingly), he complained that the NFL Players Association wouldn’t grant him access to its worst players (not surprisingly).

So he pulled the plug this week, only about six weeks after he bought a controlling stake in the league, a move that suspended its operations and stranded hundreds of players, coaches and staff in eight cities.

Didn’t Dundon know that such an operation likely would lose hundreds of millions over several years before it had a chance to stand on its own two feet?

Did he really think the league's future success required having access to NFL players and third-string – players many fans never have heard of?

Similar alternative pro football leagues historically have crumbled under the weight of heavy upfront costs and the crushing shadow of the NFL.

But that doesn't mean it's an impossible code to crack. Ask the XFL, another new pro football league that is being relaunched next February by Vince McMahon, the pro wrestling mogul.

To fight these mortal threats, McMahon understands several fortifications are required, including media exposure and a strong stomach for investors, who need to be willing to bleed money for years before any chance at a payoff.

He learned this from experience, after his original XFL folded after one season in 2001. Nearly two decades later, he has plans to plant at least $500 million of his own seed money in hopes of future growth. A TV deal is expected soon.

Charlie Ebersol, the co-founder of the AAF, also knew about the need for a long runway. He told USA TODAY Sports before the season that “you’re going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars before you get to profitability.”

Heck, even Dundon seemed to know this, sort of. He told USA TODAY Sports in February that “it's going to cost money to get it there, but it's a better investment than most in terms of venture capital.”

He already spent around $50 million before he bailed, just days away from another nationally televised AAF game on CBS (now canceled). Such heavy losses in such a short time fueled speculation that he all he really wanted was the advanced gambling data technology being developed by the league. But that's not his to take. Casino giant MGM invested in that and had an exclusive license to it.

So then what happened?

In one respect, his desire for fringe NFL players made some sense. With the XFL and the Pacific Pro Football league set to start next year, the AAF was facing considerable competition, in addition to having lost lots of money already. Having some sort of arrangement with the NFL might seem to give the AAF some protection from this competition – if the NFL had at least some interest in an official relationship with the AAF as a developmental league.

But the NFL doesn’t really need that, not when fills the same function for free.

By contrast, the XFL is taking a broader approach to player supply. Unlike the AAF, the XFL is not ruling out the pursuit of early college players who might be pro-ready but not yet eligible for the NFL. There also are hundreds of former college players willing to play for money.

“We think there is a very broad and rich and deep player pool, quite honestly,” XFL commissioner Oliver Luck told USA TODAY Sports in February.

The XFL also has time to get its shop in order. In January 2018, McMahon announced he was reviving the league, two years before its first game in February 2020.

Ebersol chose a quicker path, hoping to beat the XFL to market by launching this year, less than a year after announcing the league’s formation in March 2018. Playing with a hurry-up offense, Ebersol apparently couldn't come up with enough investment money, at least until Dundon came along in February to prop the league up for a few weeks before deciding to cut his losses.

Meanwhile, McMahon last week sold around $270 million of stock in World Wrestling Entertainment to help fund the XFL. Luck, the former president of the defunct NFL Europe league, said one reason he joined the XFL was “there’s one guy creating the capital" and putting his money on the line, not multiple investors with multiple agendas.

With the AAF, Dundon essentially became the “one guy creating the capital.” The difference with the XFL is that McMahon seems willing to lose as much as he’s pledged and isn’t fazed by the foreseeable risks in the short term.

Whether that’s a smarter bet than Dundon’s is still an open question.

‘Complete and utter chaos’: A look inside the final days of the AAF By Daniel Popper The Athletic April 4, 2019

Early Tuesday afternoon, players and staff returned to their familiar Courtyard Marriott after wrapping up a walkthrough at nearby Milton High School.

Up until that point, the hotel had served as both living quarters for many of the team’s out-of-town employees as well as its training facility. Meetings were held in various rooms in the hotel. A suite on the first floor was turned into a rehabilitation center, fit with training tables, medicine balls, low-weight dumbbells, coolers filled with ice, electronic therapy machines and other medical equipment.

Lunch was served in the hotel lobby, as it was every other day of this inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football. The food spread was divided from the rest of the lobby by a black curtain. Players filled up their plates and took their seats at various tables and couches on the ground floor.

At 12:41 p.m., the news broke on social media with a tweet from Pro Football Talk: “All @TheAFF football operations will be suspended in the next few hours, per source with knowledge of situation. League is not folding, yet. But it’s heading that way.”

