Schefter: No free agents can be signed unless...

Cajuncowboy

Preacher From The Black Lagoon
Messages
27,499
Reaction score
81
First time I heard this...


From Twitter...

Adam_Schefter

The new NFL world: Indianapolis, San Diego, New Orleans and any team in the Final 8 cannot sign free agents unless they lose one.
 

SDogo

Not as good as I once was but as good once as I ev
Messages
13,900
Reaction score
6
Cajuncowboy;3191091 said:
First time I heard this...


From Twitter...

Adam_Schefter

The new NFL world: Indianapolis, San Diego, New Orleans and any team in the Final 8 cannot sign free agents unless they lose one.

Heard that on ESPN but they said only the teams that clinched a 1st round bye.

I dont like the direction the NFL is going.
 

dbair1967

Arch Defender
Messages
30,782
Reaction score
1
If I had to bet on it, the new collective bargaining agreement will get done in time. There's no way either side WANTS a lockout.
 

theogt

Surrealist
Messages
45,846
Reaction score
5,912
This has been part of the CBA for years. It's to protect against a spending spree in an uncapped year.
 

Big Country

Rolling Thunder
Messages
3,761
Reaction score
40
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer Dec 30, 2:54 pm EST

WASHINGTON (AP)—Miles Austin(notes) of the Cowboys, Brandon Marshall(notes) of the Broncos and six other Pro Bowl picks are among more than 200 NFL players who would lose their status as unrestricted free agents this offseason if the league and its union can’t agree on a new labor contract.

According to a list obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, there are 212 players who would be considered restricted free agents—instead of unrestricted—if there is no salary cap in 2010. There is at least one player from each of the NFL’s 32 teams on the list.

Pro Bowl linebackers Elvis Dumervil(notes) of the Broncos and DeMeco Ryans(notes) of the Texans are in the group of potentially affected players. So are dozens of other starters from across the NFL, including quarterbacks Kyle Orton(notes) of the Broncos and Jason Campbell(notes) of the Commanders.
ADVERTISEMENT

“Free agency’s always been something for the players, always been a great thing. If you get one crack at free agency as a player, that’s what you dream of,” Orton said before Denver practiced Wednesday. “How it stands right now … guys aren’t going to be able to have that dream, to be a free agent. That’s a shame for the players, I think.”

In an uncapped year, a player would need at least six years in the NFL, up from the current minimum of four years in the league, to be an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team.

Dallas receiver Austin was aware his free agency status could change, but said he wouldn’t consider his breakout season bad timing.

“I can’t control any of that,” he said. “I’ve just got to stay focused on the things I can control, and that’s playing this week and playing hard.”

The other players announced Tuesday as selections for this season’s Pro Bowl who could find themselves missing out on a chance to cash in this offseason are Packers safety Nick Collins(notes), Patriots guard Logan Mankins(notes), Saints guard Jahri Evans(notes) and Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver(notes).

In addition to the NFL’s sacks leader (Dumervil), and the NFC’s leader in yards receiving (Austin), other prominent names on the list include Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman(notes), Jets receiver Braylon Edwards(notes), Colts safety Antoine Bethea(notes), Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown(notes) and Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski(notes).

“If you’re a guy that’s been in the league a long time, and you know you’re pretty much set, you probably have a different opinion about it. But if you’re a guy that’s in my position, it’s going to affect us not just short term but long term,” Washington’s Campbell said.

If they lose out on the chance to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, players might not get as big a payoff as they could have been expecting. They also won’t have the luxury of moving freely anywhere in the league.

A restricted free agent’s old club gets a chance to offer the player a one-year contract at different levels of pay which determine what level of draft-choice compensation the old club would receive for losing the player. And the old club has the right to match any offer another club makes to a restricted free agent.

“If you’re a free agent, of course you’ve got a lot of options, but if you’re a restricted free agent, it’s pretty much the team’s choice, depending on what they want to do,” Campbell said.

