Jermaine Kearse does not plan to re-sign with the Seahawks and is looking forward to finding a new home, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports (on Twitter).
The 26-year-old Lakeland, Wash., native would be one the rare instances of an actual hometown discount occurring in the NFL, only Kearse isn’t interested in taking one to remain with the Seahawks.
Seattle has much of its money tied up on its stellar defense, with three of the four Legion of Boom starters on second contracts, along with several members of its front seven.
Kearse, meanwhile, will be one of the top receivers on a market that’s not loaded with No. 1-caliber wideouts. Marvin Jones, Rishard Matthews and Rueben Randle are the other top young targets in free agency after the Bears franchise-tagged Alshon Jeffery.
Kearse has started 36 games since joining the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent and likely stands to be pursued by several teams in need of pass-catching help.
Here’s some more on the Seahawks and other teams as they plan to navigate free agency.
- Bruce Irvin and Russell Okung are “almost certainly” going to join Kearse on their way out of the Pacific Northwest, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. Okung probably resides as the left tackle market’s top option now that Cordy Glenn‘s been franchised, and the self-represented blocker will take the best offer, per Condotta (on Twitter). Irvin’s market as well could escalate beyond Seattle’s means, with the interest in pass-rushers being only surpassed by quarterbacks. We heard Wednesday that multiple teams would be thrilled to tab Irvin at $9.5MM AAV, and Condotta doesn’t envision the Seahawks surpassing eight figures annually to keep Irvin (Twitter link).
- The Texans are actively trying to lock down a deal for Brandon Brooks, but no such accord is imminent for the fifth-year guard, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Brooks’ representatives and Houston have been in contact since the Combine. Brooks rated as Pro Football Focus’ 37th-ranked guard in 2015, and he joins a crowded guard class fronted by Kelechi Osemele. The Texans re-signed right tackle Derek Newton last offseason and have $42MM+ worth of cap space this year.
- Houston’s also trying to keep center Ben Jones, according to Wilson. The Houston reporter doesn’t expect Jones to be as pricey. The fourth-round pick in 2012’s started 43 games for the Texans.
- Adam Jones expects interest from the Dolphins, who hired former Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph as their DC. Talks between the Bengals and Jones broke down last season, but the maligned 32-year-old corner hasn’t closed the book on a Cincinnati return, according to Mike Garafolo of FoxSports.com. “I would think V.J. would be interested,” Jones told Garafolo. “He’s taught me a lot and he knows I know everything in the system. He knows I’m a football guy. If I’m a betting man, I would think he’d try to bring me in there.”
- The Dolphins plan to move on from Matt Moore as their backup quarterback, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Moore’s been with the Dolphins for five seasons, including his lone stint as a starter during which he went 6-6 and completed 61% of his passes. He’s thrown 30 passes total in the past four years as Ryan Tannehill‘s backup. Miami re-signed Moore to a one-year deal worth $2.6MM last year but may look to allocate less money to the spot. The 31-year-old Moore should have a market for a backup job elsewhere.
- The Patriots don’t plan to tender defensive lineman Sealver Siliga, making him a free agent once the market opens, Rand Getlin of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Siliga’s played with the Patriots for the past three seasons, starting 13 regular-season games during that span.
- Joel Corry expects Von Miller to sign a six-year, $120MM deal with the Broncos that includes $65MM in guaranteed money, the former agent writes for CBSSports.com. This would eclipse Ndamukong Suh‘s pact in both total and guaranteed dollars. Corry anticipates Washington paying $100MM over five years for Kirk Cousins, the Bears going five years and $75MM for Jeffery — in a deal that would eclipse those signed by Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas last summer as tagged receivers — and Muhammad Wilkerson signing for $100MM over six years.