The NFL has enacted a three-day period beginning March 9th, in which teams may negotiate with Free Agents before the official start, in what would have been considered tampering in the past.
Greg A. Bedard of The Globe used his sources to get the parameters of the new rules below:
Period starts at midnight on Saturday and ends at 3:59 p.m. on Tuesday. So, it's actually about 64 hours long;Teams can only contact the agents and enter into negotiations. No contracts can be executed until free agency starts at 4 p.m. on Tuesday;Teams can't meet with players (other than the player's current club) in any location, and there can be no direct contact between the player and another team;
Players who don't have an agent, such as Ravens safety Ed Reed, can't be contacted by another team;
No visits can be lined up until free agency starts at 4 p.m. Tuesday;
The three-day window only applies to potential unrestricted free agents. It excludes restricted free agents and franchise players.
It's hard to pinpoint why exactly this new "grace period" was started. Perhaps the league was tired of having to monitor all of the deals that magically got done within minutes of the midnight start to Free Agency. Or maybe this is just another clever marketing ploy for the NFL to keep buzz on them and not the NBA, March Madness, and Spring Training because thousands will flock to twitter, NFL.com, and NFL Network to see who their favorite team is rumored to be linked to.
A couple early rumors are gaining ground this afternoon pertaining to Free Agency.
First, an already deep CB class will get more open when the Eagles are expected to release CB Nnamdi Asomugha. He's had a tough time in Philly after being considered the NFL's top shutdown corner in Oakland. He's up there in age and a shell of his former self, but with the right scheme fit he can still be serviceable.
The other name being tossed around freely is Mike Wallace. Many people are reporting that the Miami Dolphins are the front runners for his services, having already contacted his agent during the combine (yes, that would be tampering - ironic isn't it?) and will probably work close once the "legal" time period begins Saturday.
Check back frequently for updates to news, releases, and rumors.