With the Eagles reportedly poised to sign quarterback Vince Young to a one-year deal as soon as tonight, there’s some confusion as to whether the Eagles complied with applicable rules by talking to him before 4:00 p.m. ET today.
Last night, Adam Schefter of ESPN said via Twitter that Young is still “on waivers” and that he can’t talk to any other team until he “clears waivers.”
“Clearing waivers” means that every team would have a crack at claiming him, from worst record to best, before he would be available to sign with any team he chooses.
And that confused me, which normally isn’t hard but becomes even easier when I’m on four straight nights of four hours of sleep. Young has five years of service; the threshold for avoiding waivers is four years. Thus, he’d ordinarily not be subject to waivers unless and until he’s released after the trade deadline.
It’s possible that Young and all other vested veterans must pass through waivers because the 2011 League Year has not yet started. But the Transition Rules for the 2011 League Year expressly state that, as of 4:01 p.m. ET on July 28, teams may “waive or terminate Player Contracts.” The presence of the word “terminate” implies that those players whose contracts can be “terminated” and not “waived” would not be subject to “waivers.”
Schefter then explained that Young isn’t fair game for other teams until he appears on the league’s “waiver wire” (i.e., transaction report) on Friday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
We’ve sent an e-mail to the league office asking for clarification. The fact that the Eagles possibly committed a fairly clear violation of the rules, which is what Schefter is implying, by contacting Young before 4:00 p.m. today makes the issue intriguing. But we’ve got a feeling that the league will find that there was and is no violation.
And even if Young somehow must clear waivers, no one will pick up his contract, because doing so would require the new team to pay Young the $4.25 million roster bonus that the Titans avoided paying by cutting him.
