NFL free agency officially opens on Wednesday, March 12, and news is already coming thick and fast.
From noon eastern time on Monday, teams are permitted to contact and begin negotiating with the agents of players who are unrestricted free agents in what is known as the legal tampering period.
That will end at 4pm ET on March 12 – which is when the NFL free agency signing period officially begins – and all of the reported contracts agreed from Monday become official.
Fans will no doubt be glued to social feeds as the drama unfolds, with many journalists using their platforms on X to break news of any deals.
But on Sunday night, just hours prior to the legal tampering period, a report from The Athletic’s NFL Insider Dianna Russini sparked speculation that one team may have already made premature contact with a player.
Taking to X, she wrote that New York Jets offensive tackle Morgan Moses is expected to hit free agency after failing to come to an agreement on a new contract, and shared a picture of the 34-year-old veteran.
While the post – and story – appeared innocent enough, it was not the first draft posted.
In the initial post, which was quickly deleted, Russini included a New England Patriots logo next to Moses’ name, which her followers quickly picked up on.
The template she initially shared was similar to one that she used to report on the Pittsburgh Steelers trade with the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf.
That news, unlike the Moses leak, has been widely reported and has been shared by ESPN, the Associated Press and the NFL, as well as The Athletic.
Russini’s deleted post caused quite a stir, with some fans speculating that Moses and the Patriots have already agreed a deal ahead of the legal tampering period.
However, the reporter has since provided an explanation for the graphic.
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She told Awful Announcing it was a ‘bad mistake’ by her graphics team that occurred because the Patriots logo and NFL logo are listed close together alphabetically in their graphics software.
But the mistake was amplified when Russini, shortly after the incorrect graphic was posted on X, reported the Patriots as one of four teams interested in signing Moses.
“The teams expected to show interest are the Commanders, Chiefs, Bengals, and Patriots,” she wrote, quoting her correct graphic.
While it appears an innocent error, if Moses does end up in New England during the early stages of free agency, some will view Russini’s first post as an indicator that discussions may have taken place before they were allowed.
Last year, the Atlanta Falcons were stripped of a fifth-round pick in the 2025 Draft for violating the NFL’s anti-tampering rules prior to signing quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner in free agency.
The team were also fined $250,000, while general manager Terry Fontenot was fined $50,000.
At his introductory news conference, Cousins indicated he spoke to Atlanta’s medical staff before they were permitted to have contact, sparking an investigation.
The league has cracked down on tampering recent years, with the Miami Dolphins also receiving a severe penalty in 2022.
Miami forfeited a first-round draft pick and a third-round selection for tampering with Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton.
Owner Stephen Ross also received a suspension and was fined $1.5million, while executive Bruce Beal was fined $500,000.
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