The shocking development was picked up by various other outlets, and not long after, the Legends players were getting alerts on their phones.

One minute they were pursuing their football dreams. The next they were jobless, with no information about what exactly was transpiring.

Players started looking at each other in disbelief. Could this really be happening? Fifteen minutes later, they were called into a team meeting in a large multipurpose room on the first floor. Legends general manager stood up in front of the team and relayed what he knew: Team personnel were scheduled to get an email at 5 p.m. with more details, and until then, everyone had to simply wait and see.

Coaches and staffers received the email at 5 p.m., but none of the players received it. The letter leaked out to media shortly thereafter. It read:

“Unfortunately, after careful consideration, the board has decided to suspend operations of the Alliance of American Football, effective immediately. As part of this process, we expect to keep a small staff on hand to seek new investment capital and restructure our business. Should those efforts prove successful, we look forward to working with many of you on season two. As a follow up to this communication, we will reach out to the personnel who will be involved in that continuation effort. For those employees whom we do not contact individually to discuss an ongoing role or alternative arrangements, your employment termination date is effective Wednesday, April 3, 2019, and you will be paid through that date.”

All the players got was an impromptu email at 4:30 from Benefit Resource Inc. thanking them for enrolling in a “tax-free benefit account.” In it was information about COBRA, a health insurance program for employees who have either been terminated or whose work hours have been reduced.

As of late Tuesday night, Legends players still hadn’t been officially informed of their contract terminations. They didn’t know if they would be allowed to spend the night at the hotel. It appeared that their travel back home would not be paid for. Injured players would have to file for worker’s compensation in the coming days and weeks.

They waited for a team meeting Wednesday morning to learn their fates. There, they finally learned they had been fired.

“It’s complete and utter chaos,” a source said.

The AAF has not responded to a request for comment. An email arrived in players’ inboxes at 10:47 Wednesday morning detailing specifics of health and unemployment insurance as well as tax forms. “Thank you all for your amazing contributions and efforts to date,” the AAF’s human resources team wrote in the email. “We are here to support you through this process.’

“It’s really just a sense of awe,” another source said.

This possibility was always on the horizon. League chairman Tom Dundon, the owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes who committed to invest $250 million in the AAF in February, told USA Today last week that “discontinuing the league” was an option if the NFL Players Association didn’t commit to giving the AAF young players.

That said, “(The players and teams) didn’t expect it to happen so abruptly,” a source said.

Six days ago, The Athletic spent a day with the Legends to gather a behind-the-scenes look inside the world of the players, coaches, trainers and other staff members fighting for their football lives.

Now, it serves as a disheartening testament to the opportunities and hopes Dundon smashed to smithereens with one swift decision.

Here is what we saw.

6:16 a.m. The darkness still lingers outside this Courtyard Marriott about 25 miles north of Atlanta. The near- freezing morning cold has not yet dissipated. Inside, only half the lobby is lit. The smell of bacon drifts tantalizingly around the first floor. A TV mounted on the wall gives off the soft murmur of the local morning news. Visible in the dim glow are cardboard cutouts adhered to the two checkout desks. On one, in white lettering outlined in purple, is “ATL.” On the other, in the same font, is “Legends.”

A woman comes into the lobby and walks up the Starbucks counter. She stands patiently. A worker putting on his green apron tells her, “We don’t open until 6:30.” She sighs and walks away.

The first Legends employee, assistant trainer Mike Thomas, enters at 6:20. He sidles up to the breakfast buffet and puts a bagel and a bowl of yogurt on his plate. He grabs a cup of orange juice and returns down the hall to the makeshift training room.

The lights come on at 6:29, and a shot of life reverberates around the room. A minute later, phones start buzzing and beeping as an Amber Alert for a 1993 white GMC Ventura is issued.

At 6:51, defensive lineman , 27, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, ambles into the lobby wearing a gray Tampa Bay Buccaneers shirt, gray sweatpants and black slides. He has a nose ring in his right nostril and his sleepy eyes are still watery.

He has treatment for his injured shoulder at 7:00. The day has begun.

7:18 a.m. Players are spread out on the ground in the hotel hallway. Some are stretching. Others are moving back and forth on top of muscle rollers. On the doors of the rooms are laminated signs — “Coach Coyle’s Office” — “Equipment Room” — “LB Room” — “Video/Supply Room” — designating a purpose.

