2014 March - Pro Football Rumors

Jaguars Sign Tandon Doss

March 18th, 2014 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

3:34pm: Doss’ two-year contract features base salaries worth the minimum, and includes a $65K signing bonus along with $25K annual workout bonuses, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

10:24am: The Jaguars have signed wide receiver Tandon Doss, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). Doss had been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, but the Ravens decided not to extend an RFA tender to him.

After seeing very limited action in his first two NFL seasons, Doss earned a bit of an expanded role in 2013. In 15 games with the Ravens, The 24-year-old grabbed 19 balls for 305 yards, and also returned 23 punts, averaging a league-best 15.6 yards per return and recording a TD.

Doss figures to provide Jacksonville some depth at receiver and could handle punt return duties as well, depending on whether the team prefers him to Ace Sanders. According to O’Halloran (via Twitter), Doss also drew interest from the Giants, Steelers, and Falcons before agreeing to terms with the Jaguars.

Bears Agree To Sign Israel Idonije

March 18th, 2014 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

3:32pm: Idonije’s one-year contract will be worth $955K, the minimum salary, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

12:15pm: After spending a year with the Lions, defensive lineman Israel Idonije is returning to Chicago. Pro Football Talk reports that the Bears have agree to terms with Idonije, who spent his first nine NFL seasons in Chicago. It’ll be a one-year deal, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter).

Idonije, didn’t see the field as much for the Lions in 2013 as he had in his previous few seasons with the Bears, appearing in just 347 defensive snaps. From 2010 to 2012, the veteran played defensive end and tackle for Chicago, recording 20.5 total sacks and pressuring the quarterback at least 45 times each season, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced stats (subscription required). At age 33, Idonije likely won’t see that much playing time during his second stint with the Bears, but he could be an effective part-timer for the club.

The Bears have been active in the defensive linemen market this offseason, having already added Willie Young and Lamarr Houston to help make up for the loss of Julius Peppers.

Bears To Sign Craig Steltz, Danny McCray

March 18th, 2014 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bears have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with safeties Craig Steltz and Danny McCray, the team announced today (via Twitter). It’s a return to the team for Steltz, while McCray will head to Chicago from the Cowboys.

Steltz saw limited action on defense, playing 88 of his 123 total snaps in Week 13 against the Vikings, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). However, the 27-year-old was a core piece of the special teams unit, recording 12 tackles on kick and punt returns.

McCray, 26, played a similar role in Dallas, only seeing nine total snaps on defense, but logging seven special teams tackles. The LSU alum played a larger role in 2012, starting 10 games at strong safety, but figures to assume a reserve role in Chicago.

Raiders Sign James Jones

March 18th, 2014 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 3:23pm: The base value of Jones’ three-year deal is an even $10MM, with $3.65MM in guaranteed money, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun detail (Twitter links).

MONDAY, 6:38pm: Jones’ deal is for three years and $11.3MM, per Schefter (via Twitter).

4:45pm: The Raiders have reached an agreement with James Jones that will bring the free agent wide receiver to Oakland, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Schefter (via Twitter), Jones will ink a three-year deal and reunite with general manager Reggie McKenzie, a longtime Packers executive before he took over the GM job in Oakland.

Jones, 29, finally emerged as a full-time starter in Green Bay over the last couple seasons, due in part to injuries and free agent departures. He responded by setting career-highs in receptions (64) and TDs (14) in 2012, then establishing a new career-high in receiving yards (817) in 2013. Like Eric Decker, Jones benefited from having a future Hall of Fame quarterback throwing him the ball and shouldn’t be counted on as a No. 1 receiver, but he makes a nice addition to a Raiders offense that could use another weapon or two.

Prior to reaching an agreement with the Raiders, Jones was linked to the Panthers, Jets, and Lions. While the Jets and Lions made significant splashes with their own receiver additions this week (Decker and Golden Tate, respectively), the Panthers’ receiving corps may be in real trouble. Carolina has already lost Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, and Ted Ginn Jr. this offseason, and sees another reliable veteran come off the board with Jones landing in Oakland.

Patriots Sign Julian Edelman To Four-Year Deal

March 18th, 2014 at 3:15pm CST by Rob DiRe

3:15pm: The Patriots have officially announced the signing of Edelman.

11:40am: Edelman’s four-year deal has a base value of $17MM, including $8MM guaranteed, with another $2MM available via incentives, reports Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 11:00am: Appearing on WAAF this morning, Edelman indicated that his new contract with the Patriots is a four-year deal, tweets Field Yates of ESPN Boston.

SATURDAY, 1:57pm: Julian Edelman has agreed to terms on a deal that will have him returning to the Patriots, reports Ian Rapaport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Edelman was the Patriots’ most productive receiver in 2013, catching 105 passes for ever 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. All of those marks were career highs for the 27-year-old wide receiver.

He was the only consistent weapon for Tom Brady, as he struggled with two rookie receivers and injuries in the backfield. The team’s top two receiving threats going into the season, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski, both struggled to stay on the field.

Contract Details: DRC, Hauschka, Edelman

March 18th, 2014 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve got plenty more contract details to round up, so let’s dive right in….

Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun and Albert Breer of the NFL Network pass along several key details on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie‘s contract with the Giants, which seems to include $12MM in fully guaranteed money, and a little more in salary guaranteed for injury only. Here are the relevant Twitter links to read up on all the specifics.
Wilson also shares the specifics on Steven Hauschka‘s three-year contract with the Seahawks (Twitter link), Walter Thurmond‘s one-year deal with the Giants (Twitter link), and Dane Fletcher‘s one-year deal with the Bucs (Twitter link).
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com has been doing a great job all week getting finalized contract details up in his database, and he passed along several new entries today. Among them: The Raiders‘ two-year deals for LaMarr Woodley and Justin Tuck, the Eagles‘ extension for Darren Sproles, and the Saints‘ five-year pact with Zach Strief.
Julian Edelman received a $5MM signing bonus from the Patriots on his new contract, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.
John Keim of ESPN.com has the details on Santana Moss‘ minimum salary benefit contract and Clifton Geathers‘ two-year deal with the Redskins.
Although Michael Oher‘s four-year deal with the Titans was initially reported as including $9.5MM in guaranteed money, it’s actually a little less than that, and only $6MM is fully guaranteed, with another $3.35MM guaranteed for injury only. Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com has the details.
Emmanuel Sanders‘ three-year, $15MM contract with the Broncos features $6MM in guaranteed money and cap hits of $6MM (2014), $4MM (2015), and $5MM (2016), tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.
Updating his earlier report on Charles Tillman‘s contract with the Bears, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that the deal includes $150K in performance incentives (based on total interceptions), so it could max out at $3.4MM instead of $3.25MM.
Frank Zombo‘s two-year deal with the Chiefs is worth $1.6MM and includes a $100K signing bonus, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. A minimum-salary deal for Zombo with a $100K bonus would work out to $1.575MM, so either that $1.6MM figure is rounded up, or the linebacker received slightly more than the minimum.

Giants Sign Trindon Holliday

March 18th, 2014 at 2:38pm CST by Matt Feminis

TUESDAY, 2:38pm: Holliday’s one-year pact with the Giants, which has been made official (Twitter link), includes a $570K base salary, a $100K signing bonus, and a $30K workout bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

MONDAY, 6:31pm: The Giants have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with kick returner Trindon Holliday, according to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter).

Holliday, who turns 28 next month, is a diminutive speedster who spent the last two seasons with the Broncos. In his 31-game career, he’s averaged 27.1 yards per kickoff return and 9.4 yards per punt return. He has the ability to break games open, as evidenced by his four career return scores (two kickoffs, two punts), but has also fumbled 11 times.

Giants Sign Mario Manningham

March 18th, 2014 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

2:35pm: The Giants have officially announced the Manningham signing.

11:32am: The Giants have reached an agreement to bring wide receiver Mario Manningham back to New York, according to Pro Football Talk. Manningham will return to the Giants on a one-year contract.

After putting up 944 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2010, then playing a key role on the Giants’ offense during their Super Bowl run in the 2011 season, Manningham inked a two-year deal with the 49ers. However, he never really put it all together in San Francisco, and a knee injury limited his playing time in late 2012 and 2013. The former third-round pick, who turns 28 in May, will return to a Giants receiving corps that lost Hakeem Nicks to the Colts but still features Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, among others.

Panthers Sign Roman Harper

March 18th, 2014 at 1:46pm CST by Rob DiRe

TUESDAY, 1:46pm: The Panthers have officially announced the signing of Harper, via a press release.

SATURDAY, 2:21pm: Roman Harper and the Panthers have agreed on a two-year deal, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter). The deal will be worth $4.5MM and include a $1.5MM signing bonus.

The former Saint will help fill in the safety position that was vacated when Mike Mitchell signed with the Steelers earlier this week.

The 31-year-old Harper only started five games for the Saints in 2013, and became the odd man out when the team signed Jairus Byrd to pair with Kenny Vaccaro at safety.

Raiders Sign Kevin Boothe

March 18th, 2014 at 1:28pm CST by Matt Feminis

TUESDAY, 1:28pm: The base value of Boothe’s two-year deal is $2.625MM, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). That includes a $300K roster bonus for this year, $125K annual workout bonuses, and base salaries of $900K (2014) and $1.175MM (2015).

MONDAY, 9:35pm: Boothe gets $3.4MM over two years, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).

7:27pm: The Raiders have signed Giants offensive lineman Kevin Boothe to a two-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Boothe was drafted by the Raiders in 2006 when he started 14 games before being waived and picked up by the Giants the following year. The 30-year-old started all 16 games last season, beginning the year at left guard before shifting to center when David Baas was lost to injury. Boothe rated near the bottom of the league’s centers according to Pro Football Focus, finishing the season with a -6.4 rating.