Don't overlook restricted free agency during the NFL's busy offseason.
A restricted free agent is a player with an expired contract who has played at least three seasons in the league and received a qualifying offer from his team. Typically, they're either formerly undrafted players or draft picks who were released and later signed by either another team or the one that first selected them.
Once a player's contract expires, his team can extend one of three qualifying offers: a first-round tender, a second-round tender or an original-round tender (the round in which the player was originally selected).