Starting at 9 PM on Friday night, teams could officially begin negotiating with the agents of free agent players. On Tuesday at 1 PM, teams can begin having contact with the free agents themselves, including visits to team facilities. This agent negotiation window is new and, it seems, the first night was very uneventful.
A few rumors went out, but that is really all that they were -- rumors. The biggest San Francisco 49ers free agent, and perhaps the best safety on the free agent market, is Dashon Goldson. Goldson, who the 49ers declined to franchise at the one-year price of $7.45 million, will become available to the highest bidder on Tuesday. No one expects the 49ers to overpay for Goldson and few expect that he will return to his former team, but you never know.
Goldson's agent is rumored to have already been contacted by the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals.
Another rumor is that the 49ers had contacted the agent of wide receiver Wes Welker. Welker is expected to return to the New England Patriots and is even said to already have a contract "on the table."
Another rumor that surfaced today is the 49ers' interest in cornerback Sean Smith, which would make sense given the team's desire to improve the pass defense -- especially if the team were to lose Goldson.