At 12:01 Friday morning, it will no longer be tampering.

Rex Ryan, in each of his meetings with the media since being named the Jets head coach Jan. 21, has been asked about the impressive flock of Ravens, led by linebackers Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, scheduled to become free agents should Baltimore fail to re-sign them by midnight Thursday night.

Each time Ryan, the Ravens former defensive coordinator, has deflected those questions with humor.

"Right now, I'd rather add our draft picks because I'd rather not talk about any potential free agent out there," Ryan said at last week's NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "With the tampering rules and with everything else the way they are, I'd rather just hold on to our draft picks right now. I'll avoid that question."

Teams are not allowed to publicly express an interest in players until free agency officially begins and can be penalized by the league if caught doing so.

Still, it is no secret that informal talks do take place at the Combine, an event that serves the dual purpose of college showcase and unofficial start of free agency.

And the Jets and what they might do when free agency begins were major topics last week in Indianapolis.

Sources have said the Jets plan to aggressively pursue both Jim Leonhard, a playmaker in the secondary who also has value as a returner, and Scott, whom the Ravens are making an 11th hour attempt to re-sign before he can test his market value.

The Ravens are not making the same effort to hold onto Leonhard who, like Lewis and Scott, expressed an interest in playing for Ryan again shortly after Baltimore's season ended with a loss to the Steelers in the AFC Championship.

Leonhard, asked by the Baltimore Sun the day after that loss how long it would take him to get on the phone with Ryan should he reach free agency, hardly paused.

"Probably not long," Leonhard said.

"I would love to play for Rex again," Leonhard told the Sun. "Obviously, I have a lot of respect for him, as well as the coaches that are still here. If that opportunity comes up, who knows what will happen?"

In an interview with the NFL Network the week leading up the Pro Bowl in early February, Lewis also expressed an interest in possibly playing for Ryan again.

"That relationship by itself is a match because of the relationship me and Rex have always had," said Lewis who will be 34 when the 2009 season starts. "That opportunity by itself looks attractive, seems attractive."

Just how attractive the Jets would find Lewis is unclear. They would likely have to pay a significant sum — probably $9 or $10 million a season — and the team does have other needs, such as cornerback, receiver and procuring depth along both the offensive and defensive lines. Receiver might have jumped to the front of the list with Wednesday's decision to release Laveranues Coles. The Jets are also without a three-down tight end after releasing Chris Baker last week to free up salary cap room.

Baker was among several players released last week — cornerback David Barrett and linebackers David Bowens and Brad Kassell were the others — to gain cap space. Starting right guard Brandon Moore, due a $7 million roster bonus March 5, could be next if a new agreement isn't reached with his agent.

The Jets were major players last offseason, spending nearly $140 million on free agents and contract extensions. And while they're unlikely to match last year's waves, the Jets' recent roster moves indicate there will probably be at least a few splashes.