NFL teams are continuously building and tweaking their rosters throughout the year, but there are two short bursts during the offseason that can largely determine what those rosters will look like. The first is about a four- or five-day stretch during free agency; the second comes on Days 1, 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft.
Starting Monday, that first burst will be underway. It'll run roughly through Thursday or Friday, when the league's annual deluge of signings tapers off to a trickle for the next few weeks.
**What, exactly, will the timing of free agency look like?**
Beginning at noon on Monday, March 10 and running through 3:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, agents for impending unrestricted free agents can enter negotiations and agree to contracts with other teams. This is sometimes colloquially known as the "legal tampering" window.
Prior to noon on Monday, impending unrestricted free agents are only permitted to discuss contract terms with the club for which they played in the previous season.
Once the new league year begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, those contracts that were agreed to during the negotiation period can be signed. There have been instances of free agents agreeing to a contract during the negotiation window and changing their minds at the last second, so it's important to remember that nothing can be finalized until 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The same goes for trades; those can be agreed to prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday but not executed until after.
Players who are re-signing with their clubs can execute those contracts at any point before or after 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Generally, by the Thursday or Friday of the first week of free agency, things slow down quite a bit. That's because teams usually do most of their shopping before 4 p.m. Wednesday; players who are left are often seasoned veterans willing to wait to find the right fit by visiting teams over the next few weeks.
**Who are the Colts' impending unrestricted free agents?**
NFL.com put four Colts players in its [top 101 free agent rankings for 2025](https://www.nfl.com/news/top-101-nfl-free-agents-of-2025-who-are-the-best-players-available): G Will Fries (No. 19), DE Dayo Odeyingbo (No. 38), C Ryan Kelly (No. 70) and S Julian Blackmon (No. 83).
In total, the Colts have 18 players set to become unrestricted free agents in 2025. The full list: