HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Chiefs, S Mike Edwards Agree To Terms

March 17th, 2023 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Juan Thornhill departed for Cleveland earlier this week, but Kansas City will add another former Super Bowl contributor in his place. Mike Edwards will join the defending champions’ secondary, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Edwards played out his rookie contract with the Buccaneers this past season, starting 12 games. The Chiefs have added both he and Drue Tranquill as defensive role players Friday. Like Tranquill, the Chiefs will pick up Edwards at a low rate. The fifth-year safety will sign a one-year deal worth $3MM, Rapoport tweets, adding the contract can max out at $5MM.

Among a glut of Bucs second-day secondary draftees in recent years, Edwards has both worked as a starter and a regular off-the-bench contributor in Tampa. Joining the likes of Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Antoine Winfield Jr. as second- or third-round DBs to come through Tampa since 2018, Edwards — a 2019 third-rounder out of Kentucky — played often for the Bucs during their Tom Brady-era surge.

Edwards has three pick-sixes over the past two seasons, notching two of them in one game. Those end zone dashes helped the Bucs run away from the Falcons in a September 2021 matchup. Edwards, who is entering his age-27 season, tallied a career-high 82 tackles last season and totaled eight INTs over the past three years. While Pro Football Focus rated Edwards as a top-10 safety during his 2020 season as a rotational cog alongside Winfield and Jordan Whitehead, the advanced metrics site slotted him as a bottom-10 player at the position in 2022.

Thornhill had started four seasons with the Chiefs, but the Browns gave the former second-round pick a three-year, $21MM deal. Kansas City back-line starters for three seasons, Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu have now departed. The Chiefs got by with 2022 pickup Justin Reid, however, and will likely increase second-round pick Bryan Cook‘s responsibilities next season. Cook played 32% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps as a rookie. He will likely be the favorite to start alongside Reid, but Edwards should supply some insurance and a quality backup if that scenario comes to pass.

At $10.5MM per year, Reid is the Chiefs’ highest-paid defensive back. Regularly passing on high- or even mid-tier cornerback payments, the Chiefs are also saving money in their secondary via the Cook pick and this Edwards accord.

LB Drue Tranquill To Join Chiefs

March 17th, 2023 at 3:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Drue Tranquill posted a career year in 2022, leading the Chargers’ linebacking corps while contributing heavily to the team’s largely Joey Bosa-less pass rush. But a strong market does not appear to have formed for the productive defender.

The Chiefs are picking up the fifth-year veteran on a one-year deal, Jordan Schultz of The Score tweets. One of many intriguing off-ball linebackers to hit free agency this year, Tranquill will stay in the AFC West and join a Chiefs team that returns both its top linebackers. Tranquill’s deal is worth up to $5MM, Schultz adds (on Twitter).

Nick Bolton and Willie Gay remain on their respective rookie contracts, but Tranquill will join the defending Super Bowl champions and bolster their already-strong defensive second level. Tranquill did not match Bolton in tackles last season, with the emerging star posting a stunning 180 stops, but Bolton’s new teammate shined during his contract year. Tranquill racked up 146 tackles and five sacks while adding four pass deflections, an interception and a forced fumble.

A part-time player in the past, Tranquill wore the green communication dot for the Bolts last season and started 16 games. The former fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame has bounced back from a season-ending broken ankle sustained in the Bolts’ 2020 opener, but unlike a few other ILBs, he could not cash in this offseason.

Tremaine Edmunds‘ $18MM-per-year deal lapped the linebacker field, as expected, but the Giants gave Bobby Okereke a four-year, $40MM pact. Germaine Pratt scored $6.75MM per year to stay with the Bengals, while Alex Anzalone, Alex Singleton and Cole Holcomb reached $6MM-per-year agreements. Eric Kendricks, David Long, T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White landed in that neighborhood as well. Tranquill may not have as many three-down opportunities as he did in Los Angeles, so this stands to be an interesting audition season. It will also be interesting to see if he pushes Gay for playing time; both will be in contract years in 2023.

Kansas City also made the move to re-sign guard Nick Allegretti on Friday. Kansas City has used the former seventh-round pick mostly as a backup in recent years. Allegretti did start Super Bowl LV for an offensive line missing both tackles and having seen guard starter Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opt out before the season, but he has started just three games since. He will opt to stick around as a swingman up front.

Browns To Sign TE Jordan Akins

March 17th, 2023 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jordan Akins visited the Browns on Friday, and the veteran tight end will not leave Cleveland without a contract. The Browns are signing Deshaun Watson‘s former Texans teammate, according to his agency (on Twitter).

The five-year veteran played with Watson for three seasons and has spent his entire regular-season career in Houston. The Texans reacquired Akins after the Giants cut him before he played a game with the team. Now, he will head to the Browns.

Cleveland is giving Akins a two-year deal worth up to $5.2MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. Even if that is the max value, it still tops the league-minimum accord the Giants gave him during the 2022 offseason. It represents decent money for a tight end who, despite only being a five-year vet, is entering his age-31 season. The Texas Rangers drafted Akins out of high school in 2010, choosing him in the third round, and the future tight end toiled in the minor leagues for four years before picking up football again.

Akins’ failure to make the Giants’ 53-man roster last year still preceded a career-high receiving yardage total upon his Texans return. The sixth-year tight end is coming off a 495-yard, five-touchdown season. Touchdown No. 5 ended up reshaping multiple franchises’ futures. Akins caught a game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-20, giving Lovie Smith a victory over the Colts in his final game as Texans HC. That result gave the Bears the No. 1 overall pick, and it allowed them to receive a monster trade haul from the Panthers for the selection.

Role in that seminal play (for draft purposes) notwithstanding, Akins has three 400-plus-yard seasons on his resume and has been the most productive Texans tight end over the past several seasons. The Browns, of course, have already paid a tight end near-top-market money, and Akins will fill in behind David Njoku. Harrison Bryant is also going into the final season of his rookie contract; Bryant totaled 239 receiving yards and one touchdown last season.

The Browns also added defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Hurst is coming off a missed 2022 season; he went down with a torn bicep in July. Hurst, who played two seasons with the Raiders and one apiece with the Chargers and 49ers, has mostly worked as a rotational defensive lineman. The second-generation NFLer did start 10 games for a rebuilding Raiders team as a rookie in 2018. Hurst registered 7.5 of his eight career sacks during his first two seasons.

Packers Sign S Tarvarius Moore

March 17th, 2023 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

A 2021 season-nullifying injury postponed Tarvarius Moore‘s free agency by a year. After the safety’s contract tolled, however, the Packers will still add him to the mix.

The 49ers used Moore as both a cornerback and a safety, though he spent more time at the latter post. He competed with Talanoa Hufanga to start opposite Jimmie Ward last year. Hufanga going on to earn first-team All-Pro honors signaled San Francisco’s long-term plans at that position. But Ward and Moore have now relocated, with the 10th-year veteran joining DeMeco Ryans‘ Texans staff.

Moore will land with another ex-Kyle Shanahan coworker, joining Matt LaFleur‘s team. The Packers experienced some issues at safety last season, and Adrian Amos is now a free agent. The team is considering shifting Darnell Savage to the slot on a full-time basis, and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes Rasul Douglas is a candidate to move from cornerback to safety. With the safety spot unsettled and Rudy Ford (six 2022 starts) also a free agent, the Packers may have an opening for Moore.

The former third-round pick — in part because of a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at Southern Miss’ 2018 pro day — began his 49ers career at cornerback moved back to safety in 2019. He started eight games in 2020, making 52 tackles and forcing a fumble. A torn Achilles in June 2021 kept Moore on the 49ers’ PUP list throughout the season, and since he was in the final year of his contract, his rookie deal tolled. Moore would have been unlikely to do well on the market last year anyway, considering his 2021 injury, and he played 13 games this past season.

Moore, 26, does not have a regular-season interception, but he picked off Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV. Even if Moore does not mount a serious charge to start in Green Bay, the Packers have added an experienced special-teamer. Moore saw action on 66% of the 49ers’ special teams plays last season and cleared the 50% barrier on ST snaps in each of his other three active seasons.

Dolphins, P Jake Bailey Agree To Deal

March 17th, 2023 at 2:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

AFC East punter relocation drama is upon us. Minutes after Thomas Morstead tweeted he was moving from the Dolphins to the Jets, his previous team will add the Patriots’ previous punter.

Jake Bailey is heading to Miami, according to the Dolphins. The Jets, Dolphins and Patriots could all have new punters in 2022 (the Patriots and Dolphins definitely will; Morstead looks to be entering a competition). Saving the punter continuity for this division, the Bills re-signed Sam Martin earlier this week.

Bailey leaves New England as an All-Pro. The former fifth-round pick collected such honors in 2020, when he averaged 48.7 yards per punt and placed 56.4% of his boots inside opponents’ 20-yard lines. Last season did not go as well for Bailey, who battled a back injury and was limited to nine games. Bailey averaged a career-low 42.1 yards per punt in 2022.

This Dolphins agreement comes shortly after the Patriots waived Bailey, who had signed a New England extension last summer. The Pats moved that four-year, $13.5MM deal off their books before the extension years began. The Dolphins will bet on Bailey, who will enjoy some better punting conditions with his new team, bouncing back after a down 2022. The Pats do not presently have a punter on their roster.

Chargers To Re-Sign TE Donald Parham

March 17th, 2023 at 1:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Linked as a team in play for help at tight end, the Chargers are going to keep one of their own in the fold. They are re-signing Donald Parham, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

A 6-foot-8 performer who joined the Chargers after being part of the XFL’s second go-round, Parham has been with the team for the past three seasons. He has played an auxiliary role for the Bolts in that span, totaling seven touchdown receptions.

Operating as one of the NFL’s tallest players, Parham posted three TDs apiece in 2020 and ’21. Last season, a hamstring injury limited the complementary pass catcher. Parham missed 11 games last season, limiting him to 10 receptions for 130 yards.

The Chargers have thus far chosen to run it back with their cadre of receiving options, re-signing Parham and seeing GM Tom Telesco take Keenan Allen out of play as a trade chip. The Bolts have been connected to Dalton Schultz. That move would likely mean parting with current starter Gerald Everett, whom the team can release to create $4.25MM in cap space.

Regardless of the Chargers’ plans involving their first-string tight end, they will continue to develop Parham as a backup option.

Teams Remain Interested In Jerry Jeudy; Broncos Seeking First-Round Pick For WR

March 17th, 2023 at 1:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

MARCH 17: While teams’ interest could reach the point of an offer the Broncos cannot refuse, the team does not want to move either Jeudy or Sutton. Denver prefers to move forward with both starters, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Optimism exists Payton will unlock some of the long-held potential of both Sutton and Jeudy, per Klis, who notes the team has hope Sutton — now more than two years removed from his September 2020 ACL tear — will return to his pre-injury form. Sutton is due a $14MM base salary in 2023.

MARCH 15: As they did before the 2022 trade deadline, the Broncos are receiving calls on Jerry Jeudy. The team has thus far shut down interest in the ascending wide receiver, but a price point has emerged that could convince the franchise to sell high.

The Broncos would want a first-round pick for the fourth-year receiver, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reports (on Twitter). Jeudy can be controlled on his rookie contract through 2024, with his fifth-year option call due by May. That seems likely to be exercised — by the Broncos or another team — given Jeudy’s talent.

Denver resisted interest in Jeudy last year, and it made sense for the Broncos to regroup and prepare for the former first-round pick to be part of a better offense in 2023. But neither Sean Payton nor George Paton was in place when the Broncos drafted Jeudy. While the Alabama product profiles as Denver’s top receiver, the team does not have first- or second-round picks in this year’s draft — due to the Payton and Russell Wilson trades. Using Jeudy or Courtland Sutton would be a way for the franchise to add a pick or multiple selections in this year’s draft.

A recent report indicated teams have called the Broncos on Sutton and Jeudy, but the team has thus far passed on trade overtures toward the John Elway-era investments. Both players are on affordable contracts, with Sutton signed through 2025 on a $15MM-per-year accord he signed during the 2021 season. With the Bengals and Chargers taking Tee Higgins and Keenan Allen off the market, respectively, teams seeing if they can pry one of the Broncos’ starters away — in exchange for much-needed draft capital — makes sense.

Then again, the Broncos gave Wilson a $49MM-per-year extension before last season and are still banking on the former Seahawks star re-emerging from a shockingly mediocre 2022 season. Dealing away Jeudy, 23, would stand to hinder Wilson’s rebound effort. Sutton would seem to make more sense as a trade chip, though he would be unlikely to fetch as much. He is entering his age-28 season. But the team has a similar player in Tim Patrick, an outside receiver tied to a $10MM-per-year contract. Patrick has not come up in trade rumors, having missed last season with an ACL tear.

The Cowboys and Giants were among the teams to contact the Broncos on Jeudy before the deadline last year; Dallas made an offer. Both teams are still believed to be looking for receiver help. The Broncos have upped their asking price compared to last year, when a report pegged the team as seeking a second-round pick. Given this modest free agent receiver class and only veterans DeAndre Hopkins and Brandin Cooks viewed as available via trade, Denver is asking for more now. Following those trade rumors, Jeudy finished the 2022 season with a career-high 972 receiving yards to lead the Broncos. This did not move the needle much, however, as Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett-directed offense ranked last in scoring.

