Transactions News & Rumors

Broncos To Sign P Matt Haack

Riley Dixon has now left the Broncos a second time, joining the Buccaneers early in free agency. Denver has landed on a replacement, one with ties to new special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.

Matt Haack is signing with the team, 9News’ Mike Klis reports. The eight-year veteran is joining the Broncos on a one-year, $1.26MM deal. He worked with Rizzi in Miami, doing so before going on a nomadic tour over the past several years.

Denver’s punter gig may not be settled just yet, as Haack is on a near-veteran-minimum deal after having punted in just five games over the past two seasons. After four years with the Dolphins, Haack has since caught on with the Colts, Bills, Browns and Giants. He has settled in as a replacement option — both for injuries and Buffalo’s Matt Araiza development.

The Colts had added Haack as a late-summer replacement, as Rigoberto Sanchez had suffered a season-ending injury during practice. The Bills turned to Haack after a sexual assault accusation prompted the team to waive Araiza before he played in a game. Haack did not resurface as a regular option in 2023 or ’24, being an injury replacement in Cleveland and New York. did average an impressive 51.7 yards per punt in four Browns games and he worked with Rizzi for two seasons in Miami.

A Dolphins UDFA in 2017, Haack held the Miami job for four seasons. He showed consistency in terms of punting average in Miami, settling between 44.5 and 45 yards per boot in each season. Enjoying the advantages Denver’s thin air provides specialists, Dixon averaged 46.7 yards per punt in 2024. Haack, 30, will attempt to replace Dixon and move his career back on track.

Using Dixon as their punter during a second stint that lasted two seasons, the Broncos have not enjoyed a long-term punter partnership since Britton Colquitt‘s tenure. While making Dixon an offer to stay, the team did not show interest in record-setting punter Ryan Stonehouse. For now, Haack is on track to take over. A late-round pick or a UDFA potentially could push the veteran.

Falcons To Sign S Jordan Fuller

After a half-season of work with the Panthers, Jordan Fuller will attempt to bounce back elsewhere in the NFC South. Fuller is heading to Atlanta, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.

This continues a reunion theme for Fuller’s career. The former Rams draftee played under ex-Los Angeles DBs coach Ejiro Evero last season; he will now reunite with ex-Rams DC Raheem Morris. Not much of a market formed for Fuller last year; he played out a one-year, $3.25MM deal. He will have a chance to raise his value in 2025.

Fuller’s addition makes it appear Justin Simmons‘ Falcons stay will be capped at one season. Although the four-time All-Pro indicated interest in staying in Atlanta, Fuller profiles as a lower-cost addition to complement Jessie Bates. At 27, Fuller is more than four years younger than Simmons, who started 16 games for the Falcons last season.

The Rams’ signing Kamren Curl led Fuller elsewhere last year, and despite his low price tag, the former sixth-round pick has considerable starting experience. Earning a starting job as a rookie in 2020, Fuller has lined up as a first-stringer in 55 career games. Morris was not in place when Fuller arrived in L.A., having been on Dan Quinn‘s Falcons staff and then the team’s interim HC that year, but coached him for three seasons with the Rams. Fuller intercepted three passes in 2020 and again in 2023.

Making a career-high 113 tackles as a rookie, Fuller has run into a trend of seeing injuries cost him playoff time. A late-season injury in 2021 kept the Ohio State alum out of the Rams’ four playoff games that year; he later went down with an ankle malady in Week 18 of the 2023 season, preventing a wild-card appearance in Detroit. Fuller returned from a hamstring injury sustained last year, but he still missed eight games for the Panthers. That undoubtedly dimmed his second free agency market. Pro Football Focus graded Fuller as a top-20 safety before his 2021 injury but has viewed him as a worse option since. After placing Fuller 48th in 2023, PFF slotted him 82nd among safety regulars last season.

Although still in his prime at 27, Fuller is running short on time to capitalize on his form. A healthy season in Atlanta would go a long way toward positioning the former Day 3 success story with an opportunity to cash in come 2026. The Falcons, however, will first have a chance to see how Fuller fits next to Bates under new DC Jeff Ulbrich.

Jaguars To Sign T Fred Johnson

Jordan Mailata‘s primary fill-in at left tackle during the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning season, Fred Johnson will be the latest member of the champions’ roster on the move. The veteran swingman is heading to Jacksonville.

The Jaguars are signing the six-year O-lineman to a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A former Bengals and Buccaneers blocker, Johnson spent the past two seasons in Philly.

