NFL teams aren't allowed to sign any undrafted free agents until Tuesday morning, but negotiations are already well underway with this year's crop of UDFAs. Teams are in talks with free agents, and while nothing will be made official until Tuesday, verbal agreements are being made.
The Detroit Lions' first verbal agreement appears to be with former Alabama tight end Preston Dial. According to BamaOnLine, Dial tweeted that he has "verbally" committed to the Lions, so this sort of feels like high school recruiting right now. Signing day isn't until Tuesday, but Dial is set to join the Lions.
At Alabama, Dial had 25 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns in 2010. In the three seasons before that he had only five catches for 54 yards and zero touchdowns.
The Lions are not hurting for depth at tight end by any means, so Dial will likely have to compete just to make the practice squad. Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler and Will Heller are expected to make the 53-man roster, and Joe Jon Finley and Richard Dickson will be in the mix for the practice squad along with Dial.