The legal tampering period for clubs to start entering into contract negotiations with the agents of players from other teams set to become unrestricted free agents (players without an agent can negotiate for themselves as well) doesn't begin until this Monday, March 9, at noon Eastern. And contracts from those negotiations can't be officially signed until the new league year begins this Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Chargers got a head start in replacing retired center Bradley Bozeman, inking Tyler Biadasz to a three-year, $30 million contract on Friday. As one would imagine, given Bozeman's struggles this past year, many of the initial reactions focused on how Biadasz is undoubtedly an upgrade for the Bolts in the middle of the offensive line, which was, as a whole, easily the Chargers' biggest weakness during the 2025 campaign.
Many other reactions, however, were those asking exactly how the Chargers could pull off a such a signing. After all, as you saw above, the big free agency tampering period isn't supposed to start until Monday. And the answer to that question is actually quite simple.
The Chargers were able to sign Tyler Biadasz because he'd already been released by the Commanders
Over the last few weeks, you've undoubtedly seen several teams across the league cutting players for salary-cap purposes. The vast majority of those players, however, won't technically be released until the new league year begins.
In the case of Biadasz, though, he was officially released by the Washington Commanders this past Tuesday, thus making the six-year veteran what's known as a "street" free agent. As such, the 28-year-old was free to sign with any team.
See, it really is that simple. Washington certainly could've waited to release Biadasz, but the organization simply felt it was in its best interest to just get it out of the way immediately.
And the Commanders' loss is certainly the Chargers' gain. Even had Bozeman not retired, the Bolts likely would have released him, as the 31-year-old's 51.7 overall PFF grade this past year ranked dead last among 40 qualifying centers.
Biadasz, on the other hand, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before playing the last two in the nation's capital, earned an overall mark of 70.7, thus ranking 11th among all players at his position.
The Chargers, of course, have plenty of other big decisions to make come Monday, but knocking out this piece of the puzzle early was a big step in improving the overall roster.