Jacksonville already signed Chuma Edoga as a possible swingman behind Walker Little and Anton Harrison, making this Johnson addition a bit more interesting. Johnson is coming off a season in which he saw at least 110 snaps at both left and right tackle for the Eagles. He primarily manned the left side, filling in for Mailata while he rehabbed a hamstring injury that landed him on IR.

Grading Johnson better during a 2023 season in which he logged only 35 offensive snaps, Pro Football Focus viewed him as a bottom-10 tackle option (among regulars) last year. The Eagles still thought highly of Johnson, keeping him in place throughout Mailata’s four-week IR stay. Philly’s word on O-linemen goes a long way right now, given the team’s success up front, and the Jags will give Johnson an opportunity.

Also making six starts for the 2020 Bengals, Johnson logged more than 100 snaps at right guard that season. The Jags have invested midlevel money inside this offseason as well, adding Robert Hainsey on a somewhat surprising three-year, $21MM deal while giving Patrick Mekari a three-year, $37.5MM contract. Considering Mekari’s versatile Baltimore past and Hainsey’s work at both center and guard, Jacksonville has acquired more flexibility up front since free agency opened.

Patriots, C Garrett Bradbury Agree To Deal

Garrett Bradbury has not needed to wait long to find his next NFL gig. The veteran center was officially released by the Vikings on Monday, and he now has a deal lined up with the Patriots.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Bradbury is heading to New England on a two-year contract. The pact has a maximum value of $12MM and includes $3.8MM in guarantees. The former first-rounder will be tasked with handling starting duties with the Patriots.

Bradbury started all 88 of his appearances during his time with Minnesota. The Vikings’ flurry of moves early in free agency included a deal for Ryan Kelly, however, and that pact indicated Bradbury would be on the move. Last week, it was learned the team would look to find a trade partner; as expected, no suitors were interested in taking on the remainder of his pact. The 29-year-old was designated a post-June 1 release on Monday.

That left Bradbury free to join a new team at any time, and to little surprise he has elected to join the Patriots. On Sunday, Schefter’s colleague Mike Reiss wrote New England represented a team to watch with respect to adding the NC State product. The Patriots’ decision to move on from David Andrews created a vacancy at the center spot, and this move will fill it for at least the short term.

Andrews operated as the Patriots’ starter each year since 2015 (with the exception of 2019, when he did not play). The possibility of a release was raised at the Combine, and New England when forward with it last week. That decision added to the questions facing a Pats O-line already in need of other starters, but Bradbury will now occupy a first-team role in Andrews’ place.

New England pursued Drew Dalman, the top center in the 2025 free agent class. A Patriots deal could not be worked out, though, as Dalman opted to join the Bears on a lucrative three-year pact. With the likes of Dalman, Kelly and Josh Myers off the market, it appeared the draft would be needed for New England to add a starter in the middle. The Bradbury release opened the door to a quick signing, though.

In 2022, Bradbury graded out as PFF’s 11th-best center. In each of his other campaigns, however, his evaluations have placed him between 23rd and 29th at the positions. Expectations will thus be tempered upon arrival in New England, a team which can now turn its attention to other offensive line spots until at least the draft.

Bills, LB Matt Milano Agree To Restructure

Matt Milano‘s missed time over the past two seasons has led to speculation about his future. The All-Pro Bills linebacker remains in the fold for now, but 2025 now represents his walk year.

Milano and the Bills worked out a restructure earlier this month, as detailed by Over the Cap. As result of the new arrangement, 2026 has been removed from the deal meaning Milano is heading toward free agency next spring. His base earnings for the coming campaign now stand at $6.31MM, all but roughly $1MM of which is guaranteed.

That represents a reduction in pay by $3.63MM from what Milano was originally scheduled to make in 2025. Performance-based incentives will allow him to make up that amount, however. Milano is now set to carry a cap charge of $12.16MM in 2025, a season which will be pivotal in determining his Buffalo future.

The 30-year-old remained mainly healthy for his six seasons with the Bills, a period in which he established himself as one of the top coverage linebackers in the NFL. Milano suffered a broken leg early in the 2023 campaign, though, and he then tore his biceps during training camp this past summer. As a result, the former fifth-rounder has only made nine appearances during the past two years.

When healthy, though, Milano has proven he can be a vital part of the Bills’ defense. The Boston College product has recorded at least 78 tackles in a season four times, and his ball production has resulted in 10 interceptions during his career. A return to form would be welcomed by team and player as Buffalo again looks to break through in the postseason in 2025.

