MINNEAPOLIS  — Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith took their new buddy act on the road Wednesday, creating a buzz among rookies in Florida then returning to Minnesota for talks to try and end pro football’s labor impasse.

The NFL commissioner and the players’ boss took questions from rookies at an orientation symposium in Sarasota, Fla., where recent draft picks were glad — and relieved — to see their two surprise guests.

“Guys are hurting for money right now,” said quarterback Christian Ponder, a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings. “It’s a crazy time, especially with the uncertainty of when we’re going to start and get some money in our pocket.”

“It’s big for them to come together. I thought that was pretty cool,” he said. “It looks like they have a pretty good relationship.”

Smith and Goodell certainly seem closer than when the lockout began in March. Whether that will translate into a new collective bargaining agreement is the big question. Training camps are scheduled to open in just over three weeks with the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 7.

The latest round of negotiations between the two sides — the fifth since they began hopping from city to city for clandestine meetings — kicked off Tuesday in Minneapolis with Goodell, Smith, their attorneys and staffs in the room but no owners or players. People familiar with the situation said owners and players planned to join Goodell and Smith for talks Thursday and Friday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the discussion are not being released.

The location is significant because Minneapolis is where the players filed an antitrust suit against the owners and the sides tried and failed to strike an agreement through court-ordered mediation under U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.

Smith invited Goodell to the orientation session for rookies — put on by the players’ association after the NFL canceled the event — and the pair flew down to Florida on Tuesday night. After a joint breakfast Wednesday, they talked for an hour with 155 rookies.

“We felt it was important to be down here with the players,” Goodell said. “This is an important few days. We’re going to get back to work.”