Other rules changes would go into effect if there is no salary cap in 2010. There would be no minimum or maximum amounts teams could spend on payroll, and each club would get an extra “transition player” tag. A “transition player” must be offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior season at the player’s position or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.

“All of a sudden, your rules change,” said Campbell, one of seven Commanders players on the list. “That’s the situation I’ve been dealt and so have other guys on the team.”

AP Sports Writers Jaime Aron in Irving, Texas; Pat Graham in Englewood, Colo.; and Joseph White in Ashburn, Va., contributed to this report.

Updated Dec 30, 2:54 pm EST
 

Sarge

Red, White and Brew...
Staff member
Messages
33,770
Reaction score
31,537
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
dbair1967;3191102 said:
If I had to bet on it, the new collective bargaining agreement will get done in time. There's no way either side WANTS a lockout.

That's a bet I would'nt make or take.
 

Givincer

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,896
Reaction score
150
I'm just wondering how many teams actually don't lose any players in a year. Or if that's ever even happened?

Surely if a team wanted a free agent, couldn't they release a player (any player?) in order to sign him?
 

Derinyar

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,231
Reaction score
959
romoakatruebeast;3191124 said:
Can someone explain.


Its not clicking.

The idea is not letting a good team go out and buy its way to being even better in a non cash limited environment. It's partially to prevent stacking up of high quality backups, probably more so then preventing a major run on starting players. Good teams should already have a solid or better starter at most positions.

To sign a player, to my understanding, you have to have lost/released one first. Unlike most years in which you have till your first camp cut to start releasing players. If I'm wrong on this I'm sure someone will correct me pretty quickly.
 

Bluefin

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,209
Reaction score
9,677
Givincer;3191132 said:
Surely if a team wanted a free agent, couldn't they release a player (any player?) in order to sign him?

Nope.

The NFL does not count players who get released from contracts for age, money or injury issues as free agents.
 

jcdavey

New Member
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
Cajuncowboy;3191091 said:
First time I heard this...


From Twitter...

Adam_Schefter

The new NFL world: Indianapolis, San Diego, New Orleans and any team in the Final 8 cannot sign free agents unless they lose one.
won't matter to sd, we already don't sign FA's unless we lose more than we sign

see if you lose more FAs than you sign, then you get compensatory picks usually

building through the draft has always beaten building through free agency
 

Givincer

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,896
Reaction score
150
Bluefin;3191180 said:
Nope.

The NFL does not count players who get released from contracts for age, money or injury issues as free agents.

Ah ok. Thanks for clarifying.
 

Cover 2

Pessimists Unite!!!
Messages
3,496
Reaction score
452
Then sign players that are at the bottom of the roster to 1 years deals. Then when their contracts run out sign the good free agents.

Although there won't be as many quality free agents with no cap, but I'm sure there will still be some. Mainly from teams like the Bucs that don't want to pay anyone. Especially since there will be no floor anymore.
 

Bluefin

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,209
Reaction score
9,677
Cover 2;3191281 said:
Then sign players that are at the bottom of the roster to 1 years deals. Then when their contracts run out sign the good free agents.

No go.

The teams that make the divisional round of the playoffs and have restrictions placed on their player acquisition wouldn't have such an easy time playing the game.

Not only would they have to loose a free agent before they could sign one, the money involved would also have to match up.

They couldn't loose a player who signed for near the minimum and then turn around to sign an expensive tier one free agent.

They would have to loose a star and his salary in order to sign one.
 

Eskimo

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,821
Reaction score
496
Romo 2 Austin;3191283 said:
After we resign Miles I don't give a crack about what happens with this CBA.

There are a couple of others I would like to re-sign (Spears, Bowen, Hatcher, Hurd, Ball, ...).

I wouldn't mind getting an ILB if a great everydown ILB with great cover skills became available. I'd also like a top notch safety to cover the elite TEs of the league.
 

Future

Intramural Legend
Messages
27,566
Reaction score
14,714
Doesn't matter we won't have big holes to fill anyways....this team won't need to make a splash in FA.
 
Top