Last week news broke that the Ravens had applied the UFA Tender on free agent LB Justin Houston. This tender is rarely used and is pretty much unknown to most fans. In fact, it has only been used a few times over the past decade.
The UFA Tender, which must be applied by the first Monday of May, basically does three (3) things:
1. Houston would only be able to play for the Ravens if he remains unsigned by July 22nd. After that date, the Ravens would have exclusive negotiating rights with Houston and he would be barred from signing elsewhere.