The team has been busy on the extension front recently, and linebacker Terrel Bernard is among the players who have received a long-term deal. He is now attached to a $10.5MM AAV on a pact which runs through 2029. Buffalo also has Dorian Williams on his rookie contract for the next two years, and he figures to have a key role in the second level of the defense moving forward. Whether Milano can join Bernard and Williams on the field for most or all of next season will be a key storyline, and it will go a long way in deciding if his Buffalo tenure will continue beyond 2025.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/25

Tuesday’s minor transactions:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Clapp returns to the Big Easy after three seasons away from the team. Clapp has enjoyed more opportunities to start with the Chargers and Bills over the past three years after only starting seven of 34 game appearances in New Orleans. He’ll likely serve as a reliable backup to Erik McCoy who has missed 19 games in the last four seasons, including 10 last year.

Packers Signing WR Mecole Hardman

Green Bay’s versatile wide receiving corps adds another weapon today as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the signing of former Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman. The former second-round pick has turned into a bit of a return specialist over the years and could secure that role for the Packers in 2025.

The Georgia-product was taken fairly early in the 2019 draft based on athleticism, speed, and potential. After logging zero offensive statistics in four games as a freshman, Hardman racked up a combined 961 receiving yards with 11 touchdowns, adding 97 yards and two scores on the ground, in his last two years of play for the Bulldogs.

Hardman continued with extremely similar production over the course of his rookie contract with receiving yard totals of 538, 560, and 693 in his first three seasons. Despite the middling receiving totals, he added value with his return abilities, even earning second-team All-Pro honors as a kick returner as a rookie. In his first two seasons, he logged return touchdowns off both a kickoff and a punt.

In 2022, Hardman saw injuries bite into his production, missing nine games with an abdominal injury. The absences during a contract year hurt his value as a free agent, but he signed a one-year, $4MM deal to join the Jets through free agency. He failed to establish much of a role in New York, only catching one pass in five games, and Hardman asked to be traded after losing his starting job to a couple of rookies.

Hardman got traded back to the team that drafted him as players like Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kadarius Toney failed to deliver consistent results for the Chiefs. Even when back in Kansas City, though, Hardman’s impact remained minor, even failing to recapture return duties in 2023 as injuries continued limit him. Last year, Hardman regained punt return duties and returned a few kickoffs, but he saw injury turn its ugly head once again as he missed the final five games of the season, as well as the postseason.

In Green Bay, Hardman should have an opportunity to earn key return duties for both punts and kickoffs. Last year, the Packers utilized wide receiver Jayden Reed primarily for punt returns and cornerback Keisean Nixon primarily for kickoff returns. Both Reed and Nixon play fairly big roles outside of special teams, so the team would likely prefer to let them focus on their main responsibilities and allow Hardman to take over return duties.

On offense, Green Bay has plenty of young receiver talent of all shapes and sizes. A combination of Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks worked as a complete group of targets for quarterback Jordan Love in 2024. All four are back in 2025, so it may be difficult for Hardman to find many targets. He could still attempt to earn some time as a gadget player, though Reed played that role well in 2024, as well.

In Kansas City, Hardman joins DeAndre Hopkins as a departure from the receiving corps. The Chiefs have plenty of receivers in Hardman’s build (Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown), and Nikko Remigio should continue to fill in as the primary return option.

Saints DE Cameron Jordan Returning On Restructured Deal

MARCH 18: The Saints will have Jordan back on a one-year deal worth $6.1MM, according to OverTheCap. This pay cut will see Jordan’s base salary dropped to the league minimum, but that is for cap purposes, as the Saints — in an on-brand move — have four void years included in the new deal. Jordan’s cap number checks in at $9.78MM.

While Jordan joins Tyrann Mathieu in accepting a redone deal to stay in New Orleans, the all-time Saints great leaving in 2026 will be costly. If Jordan does not re-sign before the 2026 league year, the Saints will be tagged with $18.76MM in dead money.

MARCH 12: After making it known that he intended to continue playing in 2025, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is making it happen. Though Jordan profiled as a release candidate, Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football confirms that the team and Jordan have reached an agreement that will keep him in New Orleans for his 15th season.

It is believed that Jordan, who was due $12.5MM in 2025, is accepting a pay cut. After all, despite again starting a full slate of games last season, Jordan finished the year with a 47% snap share, which was by far the lowest mark of his career (he had never appeared in less than 70% of the Saints’ defensive snaps).

