BENJAMIN WATSON

When Benjamin Watson was at the NFL Combine in 2004, he was interviewing with all the teams, but one of his sit-downs was unlike any other.

The NFL has issued a warning to teams that they could lose a draft pick and face significant fines if club representatives conduct themselves unprofessionally in interviews with draft prospects.

The NFL is exploring changes to the annual NFL scouting combine to improve the professional and medical experience for draft prospects, a person familiar with those discussions told The Associated Press.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Thursday said player safety would have to come first amid discussions over the potential addition of a 17th game to the regular season. NFLPA vice-president Benjamin Watson, who plays tight end for the New England Patriots, acknowledged that while there were different opinions on an extended season player safety was paramount in the violent game. The NFL also used data to shape how to improve player safety, he added. We dont look at it just as do we have a 17th game. The league kind of pretends that theyre interested in (player safety and longevity), pretends that they care about it, makes all these rules, fines all these players, but then still proposes players play an extra game, said Sherman.