The May 12 threshold has arrived in the NFL making remaining unrestricted free agents that much more unrestricted.
What do we mean by that? Well, any player that remains an unrestricted free agent due to their contracts expiring with their team in March is now free to sign with another franchise without the signing counting into the equation for determining compensatory draft picks.
Does that really matter? To some teams, yes. Baltimore has been very conscious about getting compensatory draft picks under Ozzie Newsome. While the best free agents on the market will be scooped up in the early free agent frenzy regardless of how it factors into compensatory picks, once it gets to this point in the offseason it’s easier for teams to wait until after the deadline has passed to sign remaining free agents without the threat of losing draft picks next year.
There are 147 players that could now benefit from the change. The list is included below:
Arizona Cardinals
LB Jason Babin
LB Dwight Freeney
LS Mike Leach (announced retirement)
CB Jerraud Powers
C Lyle Sendlein
OLB LaMarr Woodley
Atlanta Falcons
CB Phillip Adams
DE Kroy Biermann
K Shayne Graham
OT Jake Long
TE Tony Moeaki
LB O’Brien Schofield
Baltimore Ravens
DE Chris Canty
QB Jimmy Clausen
TE Allen Reisner
Buffalo Bills
DE Alex Carrington
WR Percy Harvin (announced retirement)
QB Josh Johnson
Carolina Panthers
WR Jerricho Cotchery
CB Cortland Finnegan
G Tyronne Green
S Roman Harper
G Amini Silatolu
CB Charles Tillman
Chicago Bears
CB Alan Ball
G Vladimir Ducasse
S Sherrod Martin
C Will Montgomery
S Ryan Mundy
Cincinnati Bengals
CB Leon Hall
Dallas Cowboys
FB Tyler Clutts
DE Greg Hardy
DT Nick Hayden
S Danny McCray
DE Jeremy Mincey
Denver Broncos
S Ryan Bush
OT Tyler Polumbus (announced retirement)
DE Antonio Smith
WR Kyle Williams
Detroit Lions
DT Jermelle Cudjo
S James Ihedigbo
DE Jason Jones
WR Lance Moore
TE Bear Pascoe
DE Darryl Tapp
CB Josh Wilson
DE Corey Wootton
Green Bay Packers
LS Brett Goode
WR James Jones
FB John Kuhn
LB Mike Neal
TE Andrew Quarless
NT B.J. Raji
S Sean Richardson
Houston Texans
RB Chris Polk
QB T.J. Yates
Indianapolis Colts
RB Ahmad Bradshaw
QB Matt Hasselbeck (announced retirement)
G Lance Louis
QB Charlie Whitehurst
DT Billy Winn
Jacksonville Jaguars
RB Bernard Pierce
Kansas City Chiefs
S Husain Abdullah (announced retirement)
WR Jason Avant
DE Mike Devito
LB Dezman Moses
Los Angeles Rams
WR Wes Welker
Miami Dolphins
S Louis Delmas
G Shelley Smith
Minnesota Vikings
LB Casey Matthews
LB Jason Trusnick
New England Patriots
CB Tarell Brown
WR Brandon Gibson
RB Steven Jackson
LB Jerod Mayo (announced retirement)
LB Dekoda Watson
C Ryan Wendell
New Orleans Saints
LB James Anderson
QB Matt Flynn
OT Tony Hills
RB Kendall Hunter
G Mike McGlynn
CB Christopher Owens
DT Kevin Williams
New York Giants
LS Danny Aiken
NT Barry Cofield
S Craig Dahl
TE Daniel Fells
CB Jayron Hosley
DE Cullen Jenkins
CB Trumaine McBride
S Brandon Meriweather
G Brandon Mosley
WR Hakeem Nicks
C Dallas Reynolds
DE George Selvie
New York Jets
DE Stephen Bowen
K Randy Bullock
G Willie Colon
DE Leger Douzable
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
S Jaiquawn Jarrett
LB Jamari Lattimore
WR Chris Owusu
LB Calvin Pace
Oakland Raiders
S Larry Asante
OT Khalif Barnes
LS Thomas Gafford
DE Justin Tuck (announced retirement)
S Charles Woodson (announced retirement)
Philadelphia Eagles
WR Seyi Ajirotutu
S Walter Thurmond (expected to retire)
Pittsburgh Steelers
S Will Allen
DE Clifton Geathers
C Doug Legursky
DE Cam Thomas
QB Michael Vick
San Diego Chargers
WR Malcom Floyd (announced retirement)
TE David Johnson
OT Jeff Linkenbach
LB Joe Mays
TE John Phillips
CB Cassius Vaughn
C J.D. Walton
San Francisco 49ers
WR Anquan Boldin
RB Reggie Bush
Seattle Seahawks
RB Bryce Brown
TE Chase Coffman
DE Demarcus Dobbs
RB Fred Jackson
QB Tarvaris Jackson
C Lemuel Jeanpierre
TE Anthony McCoy
FB Will Tukuafu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
DT Da’Quan Bowers
DE Larry English
CB Mike Jenkins
DT Tony McDaniel
DT Henry Melton
Tennessee Titans
TE Dorin Dickerson
CB Brandon Harris
NT Sammie Lee Hill
OT Jamon Meredith
Washington Redskins
TE Alex Smith
RB Pierre Thomas
CB Cary Williams
RB Darryl Young