Along with the reduced playing time came a corresponding downturn in overall performance. For the first time since his rookie season all the way back in 2011, Jordan finished with a below-average Pro Football Focus grade; his 57.4 overall mark placed him 87th out of 119 qualified edge defenders, and his 54.3 pass rush grade was especially jarring in light of the sack artist’s history of production in that regard.

Jordan, who will be 36 by the time Week 1 rolls around, has just six sacks across the past two seasons after never posting fewer than 7.5 from 2012-22. At this stage of his career, the potential Hall of Famer and eight-time Pro Bowler is clearly a rotational piece.

Clearly, however, the Saints’ new regime and new DC Brandon Staley have prioritized continuity on the edge; New Orleans recently restructured the contract of defensive end Carl Granderson and agreed to re-sign Chase Young. The club also acquired Davon Godchaux via trade in an effort to fortify the interior of the D-line.

Jordan, who has reportedly become accustomed to treating the Saints’ final home game each year as if it could be his last in the Superdome, will have at least one more last hurrah.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Chargers Sign C Andre James

Andre James was among the players cut at the start of the new league year last week, but he has not needed to wait long to find a new deal. The veteran center signed with the Chargers on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

James spent the first six years of his career with the Raiders. That span included serving as the team’s full-time starting center from 2021 onwards. The former UDFA re-signed on a three-year deal last offseason, but just one year into the pact he was let go.

Today’s move keep James in the AFC West, and it could allow him to continue operating as a starter. The Chargers re-signed Bradley Bozeman just before free agency began, putting him on track to carry on as Los Angeles’ first-team option in the middle. James represents experienced competition for the role, though.

The 27-year-old has mostly drawn consistent PFF reviews during his career, with his best overall grade (74.6) coming in 2023. James’ evaluation took a step back last season, one in which the Raiders struggled in general up front. A bounce-back campaign in 2025 would help James rebuild his value, though, something which could be feasible if he earns the starting gig on a strong Chargers O-line.

The Bolts have tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, along with guard Zion Johnson, set to return next season. The team added another starter along the interior in the form of Mekhi Becton, who thrived in his one-and-done Eagles campaign. Becton found himself as one of the top blockers in free agency this year, and he landed a two-year Chargers pact worth up to $20MM. Expectations will be high for the former Jets draftee in particular and Los Angeles’ play up front in general.

Bozeman spent the 2022 and ’23 seasons in Carolina, but when playing out his rookie deal with the Ravens before that he worked under Greg Roman. The latter took on OC duties in Los Angeles when reuniting with head coach Jim Harbaugh last offseason, a factor in Bozeman’s first Chargers deal and his recent re-signing. The latter started all 17 games in 2024, but that may not be the case moving forward.

Rams Sign LB Nathan Landman

Earlier this month, it was learned the Falcons would not issue an RFA tender to Nathan LandmanThat left the linebacker free to depart on the open market, and he has done just that.

Landman agreed to a one-year deal with the Rams on Tuesday, per a team announcement. During his three seasons in Atlanta, the former undrafted free agent made 36 appearances and 23 starts. He could take on a notable defensive role with Los Angeles as a result.

During his debut season, Landman played seven games but saw only sparse usage on defense while handling special teams duties. His workload changed dramatically in 2023, however, with 805 defensive snaps resulting in notable production. Landman posted 110 tackles, three forced fumbles and a pair of sacks that season while filling in for the injured Troy Andersen.

Landman remained a key defender this past season, although a quad injury forced him to miss four games. A deal allowing him to remain in Atlanta was floated as a possibility once the decision was made to non-tender him (something which would have cost as little as $3.26MM). Instead of returning at a lower rate, Landman has elected to join a new team for the first time in his career.

The 26-year-old now joins a LB room which saw Christian Rozeboom depart in free agency by taking a deal with the Panthers. The Rams have also lost special teamer Jake Hummel to the Ravens while Troy Reeder remains unsigned. Landman could again find himself occupying a heavy workload on defense as a result; failing that, he should have plenty of special teams snaps available.

The Colorado product collected roughly $2.5MM during his time with the Falcons. Deals signed this deep into free agency are not particularly lucrative in most cases, but it will be interesting to see if this Rams pact checks in at a higher rate than the value of the low tender. In any case, Landman can help his 2026 earning potential with a strong season in Los Angeles.