Free-agent deals aren’t yet official
Tom Brady preparing to trade the red, white and blue threads of this century’s most successful franchise for one of the NFL’s bottom feeders served as the highlight of a topsy-turvy start to the league’s new year Wednesday.
Brady, 42, will take his six rings from his unparalleled 20-year reign in New England to Tampa, where the Buccaneers have sat out the playoffs every season since 2007.
During that time, Brady has won 18 playoff games and half of his record-tying six Super Bowls.
Like the rest of everyday life that’s been upended by the new coronavirus pandemic, the start of free agency was anything but normal, with Brady’s deal and most every other one in semi-limbo.
Free agent contracts and trades agreed upon in recent days or weeks won’t become official until players can undergo physicals and sign their new deals — meaning they aren’t being paid under their new deals. The NFL has barred travel to team facilities by free agents and also has banned team personnel from traveling to meet with players as a safeguard against the new coronavirus.
Several people familiar with a memo the league sent to the 32 teams on Tuesday night tell The Associated Press that while teams can announce reaching agreements with free agents or concluding trades, nothing is official. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been made public by the NFL or the teams.
Although information on dozens of contract agreements and a slew of trades has been leaked, teams were not allowed to complete the deals until the 3 p.m. CDT Wednesday start of the 2020 NFL business year. However, all of those transactions now come with the caveat that the signings and physicals need to occur.
Of course, if a club drafts a contract and sends it digitally to a player, he can sign it remotely and send it back to the team. Then teams must submit it to the league and that would constitute official signing. But few, if any, teams would be willing to do that without conducting a physical.
Players can undergo physicals locally, but many teams have expressed being uncomfortable with such an arrangement.
A.J. Bouye, whom Denver acquired from Jacksonville two weeks ago and who took his physical in Denver before the coronavirus pandemic brought daily life across the globe to a near standstill, said he’s working out on his own and will reach out to his new teammates remotely.
“They could always get my number. I could reach out to them through social media,” Bouye said Wednesday, adding, “One thing about it, I’m just focused more on working out also. I have everything set up at home [in Atlanta]. My trainer is with me, so I’m definitely good with that.”
Among the players moving in free agency in one of the busiest years of action are such stars as Brady, Philip Rivers and Jason Witten.
While they certainly can afford to wait for everything to become official, it’s a strange dynamic in what, of course, is a strange time.
The NFL has delayed the offseason schedule of practices amid the uncertainty — meetings and organized team activities (OTAs) would have begun in April. Becoming familiar with new surroundings, teammates and coaching staffs for the likes of veterans Brady, Rivers and Witten — who collectively spent 52 years with their original teams — and the dozens of other players changing addressed must wait.
Several of Brady’s ex-teammates are also leaving Foxborough and many of them are reuniting with former Patriots assistants Matt Patricia in Detroit and Brian Flores in Miami.
Linebacker Jamie Collins (three years, $30 million) and defensive tackle Danny Shelton (two years, $8 million) are headed to Detroit, which also acquired safety Duron Harmon from the Patriots. Linebacker Elandon Roberts is expected to follow linebacker Kyle Van Noy (four years, $51 million) and O-lineman Ted Karras to the Dolphins.