Told twice in three days by a federal judge that its 45-day lockout was illegal, the league assured teams and players they could resume some of the normal day to day football operations beginning Friday, including voluntary workouts at team facilities, meetings with coaches and going over playbooks.

The league also promised to distribute detailed procedures for signing free agents, making trades and other roster moves. That memo, the league said, will likely come Friday and spell out the timing for the start of the league year.

The guidelines were released a few hours before the NFL draft, where teams were still allowed only to swap picks, not players.