Thomas is holding a blue stretching band. He fastens it to the outside door handle of one of the rooms. Barnes takes off his slides and stands on the carpet in bare feet. At 6-foot-4, he still towers over Thomas. Barnes places a rolled up white towel in his left armpit, grabs the band and, with his elbow tucked to his side, starts rotating his arm 90 degrees back and forth.

Thomas opens a metronome app on his iPhone to help Barnes keep pace.

The strained left shoulder is barking today. Barnes grimaces as he goes through the exercise.

He logged his first sack of the season in the Legends’ win over the Arizona Hot Shots on Feb. 25. But he injured his shoulder in the game, and it’s been nagging him ever since.

“It sucks,” he says. “I wanted to build off the momentum.”

Barnes played college ball at Clemson and finished his career with five sacks. He was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2015, seeing action in 12 games that regular season. New Orleans waived him in April 2016, and then came the discouraging grind of being a fringe NFL player — signed by the Seahawks on Apr. 28, 2016, waived on Aug. 9; signed by the Bucs on May 31, 2017, waived Sept. 2; signed to Washington’s practice squad on Nov. 2, released after six days, re-signed Dec. 19, waived again on Aug. 7, 2018, after suffering an injury in training camp.

Then the AAF called.

“I was definitely reluctant at first,” Barnes says. “But it was still an opportunity to play football and make some money.”

Thomas unties the stretching band from the door handle, moves to the other side of the hall and reties it to the door hinge of the training camp. This time, Barnes will move his arms up and down instead of horizontally.

“Ah shit, I hate this exercise,” Barnes says. He does it anyway, the metronome still beeping monotonously.

Barnes then drops to the ground to do some pushups, the pain in his shoulder evident from his facial expressions. He hops up, and the team’s equipment manager comes down the hallway. She’s looking through a stack of AAF trading cards she had just purchased from Target.

“You got a Topps card,” she tells Barnes. “You gotta sign it.”

“I got a card?” Barnes replies. “Word.”

Inside the training room, head athletic trainer Rachel Sharpe is seated in the corner as players are treated around her on black observation tables. Medicine balls rest on top of the air conditioning unit in the back corner.

Sharpe is the first female head athletic trainer in professional football. She previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina and could have taken similar-level jobs at several colleges. Instead, she jumped at the chance to run her own program with the Legends.

“This is a league of opportunity,” she says.

On the wall are about 30 filled-out NCAA Tournament brackets. Players and staff members have a friendly competition going to keep the mood light. But the uncertainty is palpable. Yesterday, Dundon had made his comments to USA Today.

“We look around and we don’t know what the offseason holds,” Sharpe says.

In the hallway, Barnes finishes up his morning treatment by trying to balance a ball on top of blue Bosu ball.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Barnes says. “I thought about giving up.”

Why didn’t he?

“Because,” he says. “I believe in me.”

That wasn’t always the case.

7:47 a.m. Barnes returns to the lobby for breakfast.

“It’s just not where I want it to be,” he says, annoyed, of the shoulder.

He scoops some eggs, bacon and pancakes onto his plate and sits down at a table.

Then he starts to detail his difficult journey.

“It’s not ideal. It sucks, honestly,” he says between mouthfuls. “But when you’re chasing something that you want, you don’t quit. … My mom, a strong, proud woman, she didn’t raise no quitter. She always told me, ‘Finish.’”

He grew up in Jacksonville surrounded by drugs and violence. When he was let go by Washington, he returned to his high school, First Coast High in Northside, to substitute teach.

“I just want to give every kid from Jacksonville hope,” he says. “I’m trying to inspire the youngins that are looking at me, to let them know, you can get out, too. I walked a lot of those same streets, a lot of those same streets that they labeled as the worst streets in America. I walked in those same streets, but look where I’m at. What I’m trying to show is you don’t have to be a product of your environment.”

“I walked these same halls,” he tells the students. “I’m not no better than you. You may think I’m famous or consider me to be famous, but I have the same problems as you. I’m transparent. … You don’t have to impress no one else and (should) love who you are. As long as you love yourself, everything else will take care of itself.”

He’s cut off at 7:57. “I need the D-line,” a coach yells. The specials teams meeting starts in three minutes.

8:08 a.m. Barnes walks out of the meeting room with a group of other large men and retakes his seat in front of his breakfast.

