In a league rife with time limits, another one arrives Monday -- the deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets with other teams or have their exclusive negotiating rights revert to the franchise for whom they currently play.

And with the clock ticking, Monday could well be an active day, especially in what has otherwise been an uneventful signing period for restricted players.

Wide receiver Terrence Wilkins of Indianapolis has agreed to most primary elements of an offer sheet from the St. Louis Rams and, barring last-minute glitches, the deal will be consummated Monday morning. The Kansas City Chiefs, who had also been pursuing Wilkins, are attempting to sign Chicago Bears weakside linebacker Warrick Holdman to an offer sheet. And the Denver Broncos are still considering the potential signing of Rams fullback James Hodgins.

By definition, restricted free agents are three-year veterans, and are eligible to negotiate through April 15 with other clubs. If they sign an offer sheet, their incumbent team has the right to match it, and then absorbs the contract. If the current team does not match, the player can move on, but his new team must compensate the franchise from which he came with a draft choice.

Since Hodgins and Wilkins entered the NFL as undrafted free agents, however, there is no draft choice compensation required if they switch clubs. Holdman would not require compensation, either, but only because of a clerical error by Chicago officials.

If a restricted free agent does not sign an offer sheet by Monday evening, he can negotiate only with his current team thereafter. Current teams will have until Friday to match any offer sheets signed Monday by their restricted free agents.

But even if Wilkins, Holdman and Hodgins all changed teams -- certainly a long-shot proposition at best -- this year still will have marked the continuation of a sluggish restricted market.

Of the 104 restricted free agents league-wide this spring only one has changed teams by traditional method. That was former Pittsburgh kicker Kris Brown, who inked a four-year, $4.7 million offer sheet with the Houston Texans that the Steelers opted not to match. Two others, wide receiver D'Wayne Bates of Chicago and guard David Loverne of the New York Jets were restricted free agents who switched team by unconventional methods.

Loverne was traded to Washington in a deal in which the Redskins and Jets also flipped spots in the fifth round of the 2002 draft. Bates signed a three-year, $2.85 million offer sheet with the Minnesota Vikings, a deal that was matched by the Bears. But the Bears then released Bates after determining he would not restructure the deal, and the Vikings claimed him on waivers.

Three other restricted free agents signed offer sheets - Jacksonville cornerback Jason Craft (with New Orleans), Pittsburgh guard Oliver Ross (with Cleveland) and Kansas City linebacker Mike Maslowski (with New England) - but the deals were matched by their current clubs.

Since the free agent system was implemented in 1993, only 41 restricted free agents have moved to new teams, but 21 of those came in the first three seasons of free agency. Just 10 restricted free agents changed teams in the last three years.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.