In theory, no deals between impending free agents and new teams can be reached before the start of free agency. As a practical matter, plenty of players and their agents already know where a guy is heading.
For running back C.J. Spiller, that’s not the case. Per a league source, the plan was and is to wait it out. Spiller’s camp believed that the running back market would be better than expected and, so far, Spiller’s camp has been proven right.
The next domino to fall likely will be DeMarco Murray. With the Bills coughing up $16 million in 2015 dollars for McCoy (on a five-year deal that averages $8 million per year), someone will be offering Murray plenty of money to come play for them. That contract will further define Spiller’s market.
It also will potentially create a home for Spiller in Dallas, if the Cowboys do indeed make him their Plan B in the event DeMarco bolts.
Either way, the passage of time isn’t making guys like Spiller likely to get less money. Patience will be to his benefit -- as long as he knows when the time is right to do a deal. When it comes to free agency, excessive patience results in the available dollars being spent and the player signing a one-year deal in the hopes of getting a Mulligan the following year.