Only tight end Eric Green of Pittsburgh and nose tackle Henry Thomas of Minnesota were added to the NFL's list of "franchise players" as teams began the maneuvering for the second year of free agency.
Leaguewide, 31 new players were protected, most of them young ones in whom teams have decided to invest their future. The NFL was still scrutinizing the full list of protected players Wednesday before releasing it.But only two were "the franchise." That means just 12 of 28 teams have designated franchise players in the two years of free agency.
The others were "transition" players, who are allowed to solicit offer sheets, but must give their old teams the right of first refusal. They must be paid among the top 10 players at their positions.
Being the franchise player, who must be paid among the top five players at his position, isn't always a good thing. It's done as much for strategic reasons than anything else - the Vikings chose Thomas over guard Randall McDaniel, already a transition player, because they felt McDaniel, who just built a new home in Minnesota, wants to stay.
So the Vikings can make Thomas a qualifying offer of $2.37 million to keep him and get two first-round draft choices if he chooses to leave.
"The Vikings won't appreciate me using this word, but this is treachery," said agent Jeff Durand, who plans to seek at least $3.2 million for Thomas. "No team will be willing to give up two first-round picks. Henry feels like he's being manipulated."
Indeed, much of this week's activity is manipulation and maneuvering.
Many teams looked to the future - four players who were rookies last year were protected.
Defensive end Eric Curry of Tampa Bay, cornerback Tom Carter of Washington, center Steve Everitt of Cleveland and offensive tackle William Roaf of New Orleans were named transition players although all have from two to four years left on their contracts and can't become true free agents for three years.
In fact, the list of protected players is a good guide to the NFL's coming stars.
The oldest player protected is offensive tackle Will Wolford of Indianapolis, who will turn 30 in May and who has a contract that requires him to play two more seasons with the Colts. Wolford was a transition player who left the Bills last year for a complicated deal with Indianapolis that Buffalo was unable to match.
Otherwise, teams tended to ensure that they would keep their good young players, particularly in the first year of the new salary cap, where many teams will have to divest themselves of highly paid aging veterans.
For example, Denver last week declined to exercise the option of Pro Bowl linebacker Karl Mecklenburg at $1.4 million. That means that Mecklenburg, a 12-year veteran who will be 34 on Sept. 1, can stay with the Broncos for less money - perhaps $500,000 - or try to get more elsewhere.
He's likely to be only the first in a long line of veterans asked to take pay cuts to allow teams to fit under the cap.