Seahawks Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson was at Sea-Tac Airport Thursday morning to pick up a friend. Like most free agents, he was nervous.
The start of free agency has been pushed back so many times, the anxiety level continues to grow. Though Hutchinson is a transition player, he's still free to travel and negotiate with other teams beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. Arguably, the start should be delayed even more because everyone (players, teams, agents, etc.) is still just studying the many changes in the new six-year collective bargaining agreement.
As Hutchinson sat in his car, he didn't realize a March 17 deadline for teams to sign their transition and franchise players had changed. Under the old agreement, teams had only until March 17 to sign their transition and franchise players to long-term deals. If they didn't get it done by then, they couldn't sign a long-term deal until July 15 or they would lose the ability to franchise or transition any player for the length of the contract. Now there is no restriction on when teams can sign their franchise and transition players to long-term contracts.
A lot of things have changed. Minimum salaries increased by $40,000 across the board. There are language issues in the contracts themselves that have to be sorted out. Teams can't insert language into contracts that retroactively takes back signing bonus money from past years for bad behavior or drug suspensions.
Nevertheless, free agency is set to begin -- finally.
Never have so few been so lucky. Considered perhaps the weakest free-agent class since those Plan B appetizers in the late 1980s (under Plan B free agency, teams were able to keep almost all of their free agents), the free-agent class of 2006 is operating at a time the cap has increased by $17.5 million. Teams have 20 percent more money to spend on 10 percent less product.
At least there won't be a big panic getting under the cap. Only five teams started Friday morning over the cap.
So let free agency begin. Here are the 10 things to watch:
1. Running men: Running back is clearly the strongest position. But backs better have good eyes or they will be tackled for big losses. Not many teams are looking for veteran running backs. Shaun Alexander, a patient runner who has been anxiously awaiting free agency for two years, didn't see big dollars coming from Arizona or other teams, so he re-signed with the Seahawks, inking an eight-year $62 million deal. Ahman Green stayed in Green Bay for an incentive-laden, one-year deal. DeShaun Foster was named a transition player by the Panthers and probably will stay in Carolina. Plus, he wants to stay there.
That leaves Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, Chester Taylor and Michael Bennett scrambling to please only a handful of teams that don't want to draft a running back. There is more of a chance for James to return to Indianapolis with the new CBA extension. Jacksonville and Baltimore also could be possibilities. Lewis could get action from the Broncos. Taylor and Bennett will get jobs but they aren't sure if they will get big money. Maurice Morris of the Seahawks is a sleeper in the group who could go to Minnesota.
2. Quarterback wind blowing: It's rare that a Pro Bowl quarterback like Drew Brees hits the open market, but he will. The problem is he's coming off shoulder surgery that involved repairing his rotator cuff. Indications are that Brees should be able to throw in minicamp in May, so he will land a good contract, but the shoulder is still a concern. He would seem to be a perfect fit in Miami, but the Dolphins have to worry about the Saints and a couple of other teams. The Saints are expected to release Aaron Brooks. But they also have the option of drafting Matt Leinart, so Brees may opt for a more secure starting job.
But after that, the list is thin. Josh McCown is an intriguing athlete and has good numbers behind him, but the Cardinals are letting him go after re-signing Kurt Warner. That has to say something. Jon Kitna is an attractive quarterback with starting experience and the Bengals are worried they won't be able to keep him. Jeff Garcia and Chris Weinke are among the next group. They could be headed to Minnesota if the Vikings trade Daunte Culpepper to the Raiders. Culpepper's heading to Oakland would also add Kerry Collins to the market.
3. Tackling free agency: The deepest position is defensive tackle. Already, two defensive tackles received contracts worth $3.5 million a year or more: Chris Hovan to stay with the Bucs and La'Roi Glover, who was signed by the Rams.
From Sam Adams to Ted Washington to Grady Jackson to Ryan Pickett to Lional Dalton to Maake Kemoeatu to Russell Davis to Kendrick Clancy, the list of run-stopping tackles is deep.
