NFL free agency opens Tuesday afternoon at 4 -- not counting the weird negotiating/tampering window this weekend -- which will bring with it a blizzard of rumors, half-truths and hearsay that will likely snap Twitter in half before things are done. But in the end, it’s important to remember that once free agency does get underway, there are fundamentally six different types of contracts that will get done:

The big splash: As soon as teams are allowed to start talking to free agents -- in this year’s case, 4 p.m. on Tuesday, there will inevitably be big news about a big deal. Defensive end Mario Williams signed a $100 million deal with the Bills last year, and in year’s past, Julius Peppers, Albert Haynesworth and Asante Samuel have been the big, tone-setting contracts right out of the gate. In many cases, these signings have played an important part in helping turn around the fortunes of the franchise. But it’s an incredibly risky gamble to take -- you are fundamentally pushing all (or most) of your chips to the middle of the table in hopes that one guy will be able to make a difference. This year, defensive ends Cliff Avril, Paul Krueger and wide receiver Mike Wallace are likely candidates to make the biggest early splash when free agency opens next week.

The lifetime achievement award: These are few and far between, especially in the days of a tight cap. But there will be a team that overpays -- even slightly -- for a player whose best days are behind him as some sort of retroactive reward for all they’ve been able to accomplish. There don’t appear to be too many high-profile candidates for a lifetime achievement award this year, other than maybe Ed Reed. (To be fair, Reed is probably more of a case of a veteran difference-maker, even if he ends up back in Baltimore.) Emmitt Smith’s two-year contract he signed with the Cardinals in 2003 defined the term.

The veteran difference-maker: These are the players who are on their final contracts who are looking to sign with a better-than-average team for two reasons: One, they’ll get paid a fair wage. (That’s almost secondary, because in most cases, these are older guys who have done a good job taking care of their bodies and their money.) Two, they have a chance to finish their career with a championship, or least set the stage for a presumed playoff run. The best examples of those signings locally include Rodney Harrison in 2003 and Junior Seau in 2006. This time around, there are several competitive young teams out there who need to find their own version of a Harrison who could help mature them and get them to the next level, teams like the Texans and Dolphins come to mind. If he does hit the open market, Wes Welker could be one of those guys for the Broncos, Colts or Texans.

The mistake: These come in three basic forms. One, it could be a version of the "big splash" contract we described above that has gone horribly wrong. Two, a team looking to sign an over-the-hill player in hopes of generating buzz about their team. (This was the team-building approach favored by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder in the late 1990s and early 2000s with a series of awful contracts doled out to Deion Sanders, Jeff George and Bruce Smith, among others.) Or three, just a player who had enjoyed some small level of success, and is viewed at his new destination as something he’s not. (Locally, you can point to Duane Starks and Monty Beisel.) In the first two cases, these signings are the result of an overzealous owner -- the ridiculous deal Andre Rison signed with the Browns prior to the 1995 season is a great example.

The veteran hoping for a new start: There are a ton of players out there who are coming off their rookie contract who were miscast in their first NFL opportunity, and are now hoping for a second chance to prove themselves in a new locale. These guys aren’t necessarily hoping for more money -- although that’s always nice. Instead, they are hoping that they will be able to find a new team that will do a better job maximizing their skill set. Locally, the best example of this was Mike Vrabel, who signed with New England prior to the 2001 season. The linebacker, who was sitting behind a group of terrific linebackers in Pittsburgh, was contemplating law school before the Patriots came calling. Instead of becoming a lawyer, he was plugged into the New England system in 2001 and became one of the symbols of the Patriots’ dominance in the early part of the decade, playing a big role in New England’s three Super Bowl titles.

Timing is everything: For many players, getting hot and playing well at the right time is everything, and if they’re in the right situation, it usually results in a contract way beyond their actual market value. Entire volumes could be dedicated to guys who got hot at just the right time, only to regress to the mean once they signed their new deal. (Honestly, I don’t necessarily blame guys like Scott Mitchell and Larry Brown for taking the money that was offered -- the fault like with the Lions and Raiders, the two teams who went out and overspent for them.) Locally, Aqib Talb could benefit from a good second half of the season on a high-profile team like the Patriots to cash in.