Now that the NFL lockout is over, it appears that a free agent frenzy, the type of which has never been seen before, could begin as early as midnight tonight.
But the league's GMs, money men and scouts are going to be working overtime this week.
Not only will teams be signing free agents - both their own and others - they will also have to sign their draft picks and undrafted rookies in the coming week before training camps open as early as Saturday. And, for teams over the cap like the Steelers, there will also be some contract extension talks with key players in addition to cuts.
In other words, they will be jamming six months worth of work into six days.
The interesting thing will be how many rookie holdouts we have this season.
With no offseason workouts and training camps shortened by a few days in some cases, any rookie holdouts will be dooming themselves to a lost season.
10 comments:
Man, has there ever been anything close to what this craziness will be?
In Colbert we trust
The NHL has a free agent frenzy every year. The NFL will survive.
The NHL free agent frenzy doesn't come three days before camps open. They also aren't trying to sign their own rookies to get them in camp on time as well.
Dale,
Who do you think stays and who do you think go as far as cuts and signings? Also, if the Steelers resign Ike, will they also be able to upgrade at the 3rd CB spot and finally let Willie Gay move on to his next profession?
i think this contracted free agent period improves the steelers' chances of signing taylor.
Couple questions:
- Is the franchise tag still valid?
- I understand that new players will be 4 years and then FA with a 5th year option for the team to pick up. Will the team have some 5th year option on players already signed or are all 5th year guys UFA now?
I think the Steeler front office (and most of the other FOs) already have their plan and are ready to go. I'm pretty sure they can multi-task.
Any chance the Steelers make a run at R. Marshall? Young corner who may get lost in the FA shuffle with teams going after Asomugha, J. Joseph and Cromartie. I think he would fit well in the Steelers Defense.
I don't see them signing a free agent corner other than Taylor. If he doesn't sign here, look for Gay as a fallback. Otherwise, Gay is gone.
And I agree, Marc, the short period of time to get players ready helps Taylor in his negotiations. I lay all that out in my column in Tuesday's O-R.
The franchise is still valid.
Dale, since the Steelers are over the cap, any chance a new long term deal with Woodley gets done fairly soon to alleviate his current high cap hit?
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