NFL prospects getting second chance through Alumni Academy

In normal times, NFL teams sometimes must scramble to find players during the season when a wave of injuries or other issues hit. In 2020, multiply those needs exponentially because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Helping out the 32 teams on a limited scale — for now — is the NFL Alumni Academy, run by Dean Dalton, who coached in the league for seven seasons and, as he says, “every time I have tried to leave the game, I've been pulled back in.”

The academy is located at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, right next to the hall itself. Its first class has included 29 players cut in the preseason, and since early October has undergone the kind of intensive work seen in training camps. An impressive array of teachers such as Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz, and veteran coaches including Mike Tice and Dalton are working to provide another chance for these players, as well as aiding NFL clubs who repeatedly have found themselves shorthanded this season.

“The fundamental thing is we needed to have better NFL-ready players available,” says Dalton, who was with the Vikings from 1999-2005 and is well connected throughout the league. "In all other pro sports, there is some sort of feeder system or minor or junior league. All the college programs are our feeder system into the draft, but we don’t have an in-season model.

“It is tough to have a good pipeline of depth in season. The saying is true, that ‘championship teams have championship depth.’ The bottom of their roster is a little more talented. When you have the next-man-up program, if your guy is better, you have a chance to play longer into the playoffs.”

Historically, many of the next men up didn't initially make it onto an NFL roster. Some of the players who were released after training camp this year are getting the chance to jump the...