For former Saluki star Korey Lindsey, the last few months haven’t been the NFL dream he’s had since he was a kid in Baton Rouge.

“I’m anxious and excited, but I’m trying to be patient and not worry too much about it,” Lindsey said. “I know it’ll all work out in the end.”

With the announcement Monday that the owners and the NFL Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, the Cincinnati Bengals can finally start negotiations with their seventh round draft pick.

Lindsey said he hasn’t been paying much attention to all of the NFL lockout media coverage because he knows he has a season to get ready for, even if he didn’t know when that season would start.

“I’m not getting too antsy about it,” Lindsey said. “I’m just trying to stay working out, stay in shape and stay doing things so I don’t think about it too much and when it happens, I’ll be ready to go.”

Lindsey faces the same problem every rookie this year faces. Without a collective bargaining agreement, they can’t sign with the team that drafted them. From Cam Newton down to Mr. Irrelevant, as well as the undrafted free agents, this means instead of all the offseason workouts rookies used to get to know their teammates and impress their coaches, they had to either sit and wait for something to happen or workout informally with their unofficial teammates.

Lindsey decided he would take the more productive route.

“We went through what we would have went through if we had regular OTAs,” Lindsey said. “It was great. I came to fall in love with that group of guys during those workouts and I can’t wait to get out there and finish working.”

Though Lindsey didn’t have a contract, the Bengals players still opened their arms to him and the other rookies and let them participate in their unofficial offseason workouts for two weeks in the spring. Lindsey said they do a lot of what they would in normal team workouts, such as seven-on-seven drills and defensive formations.

“It was a good experience to get my feet wet for those two weeks,” Lindsey said. “It’s gotten me a little antsy now because now I got a little taste for it, and now I want to get back into football mode.”

Now that the free agent frenzy is upon us and NFL teams try to make best of the abbreviated offseason, Lindsey will just have to wait and see what kind of contract he’ll receive.

One thing is for certain. He won’t be the only Saluki vying for a roster spot on the Bengals. According to the Saluki Athletics website, Stephen Franklin has signed a preliminary contract and will be in camp with the Bengals along with Lindsey on July 30.

Both Lindsey and Franklin will make their professional debuts in Cincinnati’s first preseason game August 12 at Detroit.