“Knowing how to be a pro, I didn’t learn that in the NFL, unfortunately,” he says. “But I also didn’t have the focus and drive that I do now. Mentally, I had to get stronger and better. I’m more mature as opposed to, like, in 2017. I could honestly say I took the game of football for granted. When I was with the Buccaneers, I was complaining. I was in an NFL training camp complaining about, ‘Ah man, I’ve got a long practice ahead of me,’ or ‘I got to go sit in these long meetings.’ Then I got released, and later that year, I was thinking, ‘Man, I wish I was in a long meeting. I wish I was in a long practice.’”

He fell into a depression in the fall of 2017 — “my first time ever knowing that depression was real,” he says.

“I had my gun to my head,” Barnes adds. “I didn’t pull the trigger because I thought about my daughters, and that’s why I love them so much because basically them and God saved my life, man.”

Barnes was 316 pounds, the heaviest he’s ever been, and had no clarity about his football future.

“You get to a point where you feel inadequate. You feel nothing you do matters, no one cares,” he says. “So I had to go back to the basics. I had to find out who Tavaris Barnes was again.

“When you’re a realist and you keep it real with yourself, it’s about you, just as far as what makes you happy, what matters to you. Fuck everybody else, because people are going to talk regardless. Are you OK with yourself? And so I’ve gotten to that point where I’m at now, and I’ve never been here, just as far as mentally, I’m doing well.”

Barnes criticizes the stigma surrounding mental health that is pervasive in American society, particularly among black males.

“There’s a lot of men now that won’t talk to another man about his problems because he’ll feel weak or he’ll feel inferior. … When you let that pride go, you understand that it’s OK to be human. A lot of dudes don’t feel like it’s OK to be human. There’s a lot of dudes that say, ‘I never cry!’ Bullshit, bro. You’re human. What are you talking about?

“Growing up in those inner cities, in those areas, man, if you show weakness, you were gonna fold. You can’t show weakness growing up in the hood. You can’t show that you care about anything. You just got to be strong and tough with everything, and that’s really not the way to be. You’re putting on a front to appease other people.

“I know my testimony is not for me, it’s for other people. You’re not the only one going through this or that went through this. I went through this, as well, but I didn’t let it define me. The hard times are what make you. The good comes with the bad, but do you have resolve?”

Barnes’ resolve was pushed to its limits in the summer of 2012 after his sophomore year at Clemson. His ex-wife underwent an emergency C-section, and their son was born three months premature, two days after he had proposed.

“Two days after that, he passed away,” Barnes says. “He lived for two days. His respiratory system wasn’t developed and the left side of his brain was bleeding. I saw my baby in the incubator crying, but you couldn’t hear him. If you can kind of get a visual: You see your baby crying but you can’t hear them. They can’t make noise. It’s crazy. It was weird. And man, he died in my arms. I saw his heartbeat go from 200 to 0. Something I’ll never forget.

“I still say I have four kids,” he adds. “I still include him.”

So Barnes pushes on in his son’s memory and to provide for his three daughters.

“The AAF is the best thing going for me right now,” Barnes says.

“Let’s go,” another coach yells.

Another meeting awaits.

10:25 a.m. Barnes walks into the morning sunshine with fellow defensive lineman Antonio Simmons, who played at Tech, and Tracy Sprinkle, from Ohio State.

The trio walks around to the back side of the hotel and gets into Barnes’ gray Nissan — Simmons in the passenger seat and Sprinkle in the rear.

It’s a 15-minute drive to Milton High School where the team practices. They start to discuss Dundon’s recent USA Today comments. The new league chairman wants to infuse his league with talent from the bottom of NFL rosters and practice squads.

“Why are you trying to bring those dudes to the AAF?” Barnes says.

“What about us?” Simmons says.

“They’re already there. They’ve got their shot.” Sprinkle says.

Barnes notes that the difference in talent between practice squad guys and AAF players is “minuscule.”

They debate what they would do if they were a practice squad or futures contract NFL player. Would they even consider playing in the AAF? “What about getting injured?” Barnes says.

The gray sedan pulls into Milton High School at 10:50. The three players get out of the car, take the steps down the field and trudge across the gridiron to the locker room.

It’s 54 degrees. Birds are chirping. Spring is in the air.

They return to the field in practice gear. As they start to stretch, “Life Goes On” by Lil Baby featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Gunna blares over the portable speaker.

Head coach meanders through the stretching lines clapping.

“Let’s a have a hell of a day of practice, guys,” he screams. “Fly around!”

1:28 p.m. Practice wraps up, and Coyle brings the team together in the middle of the field.

“That’s the one thing you have to do as a player — prepare,” says Coyle, who was forced into the head- coaching role after stepped down in early January. “This is what you want to do with your life.”

