2021 March - Pro Football Rumors

Texans Sign CB Tavierre Thomas

March 17th, 2021 at 7:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Tavierre Thomas is off to Houston. The Texans have signed the cornerback/special teamer to a two-year deal, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The deal is worth $4MM, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old had spent the majority of his three-year career with the Browns. After serving in mostly a special teams role in 2018 and 2019, Thomas took on more of a defensive role in 2020. The defensive back ultimately appeared in 19 percent of Cleveland’s defensive snaps this past season, finishing with a career-high 30 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

The Texans have been busy adding to their secondary this week. The team signed Terrance Mitchell to a two-year deal, and they also added cornerback Tremon Smith and safety Terrence Brooks. The team has also added a handful of notable special teamers, including Andre Roberts.

Washington To Sign WR Curtis Samuel

March 17th, 2021 at 7:03pm CST by Ben Levine

Curtis Samuel has found his new home. The free agent wideout and former Panther is signing with Washington, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report (via Twitter). Samuel received a three-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), and Joseph Person of The Athletic tweets that Samuel can earn up to $35.25MM, with $24.5MM guaranteed.

Washington has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Samuel throughout the offseason. After all, WFT head coach and former Panthers HC Ron Rivera has shown a propensity for recruiting players from his old team, and Rapoport notes that Rivera actually tried to trade for Samuel last season (Twitter link). Washington struggled to find a second receiver to pair with top wideout Terry McLaurin in 2020, but now, the offense will feature two of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL, both of whom were members of Ohio State’s 2014 recruiting class.

Samuel, a 2017 second-round pick, has progressively improved his numbers during each of his four NFL seasons. That culminated in a 2020 campaign where he finished with a career-high 1,051 yards from scrimmage to go along with five touchdowns. Samuel also garnered a career-high 41 rushing attempts, showcasing his ability to serve as a Swiss Army Knife-type weapon.

WFT is still on the lookout for a long-term answer at quarterback — the agelessness of new signee Ryan Fitzpatrick notwithstanding — but the club is quietly assembling a strong foundation of skill-position talent. McLaurin, Samuel, and recent draftees Kelvin Harmon and Antonio Gandy-Golden give Washington an intriguing young WR group, while 2020 third-round running back Antonio Gibson demonstrated plenty of promise in his rookie campaign.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have spent the early days of free agency fortifying their offensive and defensive fronts. Carolina remains in hot pursuit of Deshaun Watson, and even with Samuel no longer in the mix, the team still has a fair amount of skill position talent with the likes of Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Robby Anderson.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

49ers Sign C Alex Mack

March 17th, 2021 at 7:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Trent Williams isn’t the only notable lineman headed to San Francisco. Free agent center Alex Mack also agreed to join the 49ers in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Mack’s deal is a one-year pact worth $5.5MM, according to Rapoport (on Twitter).

It’s a return to sunny California for the UC Berkeley product. The deal also marks a reunion with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Mack previously played for Shanahan with the Browns and Falcons. Mack, 36 in November, comes with serious credentials — six Pro Bowls and a track record for durability. He’s played in and started in just about every possible game since 2009, save for his injury-plagued 2014.

The 49ers needed a quality middle-man in the worst way. While Williams turned in a stellar season, the interior line struggled to hold the line. That’s part of the reason why the Niners’ offense sagged and the club needed a new solution in the wake of Weston Richburg‘s retirement. Journeyman Ben Garland was given a chance to start, but the journeyman wound up with an injury of his own.

Mack, who made the NFL’s most recent all-decade team, can officially put pen to paper at 4pm ET today.

Bengals To Re-Sign RB Samaje Perine

March 17th, 2021 at 6:58pm CST by Ben Levine

Samaje Perine is returning to Cincinnati. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the running back is signing a two-year deal with the Bengals.

Perine showed promise as a rookie with Washington in 2017, finishing with 785 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However, he was limited to only five games in 2018, and he was waived prior to the start of the 2019 season. Perine later had a brief stint with the Bengals, and he ended that season of the Dolphins roster.

Perine ended up rejoining the Bengals last offseason, and he had a bounce-back season in Cincy. With the Bengals dealing with injuries to Joe Mixon, Perine ended up seeing time in all 16 games, including one start. He finished the season having compiled 367 yards from scrimmage and a career-high three touchdowns.

Buccaneers To Re-Sign K Ryan Succop

March 17th, 2021 at 6:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers’ re-signing binge will spread to their special teams units. The defending Super Bowl champions reached an agreement to keep Ryan Succop.

Succop agreed to a three-year deal worth $12MM, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The veteran kicker will receive $6.25MM in guarantees and $8.25MM over the first two years of the deal, per Stroud.

After cycling through kickers for several seasons, the Bucs found some stability with Succop last year. They signed him late in the offseason and saw him make 28 of 31 field goal tries. The 34-year-old specialist also delivered a perfect postseason, going 13-for-13. This marked a rebound for Succop, who struggled through an injury-plagued campaign with the Titans in 2019.

Tampa Bay’s kicker woes centered around Jason Licht’s Roberto Aguayo miss, but it has been a long time since the team has made it through consecutive seasons with the same kicker. Succop doing so in 2021 would be the first instance of this occurring in Tampa since Connor Barth from 2011-12. Succop’s contract points to him stopping this unusual stretch.

