The NFL lockout is expected today and free agency could begin on Tuesday, reports ESPN's Adam Schefter. This seems to be an odd development, given other reports over the last few days that had free agency beginning several days after the new agreement's approval.
Schefter reports that teams could start to re-sign their own impending free agents on Monday afternoon and that they could talk with unrestricted free agents at that time as well. Players could then sign on Tuesday afternoon. Trades could be discussed also, but they wouldn't become official until Saturday. Any new contracts signed wouldn't go in effect until Aug. 2.
The Aug. 2 date is important because that would be the start of the 2011 league year. But first we'll need the NFLPA to make its announcement about accepting the deal. That is expected to come sometime between 10 a.m. MT and 12 p.m. MT.
Stick with this StoryStream for NFL lockout news.