Colts owner Jim Irsay and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash have pointed to Independence Day as an important date for football fans to circle. If the league and the players are at least on the way to a new collective bargaining agreement by that point, then there's good chance the season will come off without a hitch. "Well, I don't really want to be thinking about that one," said Irsay when asked what would happen if progress wasn't made by then. "I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible that we'll get a deal done." Several general managers said that getting a deal done by the early part of July would be necessary because of the time needed to sign free agents, draft picks and undrafted players in advance of training camp. “"You do it in whatever time they give you, but two or three weeks would be enough probably," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. "You could do it in less time, but with all the physicals and paperwork – and figuring out who you're going to get if you don't sign the first guy you want – you'd hope for as much time as possible."