Let the NFL legal tampering period begin

Saturday will be a busy day for many NFL teams.

The legal tampering period is underway, meaning teams can now negotiate and discuss deals with agents. No deal can be signed until Tuesday at 4 p.m., of course, but parameters of a contract can be put together so that a player can quickly agree once the new league year begins.

For the Ravens, there probably won't be any major splashes when free agency opens up.

The Ravens rely heavily on their compensatory pick system, meaning they're willing to let high-priced free agents go. In return, they often only sign cap casualty guys in order to accrue those extra picks in the draft. Therefore, you'd likely see the Ravens more interested in guys like Cary Williams or Andre Johnson (assuming he is inevitably released) than guys like Antrel Rolle or Jeremy Maclin.

Could the Ravens make a splash this year? It's possible. Just don't bet on it as history shows the Ravens are more concerned with bringing back their own guys they can afford, finding the top cap casualty players available and letting their losses turn into additional draft picks.

So during this legal tampering period, expect the Ravens to continue hashing out restructure/pay-cut deals with Haloti Ngata and Lardarius Webb instead of contacting numerous agents of soon-to-be available players.