NFL free agent rumors and trade talk have burned up the interwebs all day. However, there's been surprisingly little movement for all the talk. The St. Louis Rams have made just one free agent move, signing safety Quintin Mikell. Rams fans and fans of most other teams are now wondering if and when their clubs might start biting on the other players still available.
I talked earlier today about the impact of the secondary free agent market, specifically that the players at the top typically sign first and set the prices for the player below them. So far, the big signings are still lingering, particularly a certain Raiders CB whose name I'll never be able to pronounce.
Another crucial detail to remember in the post-lockout timeline. Free agents cannot actually sign deals or even visit teams until Friday, July 29. Barring visits hinders signings because teams don't get a closer look at players. For players, no visits take away their leverage to drive up the bids among teams. That's an important detail to remember.
Roster cuts are allowed to happen today. That will shape the market too, as teams weight those options.
Here's how I think things will play out over the next few days. News of player visits will start trickling in tonight. A few more players will sign in the next day and a half. Some of those visits will happen, and many more will just get to the planning stage. When the visits do take place, more players than usual will cancel their return flight, or postpone anyway, inking deals with the team they visited. Dominoes will start to fall at a feverish pace around 5 p.m. tomorrow and through the weekend.
Patience. The Rams may not have made many moves yet, but they'll make some. How significant those moves are is the real question.
Yes, that's a Flaming Groovies reference in the headline.