Gardner, the draft, and Trade Rumours: What's your theory?

The way RFA, UFA's and EFA's (Exclusive free agent's work) is part of the collective bargaining agreement.

A player with two or less years of experience is an EFA and can only resign with his current team if they make him a tender. If an EFA is not tendered he becomes a UFA.

An RFA is a player with three years of exp. - This is why agents seek three year contracts for lower round draftees. As a result of Dan the Man's RFA raiding last year, club's are beginning to seek longer term contract's for the second, third and fourth round draftees.

If a player has four years of exp or more, he becomes unrestricted and free to negoatiate with any team. Occasionally, an RFA is unhappy with his tender offer and will sit out most of the season. He then rejoins in time to play six regular season games to get credit for a fourth season (you must be on the roster for six games to get credit for the season - I am not sure how being on IR applies). Then the player becomes an UFA and is free to leave with no compensation. Miami's DE Ogunluwe and (I think I spelled that right) Cleveland's WR Northcutt are apparently thinking of taking this route.

The only way to get compensation for a UFA is to franchise them. As Buffalo did with Peerless price last year.

Saying we are not going to trade is kind of like giving a Coach the Vote of Confidence just before he is fired! I would have liked to fire Norv two to three years earlier!

could we tag Gardner next year, if needed, but make it so a team didn't have to give up 2 first round picks or is that rule set in stone?

You can tag and trade. Again, that's what Atlanta did with Peerless last year - they took a single first rounder. This scenario depends on the player working out a new deal with the new team (or the current team and then the contract is traded - I don't remember which).

Cincinati did this with us when we got Dan Wilkinson several years back.

thanks for sorting that out 4 me joe. :thumb: