The latest minor NFL transactions:
The Saints have signed center Chris Watt, Larry Holder of NOLA.com was among those to report (on Twitter).
Watt, whom the Saints auditioned last week, didn’t play anywhere last season after the Chargers placed him on the physically unable to perform list in late August. The then-San Diego franchise ended up waiving Watt with a failed physical designation in November.
Prior to last season, Watt played in 17 games and started eight for the Chargers between 2014-15. Most of those appearances (12) and starts (five) came during Watt’s rookie year, after the Chargers selected the ex-Notre Dame standout in the third round of the draft.
There’s an outside chance Saints center Max Unger will miss the start of the season, so the 26-year-old Watt could crack their Week 1 lineup if he impresses over the summer. For now, Watt joins Senio Kelemete and Jack Allen as the Saints’ center-capable options behind Unger.
The NFL has pushed back the deadline to sign franchise players to multiyear contracts, relays ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Teams that haven’t yet extended their tag recipients will have until July 17 to do so. The deadline was previously set for July 15.
The change could affect the Redskins, Rams and Steelers – the only teams that have players currently slated to play the season under the tag. The Redskins have the most expensive member of the trio, quarterback Kirk Cousins ($24MM), who could go through his second straight year as their franchise player. The same holds true for Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who’s in line to make $16.42MM. The cheapest of the three, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, comes in at $12.1MM.
Placing the franchise tag on Cousins again next year would cost the Redskins upward of $34MM, an unpalatable amount, and finding quality quarterbacks isn’t exactly easy. As such, Washington has been working to extend the 28-year-old Cousins prior to the deadline. Unlike last year, when the two sides made little to no headway toward an agreement, there has been progress this spring.
Meanwhile, there’s no indication that the Rams and Johnson have engaged in discussions, in part because they wanted to see how he’d fit in new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ scheme. Los Angeles’ coaching staff got a look at Johnson, 27, in Phillips’ defense during the club’s offseason program, and head coach Sean McVay subsequently praised the corner. It’s possible, then, that a deal will come together in the next month.
While Cousins and Johnson each signed their franchise tenders awhile back, Bell still hasn’t put pen to paper on his. He and the Steelers have been discussing an extension throughout the offseason, though, and despite his past suspensions and injury issues, the 25-year-old wants to become the league’s highest-paid back on his next deal. There’s a good chance that will happen, writes ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who notes that the per-year value of Bell’s contract won’t match the tag.
“Even if he gets $10 million a year, that’s 25 percent more than any other running back is making right now,” one front office executive told Fowler. “You’d have to call that a market-moving deal.”
In the end, Fowler expects the Steelers to offer Bell a four-year accord in the $40MM to $45MM range, including $20MM in guarantees.
The Cowboys‘ biggest miss this offseason was losing safety Barry Church to free agency, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer opines. Jeff Heath has shown some promise in a limited window, but Church had four straight seasons with at least 100 tackles and his production will be hard to replace. In retrospect, Archer writes that the Cowboys should have gone to him before the start of the 2016 season with an offer or made a stronger pitch to keep him before the market opened in March. While the Cowboys made some other smart moves on defense, Archer seems to think that Dallas will regret letting Church get away.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
Over the weekend, the Titans signed Eric Decker to a one-year deal. Before the wide receiver inked his contract in Nashville, he says that he drew interest from five or six teams and had other visits initially scheduled for this week (link via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online). 
[RELATED: Titans Sign Eric Decker]
“Mulling over some of my options, I just felt like this was the right fit,’’ Decker said. “Just looking at the roster, and the progress they’ve made over the last few years, and meeting with Jon (Robinson) and Mike (Mularkey), I have a lot of respect for where they came from, their philosophy, how they do things, and that’s something I want to be a part of. “And I am excited about Marcus Mariota and the young talent he is.”
Decker has owned a home in Tennessee since 2012 and says that he used to joke with his wife about how perfect it would be to play for the Titans. When the Jets made the surprising decision to cut Decker, that opened up the door for him to turn the running joke into a reality. He’ll now get to be closer to his family while wife Jessie James Decker, a country singer, continues to pursue her career in Music City.
The Ravens and Browns were connected to Decker, but it’s not clear how serious their level of interest was. The Broncos and Eagles, despite some speculation about their interest in the receiver, were not in pursuit. It’s not clear what other clubs had interest in Decker, but based on what the 30-year-old has said, it sounds like there were at least two more in the mix.