In New Orleans, Payton prioritized multiple receivers — Marques Colston, Michael Thomas — but reached agreements to trade two complementary talents (Cooks, Kenny Stills) as well. The Broncos, as the Saints are known to do, are investing heavily along their offensive line. The team reached agreements with Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers this week, and the team will likely consider a Quinn Meinerz extension next year. Considering Jeudy’s age, the Broncos will face a pivotal decision on the state of their receiving corps soon.

Bills To Re-Sign S Jordan Poyer

March 17th, 2023 at 1:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

MARCH 17: Poyer agreed to terms on a deal that comes in at a lower rate than his previous Buffalo pact. The Bills are giving the All-Pro safety a two-year deal worth $12.5MM, Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News tweets. The contract maxes out at $14.5MM, via incentives, with O’Halloran adding $760K of Poyer’s 2024 money becomes guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2024 league year. That date will be significant for Poyer, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adding (Twitter link) the 11th-year defender’s $4.74MM base salary for next season becomes guaranteed then.

MARCH 15: Although the Bills let Tremaine Edmunds walk earlier this week, they are planning to retain their other priority free agent. Jordan Poyer is expected to re-sign with the team, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

This will be Poyer’s third Bills contract. The veteran safety signed with the team in 2017 and later reached an extension agreement. The Bills are now keeping the 11th-year defender around for at least a seventh season with the team. It is a two-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Poyer sought a second Bills extension last year, but when nothing materialized, he spoke with other teams this week. The market did not produce what he wanted, with Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com noting Poyer felt his age affected his value here (Twitter link). The longtime Buffalo safety is 32, so he is probably right. But he earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and made the Pro Bowl last season. The Bills will bet on Poyer continuing to be productive in his early 30s.

The Bills have obtained considerable value from Poyer, who has been instrumental in the team’s rise during Sean McDermott‘s tenure. Months after being hired, McDermott signed off on a four-year, $13MM deal for Poyer, whose profile at the time was nowhere near where it is today. Following two playoff trips with Poyer and safety tandem partner Micah Hyde, the Bills extended both. Poyer signed a two-year, $19MM extension in 2020. Given his view of an age-limited market this year, it should not be expected his third Bills pact will exceed his second by much.

The Raiders looked into Poyer but ended up signing ex-Eagle Marcus Epps on a two-year, $12MM accord. Hyde is already attached to a two-year, $19.25MM pact. Vonn Bell also failed to land an eight-figure-per-year deal on this year’s market, despite being only 28.

The Bills have managed to keep their top-flight safety duo together on middle-class contracts. Hyde is coming off a season in which a neck injury sidelined him in September, and Damar Hamlin‘s cardiac arrest brought the NFL to a standstill in January. Hamlin has made remarkable strides and wants to play again, but it is unknown when that will come to pass.

Poyer has started 91 games with the Bills and has intercepted nine passes over the past two. Last season, Pro Football Focus slotted the former seventh-round pick 48th overall among safeties. But the former Eagles draftee has been in McDermott’s system for six seasons. With the Bills set to have a new defensive coordinator in 2023, he and Hyde stand to benefit the new McDermott lieutenant after Edmunds’ departure.

Seahawks To Sign S Julian Love

March 17th, 2023 at 12:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the Seahawks’ three visitors Thursday will end up signing. Hours after Devin Bush committed to Seattle, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports Julian Love will do the same (Twitter link).

Love will sign a two-year, $12MM deal with the Seahawks, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This represents an intriguing addition, as the former Giants safety is only going into his age-25 season and will now do so for a team rostering Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. While Love wanted to stay with the Giants, he will add to what was already the NFL’s most expensive safety group.

Adams suffered a torn quad tendon in Week 1 of last season, but the former All-Pro is still tied to the league’s third-most lucrative safety contract. Diggs is also in the top 10 at the position, having re-signed with Seattle last year. Love joining the duo represents a staggering commitment to the position. Before Love’s addition, Seattle had $39.7MM committed to its safety position. No other team has more than $31MM, in 2023 cap dollars, tied to that spot.

Three-safety looks would appear to be in the offing for the Seahawks, unless the team is making unexpected plans to jettison one of its well-compensated incumbents, and Love is coming off his best season. The Notre Dame product played 1,006 snaps for a depleted Giants secondary last year, and DC Don Martindale used him all over the formation. Love’s versatility figures to help the Seahawks keep their three safeties on the field together often.

