When it comes to NFL free agency, nothing is official until a contract is actually signed and the Jacksonville Jaguars found that out the hard way on Monday.
The unofficial start of free agency is known as the 'legal tampering period' and during that time, players can talk to teams and reach an agreement on a deal, but they can't sign it until free agency officially starts on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Until then, every deal is essentially a handshake agreement and any player (or team) can back out of a contract, which is exactly what Wil Lutz did with the Jaguars.
After spending the 2023 season in Denver, it looked like Lutz was going to move on to Jacksonville for the upcoming season, but nope.
Here's a breakdown of the bizarre situation that took place between Lutz and the Jags on Monday.
At 2:18 p.m. ET, it was reported that Lutz had agreed to a THREE-YEAR deal with Jacksonville.
Kicker news: The #Jaguars are signing former #Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, sources say. He gets a 3-year deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2024
Less than three hours after agreeing to the deal, Lutz had a change of heart. At 5:04 p.m. ET, it was reported that he was going to stay in Denver and kick for the Broncos in 2024.
First free-agent change: Kicker Will Lutz, who agreed to terms earlier in the day with Jacksonville, changed his mind and is remaining in Denver. Broncos get back their kicker, Jaguars now need one. pic.twitter.com/g7joMDg2QP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
It took Lutz two hours and 46 minutes to decide that he didn't actually want to play for the Jaguars.
The veteran kicker has been in the NFL for eight seasons and seven of those have come with Sean Payton as his head coach and the chance to stick with Payton definitely played a factor in his decision, according to his agent, John Perla.
"Wil had a tremendous sense of loyalty to a guy (Payton) who had really helped him in his career," Perla told 9News.com. "The Broncos were able to make it work so that Wil had a change in direction. Now he can continue what he's done with the team there and continue to work in the community there. It was quite a day."
According to 9 News, the Broncos gave Lutz a two-year deal.
Although we don't know the contract numbers in Lutz's deal yet, the Broncos probably made a slight raise to their original offer in an effort to keep Lutz. As for the Jaguars, they still don't have a kicker, but they do have a few options in free agency, including Nick Folk, Joey Slye and Greg Joseph.
