[RELATED: Patriots To Re-Sign TE Hunter Henry]

The veteran is inking a one-year deal with New England, per Rapoport. The contract can hit a max value of $4.25MM.

The move reunites Hooper with Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was Hooper’s OC during the tight end’s two years in Cleveland. Hooper had 84 catches and seven touchdowns across two seasons with the Browns.

Hooper has struggled to match his Falcons numbers in recent years. The former third-round pick topped 500 receiving yards for Atlanta each season between 2017 and 2019. He earned Pro Bowl nods in both 2018 and 2019, and he finished that latter season with career highs in receptions (75), receiving yards (787), and touchdowns (six).

That performance earned him a four-year, $44MM deal with the Browns in 2020, but Hooper only lasted two seasons in Cleveland before getting released. He hauled in 41 catches for the Titans in 2022 before catching on with the Raiders in 2023. He finished this past season with 25 catches, his lowest total since his rookie campaign. Pro Football Focus ended up ranking him 41st among 72 qualifying tight ends, although he finished second at his position for his pass-block ability.

The Patriots brought in Mike Gesicki to replace Jonnu Smith in 2023, but the former Dolphins tight end struggled during his lone season in New England. Gesicki finished the season with 29 catches for 244 yards, his lowest totals since his rookie year.

With the Patriots eyeing a new offense in 2024, there’s a chance the organization gets more out of their tight ends. Henry is still atop the depth chart in New England, but the team has leaned heavily on their backup tight end in recent years. Besides Henry and Hooper, the only other tight end currently on the roster is La’Michael Pettway, so the Patriots may not be finished adding players at the position.

Hooper has bounced around the league; he spent 2022 with the Titans. The Raiders will be his fourth NFL team. The former Falcons, Browns and Titans tight end will sign a one-year deal worth $2.75MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The deal can max out at $3.5MM, but the Raiders will save quite a bit by making a Darren Waller-to-Hooper pivot.

Going from Waller to Hooper, 28, represents an obvious downgrade in athleticism, Hooper’s two Pro Bowls (as an alternate) aside. Hooper did finish last season with 41 receptions for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the Titans’ passing game sinking toward the bottom of the league, Hooper totaled the most receiving yards since his Falcons days. Waller is one of just eight tight ends in NFL history to post multiple 1,100-yard receiving seasons, though he has not done so since 2020.

Before George Kittle‘s second contract and Travis Kelce‘s third moved the tight end market north from its stagnant place during Rob Gronkowski‘s Patriots-friendly agreement, the Browns made Hooper the league’s highest-paid tight end. Hooper landed a four-year, $42MM deal with Cleveland in 2020 but could not live up to it. Working alongside David Njoku, Hooper topped out at 435 receiving yards in a season during his Cleveland stay. The Browns bailed on the deal, designating Hooper as a post-June 1 cut, in 2022.

The Raiders gave Waller a $17MM-per-year pact, which, for AAV purposes, became the new tight end standard in September. But Waller battled a lingering hamstring injury that sidelined him for eight games last season. In 2021, the talented tight end missed six. Some among the Raiders expressed frustration with Waller last season, and the Giants dealt away their Kadarius Toney-obtained third-rounder for the 30-year-old playmaker. The Raiders are moving on, but Hooper should probably not be considered their only offseason addition.

Hooper, who did eclipse 600 receiving yards with Matt Ryan in 2018 and ’19, has also been more available compared to Waller. Hooper has missed one game over the past two seasons. It will be interesting to see how he fits in Josh McDaniels‘ offense; Pro Football Focus rated Hooper as one of the NFL’s worst run-blocking tight ends last season.

Ex-Waller sidekick Foster Moreau remains a free agent, though he met with the Bengals recently. The Raiders will also have the option of taking a tight end in what is believed to be a rich crop of prospects in this year’s draft. But Hooper will provide Jimmy Garoppolo with a veteran presence and will do so at a low cost, which will be important to a team with three eight-figure-per-year wideouts and a running back on the franchise tag.

Eleven players were designated as post-June 1 cuts this year, via CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. Due to a longstanding CBA provision, teams that designate players as post-June 1 releases see the dead-money burden lessened for that year. Teams can designate up to two players as post-June 1 releases each year.

Here are 2022’s post-June 1 cuts, along with the belated cap savings the teams picked up Thursday:

Arizona Cardinals

• DL Jordan Phillips; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)

Chicago Bears

• RB Tarik Cohen; 2022 cap savings: $4MM (story)
• LB Danny Trevathan; 2022 cap savings: $3.3MM (story)

Cleveland Browns

• TE Austin Hooper; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)

Dallas Cowboys

• T La’el Collins; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)

Las Vegas Raiders

• LB Cory Littleton; 2022 cap savings: $11.8MM (story)
• DE Carl Nassib; 2022 cap savings: $8MM (story)

Philadelphia Eagles

• DT Fletcher Cox; 2022 cap savings: $2.1MM (story)

Seattle Seahawks

• DE Carlos Dunlap; 2022 cap savings: $5.1MM (story)

Tennessee Titans

• WR Julio Jones; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)

Washington Commanders

• S Landon Collins; 2022 cap savings: $11.9MM (story)

As detailed in PFR’s glossary, post-June 1 cuts spread dead-money hits over two years. These teams will be taking on dead money this year and next. A few of the 2023 hits are substantial, but the league’s cap-space hierarchy changed significantly Thursday as well.

Because of multiple restructures, Raiders will carry $9.9MM in Littleton dead money next year. The Cowboys will take on $8.7MM in 2023 for cutting Collins, while the Titans will be hit with $8.4MM for their Jones release. Cleveland, which just gave David Njoku a $14.2MM-per-year deal, will carry a $7.5MM dead-money cost next year due to shedding Hooper’s eight-figure-AAV deal early. The Eagles will be tagged with $11.5MM for their Cox cut, with Corry noting that is the net difference because of a $3.2MM salary cap credit regarding Cox’s 2022 bonus proration. Philadelphia re-signed the perennial Pro Bowler on a one-year, $14MM deal.

Hooper’s release pushes Cleveland’s cap space to beyond $40MM; the Browns’ overall cap-space edge is now a whopping $15MM. That should help the team address multiple needs ahead of training camp. Other teams have more options now, too. As of Thursday, the Raiders hold the NFL’s third-most cap space ($22.5MM, per OverTheCap). The $10MM the Cowboys saved moves them up to fourth in cap space ($22.49MM), while the Bears ($22.2MM), Commanders ($18.4MM) and Seahawks ($17MM) now sit fifth, sixth and seventh.

A handful of this year’s post-June 1 cut crop joined Cox in taking advantage of the modern setup, which allows these cap casualties to become free agents immediately — rather than waiting until June to hit the market. In place since the 2006 CBA, this adjustment let veterans loose early while keeping their cap figures on teams’ payrolls through May. Collins quickly joined the Bengals, while Littleton landed with the Panthers, Hooper signed with the Titans, and Phillips returned to the Bills. The remainder of this group remains unsigned. The savings this lot of teams inherited Thursday may help some of these players’ causes in free agency.

[RELATED: Browns To Release Hooper]

Hooper, 27, started his career in Atlanta. He played four seasons there, earning Pro Bowls nods in 2018 and 2019. He posted a combined total of 146 catches, 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns during that time. That production made him a highly sought-after commodity in free agency.

Hooper signed a four-year, $42MM deal with the Browns, making him the highest-paid TE in league history at the time. In two seasons in Cleveland, he played (and started) in 29 contests. Over that stretch, he posted 84 receptions for 780 yards and seven touchdowns. That certainly wasn’t the production the team had been expecting, which partially opened the door to a parting of ways.

More signs pointed to a departure when the team placed the franchise tag on fellow TE David Njoku. The latter has been with the Browns since being drafted in the first round by them in 2017. While he also hasn’t emerged as one of the league’s elite seam-stretchers (with a career-high of 639 receiving yards), Njoku represents a better fit in the Browns’ run-heavy offense. Keeping Hooper at a cap hit of over $13MM with Njoku still in the fold was never financially viable.

In Tennessee, Hooper will join an offense short on pass catchers. The team struggled to replace Jonnu Smith, who departed last offseason in free agency. Given that, as well as the release of Julio Jones, there should be plenty of targets available for the Stanford product. With Hooper off the market, the top remaining TEs include the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Gerald Everett and Blake Jarwin.

[RELATED: Browns Place Franchise Tag On Njoku]

The Browns were giving serious thought to keeping Hooper alongside breakout star David Njoku. At least, that was their public position. In reality, there was little sense in keeping both players.

