"Even with a work stoppage looming tonight in the National Football League, the Rams are proceeding — at least for now — in a business-as-usual fashion. To wit, the team has made one-year tender offers to eight potential restricted free agents. Tight end Daniel Fells, defensive tackle Gary Gibson and offensive tackle Renardo Foster were tendered at a right of first refusal level. None of the three players were drafted, so the Rams have matching rights on any outside offers. But they would not get draft pick compensation if the players received a contract offer from another club and the Rams decided not to match that offer. Meanwhile, linebacker Chris Chamberlain, offensive guard John Greco, cornerback Justin King, wide receiver Laurent Robinson and linebacker David Vobora were tendered at their original draft position level. That means the Rams would get draft pick compensation equal to those players' original draft position if they got a contract offer from another team and the Rams decided not to match. Greco and Robinson were drafted in the third round; King in the fourth; and Chamberlain and Vobora in the seventh. In the case of Fells, Gibson and Robinson, the tender offers may end up being a case of meaningless paperwork. Those three players have four years or more of NFL experience. In a normal year, they would be eligible for unrestricted free agency, meaning they could sign with another team, no strings attached. But last offseason, because it was a year with no salary cap, the minimum experience required to be eligible for unrestricted free agency was pushed up to six years. So under last year's rules Fells, Gibson and Robinson reverted back to restricted status — none of them have six years experience. The Rams filed the tender offers as if last year's rules were in place. However, it's expected that whenever a new labor agreement is reached, the eligibility requirements for unrestricted free agency will go back to four years, meaning Fells, Gibson and Robinson would then become unrestricted." Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_41b8ad13-a63a-5465-a47d-b8a2ca83cd45.html
