Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk is reporting that "a working group of NFL types" have been at work making unique 2011 rules in case free agency would open up with the 8th Circuit Court's ruling.

This comes as a surprise to most, as we've been led to believe that the NFL would operate under a tweaked 2010 system. It's yet to be seen as to how these 2011 rules would be different, but I think it's safe to assume that the rules would be much more strict than in years past.

My concern over the situation is that the owners would try to use these 2011 rules as a pseudo-lockout. If that's the case, the players would likely sue... again. This could potentially snowball into a massive heap of litigation that would result in a lost season. But, that's me just speculating without more details. It could also be a simple set of rules with no major significance.

Regardless, we should know more by the end of the day. The 8th Circuit Court could issue its ruling regarding the potential stay of the lockout later today.