You may have seen a report or two on Sunday or Monday that the Bills already had commenced preliminary talks with receiver Jeremy Maclin. Unless said reports were spilling the Arabica beans regarding tampering, they were incorrect.
No other team was allowed to speak to Maclin until 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, when his release from the Chiefs became official.
Although the Chiefs announced the move on Friday, the release came after the business day had ended. With no new business in the league permitted until Monday, Maclin couldn’t be officially released until Monday. And he couldn’t be officially or unofficially contacted by an interested team until after the transaction becomes official at 4:00 p.m. ET on the day it occurred.
Regardless of what did (or didn’t) happen before Monday at 4:00 p.m. ET, it’s now open season for Maclin, with the Bills and all other teams able to talk to him about continuing his career with their team.