:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58992747/usa_today_10560574.0.jpg)
Welcome one and all to the 2018 NFL Free Agency Legal Tampering period. The Arizona Cardinals will be talking with some free agents starting today, but nothing can happen until Wednesday at the earliest.
All the information that comes out, feel free to post in here in the comments. As we get information pertaining to the Cardinals in someway, we’ll make sure it gets posted up to the site.
If you see any good rumors, post them in the comments and I’ll do what I can to check the veracity of the reports.
We’ll have an open thread for the first four or five days of free agency and the two days of tampering, so use these as open threads as well.
For all the information on the next couple of days, here is a quick recap:
The new league year begins on March 14, and at that point, free agents can sign with any team they want. The legal tampering period begins on the morning of March 12, and allows agents to players scheduled to hit free agency to enter into negotiations with other teams.
Under the rules of this period, an actual deal cannot be signed and agreed to between an impending free agent and a new team. Players are not allowed to meet with other teams — only their agents can.
March 12-14: Legal tampering period — Agents for players scheduled to hit free agency on March 14th may enter into contract negotiations with other teams
March 14: The deadline for all teams to exercise option clauses and submit offers & tenders to their 2017 RFAs & ERFAs occurs at 1 p.m. PST. After 1 p.m. the new league year begins. Player contracts ending in 2017 expire and free agency begins. All teams must be under the salary cap with their top 51 players. The 2018 trading period also begins at 1 p.m. EST.