There are also some interesting tackles who fit three-technique schemes. Rocky Bernard is coming off an 8½-sack season on the Seahawks. Damione Lewis and Larry Tripplett are former high-round choices with athletic skills. The best prospect on the market is Gerard Warren of the Broncos, but they're scrambling to re-sign him Friday.
4. Lining up for money: Top dollars are going to be spent on linebackers. Reports are that Will Witherspoon of the Panthers will get more than $10 million to sign. Stars such as LaVar Arrington and Julian Peterson are out there. Everyone anticipates the Vikings will pay Ben Leber more than $4 million a year. The 49ers love the inside play of Brandon Moore and don't want to lose him after paying big dollars to keep Derek Smith. The Colts don't want to lose David Thornton, but they know it could be costly.
5. Leg up on free agency: Perhaps the biggest impact could come from kickers, of all places. Three impact kickers are available: Adam Vinatieri, Mike Vanderjagt and Ryan Longwell. Paul Edinger did a good job in Minnesota, but he doesn't have the name value of the top three. Vinatieri is perhaps the best clutch kicker in this era, and it's still surprising to see the Patriots let him hit the market. Vanderjagt's time ran out in Indianapolis and the Colts won't re-sign him. Longwell is a consistently good kicker who should draw top dollar.
6. Cornering the market: While there isn't a lot of depth, the cornerback market should move quickly. The Giants are in the process of replacing Will Allen with Sam Madison. Allen will draw some attention on the market, but not as much as Charles Woodson and Ty Law. Law made his demands clear. He wants $7 million a year and a $10 million signing bonus. He made the same demands a year ago and got $6 million from the Jets. He had 10 interceptions and went to the Pro Bowl despite not being able to train at full speed last offseason because of a major foot injury. Imagine what he can do with an entire offseason to prepare. But after that, the list gets thin. Deshea Townsend has experience on winning teams, but he's 31. R.W. McQuarters was once a big name, but he's now falling into backup roles.
7. End game: The defensive end crop is a little better than expected if you include John Abraham of the Jets, who will probably go to the Broncos or Falcons in a trade. Darren Howard and Aaron Kampman should easily get more than $4 million a year after seeing that type of contract go to Orpheus Roye of the Browns, Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Titans and Raheem Brock of the Colts. The Packers are trying feverishly to keep Kampman in Green Bay.
8. Restricted area: The restricted market should be dead. With a number of teams entering free agency with more than $10 million of cap room, what team is going to be crazy enough to waste seven days to sign a restricted free agent if it thinks the other team is going to match? Teams normally stay away from the dozen or so restricted free agents with first-round tenders. This year, it's probably a waste of time to give a tender to a restricted free agent for low draft choice compensation. The teams that have the seven days to match will just thank the other teams for tendering a long-term deal and eat up some of their own cap room. Still, a few names such as kicker Josh Brown of the Seahawks, Nate Burleson of the Vikings and Ricky Manning Jr. of the Panthers might draw interest.
9. Big money: Big money will be going to the top offensive linemen. The Eagles could make center LeCharles Bentley a $6 million-a-year interior lineman. That should get Hutchinson into the $6.2 million to $6.3 million market. The left tackles will move quickly. Some think that Kevin Shaffer of the Falcons could get $6 million a year to fix a team's left tackle needs. Fellow left tackle L.J. Shelton of the Browns is trying to talk the team into a big contract. Jon Runyan is still a nasty right tackle with attitude. The Cardinals are looking at the low price market, going after Kyle Kosier and Milford Brown. Things are pretty thin at guard, so the Patriots may worry about losing Stephen Neal.
10. Not a great catch: The weirdest position is wide receiver. It's weak in the draft. It's weak in free agency. Antwaan Randle El is probably the top name among the unrestricted receivers, and he could get one of the best contracts. But he's considered a very good No. 2. The Bills have to decide Friday whether to cut Eric Moulds. If he's cut, he will be an interesting name to follow. The Seahawks are trying to re-sign Joe Jurevicius before free agency starts. David Givens, Antonio Bryant, Josh Reed, Koren Robinson and Dez White head the next wave of candidates.
John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.