Barnes practiced despite the shoulder and batted down two passes at the line during 11-on-11 drills. He celebrated often with some nifty dance moves, along with teammate and defensive back Louis Young. “That’s his shit,” Barnes said of the dance move, alluding to Young.

Barnes, Simmons and Sprinkle get back in the car for the drive back to the hotel. This time, the conversation revolves around Atlanta nightlife. Sprinkle tells of a recent night out when he was enjoying himself before rapper Offset arrived at the club. Offset told the DJ to play his album from start to finish. Sprinkle was not a fan and said as much. He claims Offset heard his slight.

Simmons puts in a mobile order at Wings 101. The defensive line gets chicken wings for its film meeting once a week. Simmons says they will arrive at 2:25, much to the dismay of Barnes and Sprinkle. The meeting doesn’t start until 3:00, and they don’t want the wings to be cold. But it’s too late. There’s an $85 fee if Simmons cancels the order now. So cold wings it is.

They pull back into the hotel at 2:02. Lunch is waiting — grilled chicken, asparagus and steak and veggie kebabs.

Barnes runs up to his room to take a shower before the defensive line meeting. The wings arrive at 2:17.

2:55 p.m. The defensive line meeting takes place in a converted hotel room, two doors down from the training room. D-line coach Leroy Thompson has arranged a desk in the middle of the room with a computer on top. It’s hooked up to the hotel TV, which is positioned at the front of the room with about a dozen chairs surrounding it for the players to sit in. — a defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Legends who became the first female NFL coach when she joined the Cardinals in 2015 — is stationed in the back corner with cutouts strewn about on the table in front of her.

Coyle walks in at 3:00. He sits next to Thompson and starts playing film from that day’s practice on the TV.

Simmons remarks that the wings are not, in fact, cold. “They’re scrumptious,” he exclaims.

Coyle breaks down the stunts the defensive line worked through in practice. Then he toggles through clips of one-on-one passing drills between the D-line and O-line. Barnes makes a nice move to the inside and has a free pass at the towel on the ground that’s serving as the quarterback. But he slips and falls.

“You blew it at the end,” Coyle quips. “That was your chance.”

On one play, defensive lineman KeShun Freeman fails to identify a screen pass.

“I’m gonna call you cataract,” Barnes jokes.

The Legends are preparing for a crucial game at the . If they lose, they fall to 3-6 and are out of playoff contention. Coyle harps on getting to the quarterback. They need to disrupt Birmingham signal-caller Luis Perez.

Little did they know at the time, it would be their last game of the season. They would go on to lose 17- 9.

4:15 p.m. Barnes heads to his hotel room to change before walking back through the automatic sliding doors and into the sunshine.

It’s time to lift. So he strolls over to the LA Fitness in the shopping center next door to the hotel. There, Legends players intermingle with regulars at the members-only gym. Barnes starts his workout.

Near the desks where customer service reps sit, the assistant strength coach, Frank, is organizing three black bags full of stretching bands and other equipment.

“These guys are getting the bare minimum,” he says, “and they don’t complain.”

Players have to wait their turn for machines or weights.

“If there are three squat racks and two are being used, then we have one squat rack that day,” Frank says.

Over at the cafe, Sprinkle and Simmons are ordering smoothies after their lifts. Simmons goes with the Tropical Breeze Light. He takes one sip. “It’s scrumptious,” he says again. It was the word of the day. He sits down at a table and takes a few more sips — too quickly. He complains of brain freeze.

Barnes finishes his workout and stretches before doing the StairMaster for 45 minutes. He’s down to 278 pounds.

“This is what we’ve got, so let’s make it work,” says Frank, who will start a new job at East Carolina in April. “At first I thought it was a curse, but, no, it’s a blessing.”

6:15 p.m. The sun is low in the sky now as Barnes walks back from the LA Fitness to the Courtyard Marriott.

The automatic doors slide open and he steps inside, unaware of the turmoil that awaits.

Author’s note: Barnes packed his belongings into his rental car Wednesday and was preparing to make the six-hour trip back to Jacksonville. Back home, he will drive for Uber or Lyft to make money. He’ll also try to resume substitute teaching at First Coast High School. The own Barnes’ CFL rights and contacted the defensive lineman’s agent Wednesday morning, but his goal remains returning to the NFL.

“Just persisting,” Barnes says, “and trying to find any road I can to keep pursuing the dream.”