NFL’s Troy Vincent — Dallas, Los Angeles, Indianapolis to bid on hosting 2023 combine


NEW YORK — The NFL scouting combine gets at least one more year in Indianapolis, but starting in 2023 there’s no guarantee it will still be there.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said Tuesday at the league’s fall owners meetings that the combine will be in Indianapolis in 2022, but that three cities — Dallas, Indianapolis and Los Angeles — were in line to bid on the 2023 combine.

The combine has been held in Indianapolis since 1987, and its relatively centralized geographical location, plus its easy-to-navigate downtown setup, have made it an ideal site. But in June, the league informed teams that other cities would be allowed to bid to host the event starting in 2023 and at least through 2028, the same way host cities bid for other marquee NFL events like the Super Bowl and the draft.

It’s unclear when the site of the 2023 combine will be determined.

Vincent also said the league is looking into ways to “improve the athlete experience” starting with the 2022 combine in Indianapolis, as it realizes the event isn’t always a uniformly pleasant one for the prospects involved.

One of the ways of improving that experience, Vincent said, might be to implement some of the telehealth measures that were used this past year to replace some of the medical evaluations that have been a staple of the event.

The 2021 combine scheduled for Indianapolis was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, all prospects’ workouts were held at their respective school’s pro days and interviews with teams were held virtually.



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