Judge Nelson Rules in Favor of Players, Lockout Lifted 

Goodell has been pushing hard for an 18-game regular season.

Monday evening, U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson mandated an immediate end to the NFL’s lockout of the players, which had been in place for seven weeks.

The judge granted a request by the players for an immediate injunction, which means that the league must resume normal activities under pretenses that are not currently known.

The NFL has since stated that they have requested  Nelson put her decision on hold so that they can attempt to get an expedited appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

This is a complicated situation, as the NFL would have to determine the guidelines under which the league would operate if the injunction is upheld.

The ruling has no effect on the 2011 NFL Draft, which will begin as scheduled Thursday evening.

We’ll update with more information as it comes along.

About the author: Taylor Smith

Taylor Smith has been with NFL Soup since its inception, and is a jack of all trades, helping with breaking news, fantasy football advice and NFL Draft coverage. Smith also heads NFL Soup's live chats and radio shows. Taylor also contributes content to our sister sites, MLB Soup, NBA Soup and NBA Water Cooler. He lives in Los Angeles, where he also is a writer for the L.A. Clippers. Follow him on Twitter @NFLSoupTaylor.