The NFL draft scouting circuit is already facing some changes with the potential relocation of the annual NFL scouting combine from Indianapolis. Now one of the most important fixtures on the calendar, the Shrine Bowl, is making a big change, too.
The Shrine Bowl is moving to Las Vegas for 2022, uprooting from its longtime home in St. Petersburg. The Bowl announced the move in a press release on Tuesday.
For years the Shrine Bowl has served as the unofficial kickoff of draft season. Nearly every GM and all college scouts descend upon St. Pete during mid-January to evaluate over 90 players whose college eligibility is spent. It will now be played on Thursday, February 3rd and broadcast on NFL Network. It is the same week as the Senior Bowl in Mobile, which will be played on Saturday, February 5th.
The bulk of Shrine Bowl participants are selected in the third through seventh rounds of the draft. Detroit has found considerable success over the years in scouting players from the Shrine Bowl, formerly the East-West Shrine Game, including Kenny Golladay, Graham Glasgow, Anthony Zettel, Devin Taylor and Theo Riddick.
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