The Giants negotiated with Love prior to the legal tampering period and were in talks with the young defender after that point, but it did not sound like the sides were too close on terms. That said, the $6MM-AAV point would seemingly not have been too much higher than what the Giants were prepared to spend. But Big Blue has an Xavier McKinney extension to consider. That stood to affect their Love offer, and the former fourth-round pick heading to the Pacific Northwest marks the third Giants safety starter to move on over the past two offseasons. The team let Jabrill Peppers walk last year and cut Logan Ryan. That opened the door for an impact Love contract year.

Pro Football Focus slotted Love 44th overall among safeties, which is middle-of-the-pack placement among regulars at the position. But Love, PFR’s No. 39 free agent, commanded a midlevel market after his solid Giants contract season. Love finished with 124 tackles — nearly double his 2021 total — and intercepted two passes. Love also forced a fumble and deflected five more. It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks deploy their new DB, presuming Adams recovers in time for Week 1.

Bengals To Sign OT Orlando Brown Jr.

March 17th, 2023 at 12:20pm CST by Ben Levine

MARCH 17: Brown’s guarantee numbers are in. The new Bengals left tackle’s only guarantees come via the $31.1MM signing bonus. That money is due Sunday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. He will be tied to only a $1.5MM base salary in 2023 and a $4.5MM base, along with a $4MM roster bonus, in 2024. Brown will earn $42.35MM over the deal’s first two years, Breer adds. Brown’s fully guaranteed number checks in sixth among left tackles.

Brown indicated the Chiefs’ 2022 offer did not include enough guaranteed money. While his Bengals AAV and guarantee number do not quite match the $23MM per year and $38MM fully guaranteed the Chiefs were offering, respectively, those figures were tied to a six-year proposal. Brown will be tethered to the Bengals through his age-30 season and will have a chance at another negotiation earlier than he would have had he accepted the Chiefs’ summer offer.

MARCH 15: After winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, Orlando Brown Jr. is heading to a conference foe. The free agent offensive tackle is finalizing a deal with the Bengals, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

It will be a four-year, $64MM deal with Cincinnati, notes Pelissero. The front-loaded contract also includes a $31MM signing bonus, the largest ever for an offensive lineman. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that two-thirds of the contract is guaranteed, and the contract will only make Brown the 17th-highest-paid offensive tackle in the NFL.

Brown played out the 2022 season on the franchise tag, earning him $16.7MM. The Chiefs were rumored to be prepared to re-tag Brown, but they passed on doing so, all but ensuring that he’d hit unrestricted free agency. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that the veteran was insistent on staying at left tackle, and the Bengals will allow him to do just that.

“I’m super thankful for the opportunity to carry on my father’s legacy and be a left tackle,” Brown told Garafolo (Twitter link). “It was important to be able to play that position and play for a winning team and a winning quarterback. Who Dey!”

Brown has established himself as one of the league’s top tackles while protecting Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. He was traded to the Chiefs in 2021 and has earned a Pro Bowl nod in each of his two seasons with the organization. This past year, he appeared in all 17 games en route to a Super Bowl championship. Pro Football Focus graded Brown as the NFL’s 19th-best offensive tackle among 81 qualifiers, the fourth straight year he’s finished in the top-half at the position.

Last offseason, the Bengals were busy investing money in their offensive line as they looked to keep quarterback Joe Burrow upright. The team ended up signing La’el Collins, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras for a combined $21MM in guaranteed money. Those three players each contributed more than 950 offensive snaps, as did fellow starters Cordell Volson and Jonah Williams.

All of those players are still under contract, and it remains to be seen who Brown will be knocking out of the lineup. Williams was generally the team’s LT in 2022, although Collins was the tackle with the worst Pro Football Focus grade in 2022. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com tweets that the Bengals rarely bail on acquisitions after only one season, although cutting Collins would save the team $6MM against the cap.

Brown, 26, turned down the Chiefs’ extension offer at last year’s July deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions. Kansas City offered Brown a six-year, $139MM deal that would have topped Trent Williams‘ $23MM-AAV record for offensive linemen. While this Cincinnati pact obviously carries a much lower AAV, Brown cited insufficient guarantees as the reason he passed on the Chiefs’ offer. The team offered Brown $52.5MM in total guarantees and $38MM fully guaranteed. Brown bet on himself, stayed healthy and landed his long-term deal. Given what the Chiefs offered last year, it will be interesting to learn the full details of Brown’s Bengals contract.

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