Welcome to NFL free agency.
The league’s legal tampering period began at noon ET on Monday, meaning teams now are permitted to negotiate with external free agents’ representatives and agree to terms on signings and trades. Those moves can’t be finalized until 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, but expect most of the notable names to be locked up by then.
The New England Patriots already re-signed several of their own free agents in recent weeks, re-upping special teams captain Matthew Slater, offensive tackle Conor McDermott, center/guard James Ferentz and linebacker Raekwon McMillan. They also lost longtime safety Devin McCourty to retirement and cut punter Jake Bailey.