NFL Free Agency 2015: Legal tampering period begins

The unofficial start of 2015 NFL free agency begins today, Saturday March 7, at 12:00 PM EST.  For the third year in a row, in an attempt to curb all the illegal tampering that goes on before free agency, the NFL has decided to make it legal. Actual NFL free agency does not officially begin until Tuesday, March 10 at 4:00 PM EST, but a "negotiating period" or "legal tampering" as it's come to be known begins today at noon.

Here are the important things to know regarding this 3-day negotiating window:

• Agents can negotiate numbers, but not actually sign a deal
• Teams can talk to agents, not the player
• Players can't visit other teams (except their own)
• Only applies to UFAs, not RFAs or ERFAs
• Starts today at 12 PM EST and ends when FA starts on Tuesday at 4 PM EST

...

It appears the Philadelphia Eagles will enter the legal tampering period without a new contract for impending free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. There's still time for him to be re-signed by Tuesday, but as of noon his agent (Tom Condon) can start listening to offers from other teams. The same goes for impending pass rusher Brandon Graham and other Eagles players who are scheduled to be free agents.

On the flip side, the Eagles can start talking to the agents of potential free agent targets such as cornerback Byron Maxwell, safety Devin McCourty, outside linebacker Jason Worilds, and many more. The Birds have a lot of cap space to spend and they're expected to make use of it.

...

Read BGN's extremely informative NFL free agency primer to get you geared up for this week. Check out BGN's rumor tracker for all the latest news.

Use this open thread to discuss any rumors or reports you may see. BGN will have the biggest stories covered here at the site.