Cowboys Re-Sign Jourdan Lewis

March 17th, 2021 at 6:49pm CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys are bringing back cornerback Jourdan Lewis, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Lewis’ new contract will be for three years and and is worth up to $16.5MM, including $8MM in guarantees.

Lewis started a career-high 13 games in 2020 after struggling a bit for playing time with Kris Richard in charge of the DBs from 2018-19. However, that doesn’t mean that he performed well, as he graded out as one of the worst corners in the league according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics. He was frequently beaten by opposing receivers, and some believe that the Cowboys would do well to shift him over to safety.

After all, he has demonstrated solid ball skills and playmaking ability, with four interceptions, four fumble recoveries, six sacks, and a defensive score over his four-year career. And the one area in which PFF considered him an above-average performer was pass rushing.

Whether or not Dallas serious entertains the notion of changing Lewis’ position remains to be seen, but obviously the club has seen enough upside to keep him around for another several seasons. After losing Chidobe Awuzie to the Bengals, the Cowboys made sure to keep another homegrown DB from the 2017 draft in the building.

Seahawks, TE Gerald Everett Agree To Deal

March 17th, 2021 at 6:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Gerald Everett will stay in the NFC West. The four-year Rams tight end agreed to terms with the Seahawks on a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal is worth $7MM, including $6MM guaranteed (per Rapoport on Twitter).

There were some high hopes for Everett when he was selected in the second round of the 2017 draft, but he’s yet to put together a standout NFL season. 2020 was arguably a career year for the 26-year-old, but he still only finished with 41 receptions for 417 yards and one touchdown (plus the first rushing touchdown of his career).

It seemed clear that his stint with the Rams was coming to a close when the organization inked fellow tight end Tyler Higbee to an extension. Everett was also mentioned as a potential trade candidate towards the beginning of the 2020 season.

He will now join a Seahawks team that has been searching for tight end stability for a bit now. Seattle relied on the trio of Greg Olsen, Jacob Hollister, and Will Dissly in 2020, with that grouping combining for 73 receptions, 709 yards, and six touchdowns. Olsen has since announced his retirement, opening a spot on the depth chart.

Eagles Release DT Malik Jackson

March 17th, 2021 at 6:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Malik Jackson‘s stint with the Eagles has officially come to an end. The team announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve released the defensive tackle.

This move doesn’t come as a huge surprise; we learned back in January that the veteran was likely on his way out of Philly. The front office had adjusted Jackson’s contract to accommodate the impending transaction, a move that also saved the organization a chunk of cash.

The Eagles signed Jackson to a three-year, $30MM pact in March of 2019, and it was immediately derailed when he suffered a foot injury in the first game of that season that knocked him out for the entire year. He returned to play in 15 games this year, but only played around half the defensive snaps and not at a high enough level to warrant his hefty salary.

The 2012 fifth-round pick of the Broncos had a few really good years with the Jaguars and is still only 30, so there will be interest. While he’s far removed from his 2017 Pro Bowl campaign, the veteran still seems like he’s good for around three sacks per season.

Ravens Acquire TE Josh Oliver From Jaguars

March 17th, 2021 at 6:35pm CST by Rory Parks

The Jaguars have agreed to trade tight end Josh Oliver to the Ravens in exchange for a conditional draft pick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter).

Jacksonville selected Oliver in the third round of the 2019 draft, so the club had reasonably high hopes for him. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to shake the injury bug. He got his first start as a pro in Week 11 of the 2019 campaign, but he sustained small fractures in his back during that game and missed the rest of the season. Then, last August, he underwent surgery on a broken bone in his foot and missed all of 2020.

So the San Jose State product has played a grand total of four games in his NFL career and has three catches to his credit. Still, he turns 24 in just a few days and is controllable through 2022, and his size, athleticism, and upside make him an intriguing buy-low candidate for the Ravens.

Baltimore relies heavily on its tight ends, so even with Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle ahead of him on the depth chart, Oliver should have some opportunities in the Ravens’ offense. Boyle has developed a reputation as one of the best blocking TEs in the game, but he has also become a reliable target for quarterback Lamar Jackson, and his presence was sorely missed when a knee injury knocked him out for the season in November. So, if nothing else, Oliver will be worthwhile depth.

Bills To Re-Sign CB Levi Wallace

March 17th, 2021 at 6:22pm CST by Ben Levine

Levi Wallace is sticking around Buffalo after all. The Bills announced that they’ve agreed to terms with the cornerback on a one-year deal.

It was a bit of a surprise when the Bills non-tendered the 25-year-old earlier this week. After all, Wallace had started 28 games for Buffalo over the past two seasons, including a 2020 campaign where he finished with 48 tackles, eight passes defended, and two interceptions. Wallace also started each of Buffalo’s three playoff games, collecting 12 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

Despite being non-tendered, Wallace wanted to stay in Buffalo. The young corner did not consider any outside interest, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).

In total, Wallace has started each of his 35 career games, compiling 161 tackles, 20 passes defended, and four interceptions.

While the Bills have been busy adding players on the offensive side of the ball, they’ve mostly focused on retaining their defensive free agents. Specifically, the team re-signed linebacker Matt Milano to a four-year deal earlier this week.