NFL will not have supplemental draft in 2020

There will be no NFL Supplemental Draft in 2020.

On Wednesday, the league informed teams that its annual supplemental draft was canceled this year. It’s largely due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has made it very hard for any supplemental prospect to meet and work out for teams.

Since the first supplemental draft in 1977, the only other time there wasn’t one was in 2008 when there were no applicants. There have also been many years in which all 32 NFL teams passed on making any selections, most recently in both 2016 and 2017.

Last year, the Arizona Cardinals spent a fifth-round pick on Washington State safety Jalen Thompson, who appeared in 15 games (9 starts) as a rookie.

The Bengals last used a supplemental pick in 2006 when they selected Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks in the third round.

The last time the Bengals had a supplemental draft-eligible player was in 2016 when they signed University of Calgary Dinos receiver Rashaun Simonise after he wasn’t selected in the supplemental draft. He attempted to make the rare jump from a Canadian college to the NFL, but he was unable to do so after being waived by the Bengals during final roster cuts.