The NFL’s free-agency period does not start officially until 3 p.m. Wednesday, but the fun — not to mention the rumors and speculation — will begin at 11 a.m. Monday.
That’s the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period, the time when teams can begin negotiating all aspects of a pending free agent’s contract with his representative or agent. That means both sides can discuss numbers and terms of a potential contract but cannot finalize them before the new league year begins Wednesday.
As it stands, the Chiefs have a number of a key players whose agents should be busy, including a pair of longtime team icons — 33-year-old inside linebacker Derrick Johnson and 32-year-old outside linebacker Tamba Hali — and three key starters in defensive tackle Jaye Howard, cornerback Sean Smith and offensive guard Jeff Allen.