INDIANAPOLIS – Let the frenzy begin.
When the clock struck noon on Tuesday afternoon, NFL teams were allowed to start negotiating with agents of 2017 unrestricted free agents from around the league.
Deals cannot become official until Thursday at 4:00 p.m. EST, but a 52-hour window of legal tampering is allowed until then.
Per the NFL, the official langue is this: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2016 Player Contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9.
Rumored deals and pairing free agents with new teams will be rampant over the next two days.
Once 4:00 p.m. Thursday arrives, the new league year begins. All 2016 contracts expire at that time and deals with unrestricted free agents can become official.
With free agency two days away, the Colts still have eight of their unrestricted free agents (after Mike Adams announced he would not be returning to the Colts) and three restricted free agents without new contracts.
The next two days will see many re-signings happen all around the NFL.
Before those players officially become free agents on Thursday, teams will be looking to re-sign their own unrestricted guys.
In the past few years, the Colts have re-signed the likes of Dwayne Allen (2016), Adam Vinatieri (2016), Darius Butler (2015) and Joe Reitz (2015) all in the final few days before free agency starting.*
Stay tuned to Colts.com for the latest on any re-signings before free agency begins on Thursday.
The analysis from those producing content on Colts.com does not necessarily represent the thoughts of the Indianapolis Colts organization. Any conjecture, analysis or opinions formed by Colts.com content creators is not based on inside knowledge gained from team officials, players or staff.*
