By definition, the phrase “legal tampering” is an oxymoron.
So forgive everyone for laughing out loud Monday morning when the NFL sent out a league memo scolding teams for extending offers to free agents during the three-day negotiating window that started Saturday.
Beginning at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, teams were permitted to contact agents representing players whose contracts will officially expire Tuesday when the new league year starts. That alone is a funny concept, considering it’s well known that conversations between teams and agents unofficially start in February at NFL Combine, if not before.
“That process pretty much starts at the Senior Bowl,” Bears safety Ryan Mundy told me Sunday during an interview on WGN Radio. “Agents are trying to gauge what teams’ interests are — what they’re looking for. Then that carries over to the Combine and then this period right before free agency opens.”
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“This period” is when those conversations are actually legal, but even in the current three-day window, the NFL is trying to dictate what can actually be said in those conversations. According to the official memo sent to teams Tuesday, “a club cannot make an ‘offer’ or enter into a written or oral agreement of any kind, express or implied, or make promises or representations of any type concerning the terms or conditions of employment.”
Hilarious. Especially given that not only do we already know the destinations of free agent prizes like Ndamukong Suh (Miami), Jeremy Maclin (Kansas City) and Byron Maxwell (Philadelphia), but the details of the contracts have even been reported.
Clearly, offers — exact offers — have been made and accepted.
What’s interesting is that this is the third year the three-day negotiating window has been used, but oddly, it’s the first time the rules have been so publicly broken. During each of the first two years, leaked contract details didn’t start flooding in until the new league year officially started at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Of course, that doesn’t mean contracts weren’t already agreed upon.
“Both times I’ve been a free agent, it’s been a relatively fast process,” Mundy said. “The first day free agency opened, I already had an agreement in place and was just ready to sign on the dotted line.”
Still, the process seems to have accelerated this year, and it started with the competitive market for Suh. How are teams supposed to have conversations with a free agent prize like Suh without talking money? And as soon as one team cracks, it’s bound to have a snowball effect on the rest of the league.
“I think the genie is already out of the bottle, because I don’t really know what (the NFL is) going to do,” Joel Corry, a former agent and current NFL contract expert for CBSSports.com, said. “It’s unreasonable to expect that if you are articulating a negotiating position that isn’t an offer that it’s not going to be construed as an offer by both sides. That’s a little far fetched and unrealistic.”
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The memo sent to teams Monday morning claimed “the league office is beginning investigations into a number of reported agreements with clubs. Violations will be dealt with accordingly.”
Such a threat, however, isn’t being taken very seriously, according to sources, and today’s increase in activity reflects that mindset. Is the league going to punish all 32 teams?
This is a situation where the rules, not the rule-breaking, are bound to change. And will that change anything? Not really.
Still Backing Cutler
It’s no secret that there are doubts inside the Bears’ locker room about Jay Cutler continuing on as the team’s starting quarterback, but most of the key figures on offense — and, more specifically, on the offensive line — still believe in him.
That sentiment was echoed Saturday by left guard Matt Slauson, who said the following on my radio show: “I have every confidence in him, his ability, his intelligence. The guy can be the best in the league. We just have to do a better job as a team supporting him. We didn’t do a very good job of that last year, but Jay can be every bit of a Tom Brady, a Peyton Manning, an Aaron Rodgers. He can be them, if not more.”
OK, clearly there is some hyperbole in there, but you get the point. And until there is some kind of resolution with Cutler, his teammates are in an awkward position where they have to be careful what they say about him. I would just advise that everyone start lowering expectations for Cutler instead of putting the weight of the franchise on his shoulders again. It will be better for everyone.
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Accountability Already Noticeable At Halas Hall
After a tumultuous season in which former head coach Marc Trestman lost the locker room, Slauson said he’s already noticed more accountability with the new regime, despite being away from Halas Hall.
“(John) Fox and I have talked about that a lot already,” Slauson said. “He is all about that and we are too as players. We want to be held accountable. We are professional athletes and we have a job to do. We don’t want any gray area. It’s got to be black and white, cut and dry and that’s what he is all about.”
Mundy is also welcoming the much-needed change from last season.
“It was really tough, not just on the field, but emotionally, it drained on a lot of guys as well. It definitely drained on me personally,” Mundy said. “I think everybody is excited about the fresh start. I’ve heard great things about Coach Fox from some guys who are out in Denver. He has a great reputation of being able to lead a team and create a culture where guys feel like they can be themselves, they’re accountable, and they have fun doing their job. So I look forward to playing for him and rallying the troops.”
Extra Points
– Be careful what you hear regarding Cutler. It’s not breaking news that the Bears are willing to trade him for the right price (Pace made that very clear by not committing to the quarterback last month), but that doesn’t mean they will. From what I’ve heard, the Bears are not as desperate to get rid of Cutler as they were with Marshall, which is why they’re being patient in a very weak quarterback market. I don’t believe they will outright release Cutler, which only helps their leverage. And remember, the Bears can still trade Cutler after March 12, when $10 million for 2016 becomes fully guaranteed. A team trading for the quarterback is assuming that guaranteed money anyway, so the date doesn’t matter. If you’ve read or heard somewhere else that a trade will be “impossible” after March 12, you’ve read or heard wrong information.
– One option the Bears have to facilitate a Cutler trade is to restructure his contract and convert some of his remaining salary to a signing bonus. Cutler would have to agree to such a move, but he’d be getting more money up front, which not many players/human beings refuse. That money would then be charged to the Bears’ 2015 salary cap after a trade, but they have plenty of cap space right now and would be freeing up even more by trading Cutler and the rest of the contract that goes with him. Doing this would likely make him more attractive to other teams and get the Bears more in return.
– For what it’s worth, Joel Corry believes Cutler would currently return less than the two second round picks the Chiefs sent to San Francisco for Alex Smith, but more than the sixth round pick the Raiders sent to Houston for Matt Schaub.
– Like many I’ve talked to, Corry was surprised the Bears were able to trade Marshall because he thought the wide receiver would be released and available as a free agent. That’s a common sentiment around the league.
– Slauson, who missed the second half of last season because of a torn pectoral muscle, said he will be ready to go for the Bears’ first mini-camp, which takes place at Halas Hall April 28-30.
– Mundy is excited to get back to playing in a 3-4 defense. “I was smiling from ear-to-ear (when Vic Fangio was hired) because I’m a 3-4 guy. I spent five years in Pittsburgh and that’s all we ran.”
– Check this out: Mundy is among about 40 current and former NFL players working to earn an MBA in the offseason. He is part of a program at the University of Miami (Fla.) designed primarily for professional artists and athletes. Classes run in six two-week chunks spread over 18 months to accommodate the NFL schedule. Other notable names enrolled in the program include Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Shaun Phillips and Derrick Morgan.
“We all have the common goal of making sure that when the game of football passes us by, we’re prepared to move on,” Mundy said.
Adam Hoge covers the Chicago Bears for WGN Radio and WGNRadio.com. He also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.