BuffaLowDown
Fansided

Charles Clay Leaves Buffalo Without An Offer Sheet

By Dennis Amo

facebooktwitterreddit

Charles Clay was currently on a visit to the Buffalo Bills as his first stop on free agency.  Clay was tagged as a transition player, which means that an offer is on the table from the Miami Dolphins, but Charles Clay is free to head out into the free agency world and see if there is anything that might just be a bit better than the offer the Miami Dolphins have extended.  

More from Buffalo Bills News

Charles Clay is leaving the Buffalo Bills and heading on to the Cleveland Browns to visit with them and see what they have to offer in terms of financial stability.

Below is the right to first refusal for players that have the transition tag applied to them.

"According to Article 10, Section 5 of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Dolphins would have just five days to match any offer sheet that Clay might sign. Here’s the language straight from the CBA below.Section 5. Right of First Refusal for Transition Players: Any player designated as a Transition Player shall, at the expiration of his prior year Player Contract, be permitted to negotiate a Player Contract with any Club. When the Transition Player negotiates such an offer with a New Club, which the player desires to accept, he shall give to the Prior Club a completed Offer Sheet, signed by the player and the New Club, which shall contain the Principal Terms (as defined in Article 9) of the New Club’s offer. The Prior Club, within five (5) days from the date it receives the Offer Sheet, may exercise or not exercise its Right of First Refusal, which shall have the consequences set forth in Sections 3(b)-(h), 4 and 6 of Article 9 above, except that no Draft Choice Compensation shall be made with respect to such player, and, for the purposes of those provisions, the player and each Club shall otherwise have the same rights and obligations as for a Restricted Free Agent.– BuffaloBills.com"

Even though Charles Clay has left the Buffalo Bills without a signed offer sheet, does not mean that it is over yet.  If a player that is tagged with the transition sticker and they sign and offer sheet from a team, they are not allowed to go to another team and visit to see what offer they may have.  It is understandable that Charles Clay is visiting with another team to see if the Buffalo Bills are the best offer that is out their.

Even if Charles Clay comes back and signs the offer sheet that the Buffalo Bills provide him, the Miami Dolphins will still have a chance to sign or decline his services with the offer that the Buffalo Bills have given him.  There is still a possibility the Miami will be able to match whatever offer comes down the pipe on Clay, even with the signing of Ndamukong Suh.

Next: Buffalo Bills Extend Kyle Williams

More from BuffaLowDown

Home/Buffalo Bills News