The NFL and the NFLPA are more than halfway through the latest rendition of the collective bargaining agreement which was signed in 2013. It’s probably still early to sweat things, but union president Eric Winston tells PFT that there have been no talks yet between the two sides on an extension of the deal.
“We’re still trying to figure out how and when that’s going to happen,” Winston said.
So far, Winston says the two sides are “talking about talks” with “nothing substantive,” and that verbiage may indicate some frustration on the part of the NFLPA. Part of the holdup can be explained by the open-ended future of the league’s broadcasting agreements. The NFL’s current TV deals go through the 2022 season, after the CBA expires in 2021. Neither side knows how much money will be coming in on the next deal, making it hard to come to an agreement beforehand.
Recently, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah indicated that the union will talk directly to the TV networks about things may change for the 2023 season and beyond. That conversation could give the union some much-needed insight on what’s ahead and may even help to spur talks.
The Bears poured lots of resources into the quarterback position this offseason, but ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson wonders if they are actually better as a result. Free agent addition Mike Glennon will earn $16MM guaranteed in 2017 and the Bears moved up from the No. 3 pick to the No. 2 pick for Mitch Trubisky, but neither player is a slam dunk to succeed. There were other changes in Chicago this offseason, but Dickerson writes that GM Ryan Pace‘s moves to solidify the quarterback position will dictate how everything is viewed five years from now. It’s hard to argue with that take – if Glennon and Trubisky don’t work out, then the Bears will be set back even further in their effort to rebuild.
Here’s a look at the NFC North:
The Lions have signed third-round wide receiver Kenny Golladay, according to a team announcement. With Golladay signed, the Lions now have all of their draft picks officially under contract.
Golladay, who was taken with the No. 96 overall pick, will be competing with Jared Abbrederis, Jace Billingsley, and T.J. Jones for the No. 3 WR position. With defenses keying in on Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, there could be lots of opportunities for Golladay in the next spot.
At 6’4″, the Northern Illinois product should have the length to win jumpballs against most of his defenders. He has been knocked by some evaluators for his route running, but scouts fell in love with him for his height and speed leading up to the draft.
Here’s the complete rundown of the Lions’ 2017 class:
Fred Jackson is still looking for an NFL job and he’s hoping that a mass audition next month will help make that happen. Today, the Spring League announced that it will host a special showcase game in California on July 15 featuring the former Bills running back (via PFT). 
In addition to Jackson’s debut, controversial defensive end Greg Hardy will also be making his return to the upstart league. Anthony “Boobie” Dixon, who was in Buffalo with Jackson in 2014 and 2015, will also be on hand at Napa Memorial Stadium in Napa, California. The game will be contested between the “Spring League California” and “Spring League East” teams. Terry Shea will coach the California team while Donnie Henderson will coach the East squad.
“The Spring League Showcase will provide the NFL with additional opportunities to evaluate players just before the start of training camps,” Spring League CEO Brian Woods said in the press release.
Jackson spent the 2015 season with the Seahawks and had just 26 carries for 100 yards and 32 receptions for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Last year, he was out of football. Still, at the age of 36, Jackson is out to prove that he can perform at a high level. Jackson’s last quality season as a runner was arguably back in 2013 when he ran for 890 yards off of 206 carries (4.3 yards per carry average) with nine scores. In 2014, he had a career-high 66 catches for 501 yards but didn’t fare as well carrying the ball.
Between 2011 and 2013, Hardy averaged 56 tackles and 10 sacks per season season. Even in a down year with Dallas in 2015, he ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. However, NFL teams have stayed away from Hardy due to all of his baggage.
Bills first-round cornerback Tre’Davious White is performing so well during Buffalo practice sessions that new head coach Sean McDermott has scarcely noticed the rookie on the field, as Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News writes. “Really, I’ve had to sit back in my office up there and ask myself why haven’t I noticed Tre’Davious, in terms of why am I not concerned about him?” McDermott said. “As a defensive coordinator I was a lot closer to the defense at times, so I’ve been asking myself is it because of that or is it because he’s just integrated himself so smoothly into the NFL and what we do? He’s mature beyond his years.” The Bills traded down from No. 10 to No. 27 before selecting White, who projects as a Week 1 starter opposite Ronald Darby.
Here’s more from around the league: