Get ready for perhaps the wildest two weeks of NFL offseason you've ever seen. A compressed free agency period will happen at the same time as teams begin their training camps -- the Atlanta Falcons and most of their rivals begin their camps on Thursday.
Expect it all to begin Tuesday morning, when teams can begin signing their own draft picks and undrafted free agents -- here's a list of the 2011 UFA crop. Trades can also go down on Tuesday, but teams can't re-sign their own free agents or sign another team's. However, they can start negotiating.
Cuts come Thursday, while the real action begins Friday night, when free agency is expected to begin.
Here's Joel Thorman's breakdown of Pro Football Talk's report:
Tuesday:
- NFL will release the official list of 2011 free agents.
- Team facilities will open for players to come in and train, condition and work with the coaching staff. This will be voluntary.
- Trades can also begin on this day.
- At 10:00 a.m. (ET), teams can sign their own rookies and undrafted free agents. They can negotiate with, but not sign, their own free agents -- unrestricted, restricted and exclusive rights. They can also negotiate with franchise players. They can also negotiate with, but not sign, other teams free agents -- unrestricted, restricted and franchise players.
Thursday:
- Teams can begin to waive or cut their own players.
Friday
At 6:00 p.m. (ET), teams can extend the contracts of players under contract, sign their own unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents and franchise players. They can also sign other teams' unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents and franchise players.
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