It’s been almost two years since Hooper inked a then record-breaking deal for tight ends, one that was slated to run through 2024. Now, instead of keeping him around as a secondary TE target in their Baker Mayfield-led offense, the Browns will cut Hooper to save $2MM on the 2022 books. Meanwhile, the $11.25MM dead money charge will be split between ’22 and ’23.

Hooper, still only 27, should hold appeal for TE-needy teams elsewhere. While his Cleveland run has been forgettable, it wasn’t long ago that he notched two consecutive Pro Bowl nods with the Falcons.

[RELATED: Browns Place Franchise Tag On David Njoku]

It’s been almost two years since Hooper inked a then record-breaking deal for tight ends, keeping him on the books in Cleveland until 2024. The Browns wouldn’t see a whole lot of savings by cutting Hooper, so it makes sense that they’ll keep him around as another target in the Baker Mayfield-led offense.

Hooper earned two-straight Pro Bowls during his final two seasons with the Falcons, and he had a career season just before hitting free agency. However, he’s disappointed a bit since catching on with Cleveland. In 29 games (29 starts) over the past two years, Hooper has hauled in only 84 receptions for 780 and seven touchdowns.

A first round pick in 2017, Njoku’s best season came one year later, when he posted 56 catches for 639 yards and four majors. The franchise tag means Njoku will make $10.8MM next season, making the two Browns teammates one of the highest-paid tight end duos in the NFL.

[Related: Browns Want To Keep David Njoku]

One week ago, it was reported that Cleveland was intent on making a sizeable commitment to the 25-year-old. Specifically, a deal paying him eight figures per season on average was said to be what the team is willing to offer. That came as a surprise to many, mainly because of the presence of Austin Hooper and his contract. The former Falcon signed a then record-breaking deal for tight ends, which keeps him on the books in Cleveland until 2024.

For each of the next two seasons, Hooper will carry a cap hit of $13.25MM. If he plays on the tag, Njoku will make $10.8MM, giving the Browns an expensive tandem at the position, especially considering their combined production. In 2021, the pair totalled 820 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Nevertheless, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirms that the team is treating the tag as simply a means of buying time for a long-term extension (Twitter link).

A first round pick in 2017, Njoku’s best season came one year later, when he posted 56 catches for 639 yards and four majors. Despite not putting up eye-popping numbers during his five seasons with the team, he has ultimately shown a willingness to stick around, in spite of the investment made in Hooper. For at least one more campaign, he will be able to do just that.

The team also announced they have tendered three exclusive rights free agents: wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley, as well as offensive linemen Michael Dunn and Blake Hance.

Arizona Cardinals

• Placed on list: P Andy Lee

Baltimore Ravens

• Placed on list: LB Chris Board, DT Justin Madubuike, S Geno Stone, LB Kristian Welch

Carolina Panthers

• Placed on list: S Sam Franklin Jr., DE Azur Kamara
• Activated from list: RB Christian McCaffrey

Chicago Bears

• Placed on list: TE Jesper Horsted

Cleveland Browns

• Placed on list: CB Greg Newsome
• Activated from list: TE Austin Hooper, LB Jacob Phillips

Dallas Cowboys

• Activated from list: DT Osa Odighizuwa

Denver Broncos

• Activated from list: LB Malik Reed

Detroit Lions

• Activated from list: S Jalen Elliott

Houston Texans

• Placed on list: WR Brandin Cooks (st0ry), LB Tae Davis
• Activated from list: DE DeMarcus Walker

Indianapolis Colts

• Placed on list: DE Kemoko Turay, CB Rock Ya-Sin

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Placed on list: RB Travis Etienne
• Activated from list: LB Dylan Moses

Kansas City Chiefs

• Placed on list: OT Mike Remmers
• Activated from list: LB Willie Gay Jr., WR Josh Gordon

Las Vegas Raiders

• Placed on list: CB Brandon Facyson

Los Angeles Chargers

• Placed on list: WR Jalen Guyton

Los Angeles Rams

• Activated from list: DB Terrell Burgess, G Jamil Demby, T Rob Havenstein, NT Sebastian Joseph, LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo

Miami Dolphins

• Placed on list: G Robert Jones

Minnesota Vikings

• Activated from list: RB Alexander Mattison

New England Patriots

• Activated from list: RB J.J. Taylor

New Orleans Saints

• Placed on list: TE Adam Trautman

New York Jets

• Placed on list: S Ashtyn Davis, DT Jonathan Marshall, TE Kenny Yeboah

Philadelphia Eagles

• Placed on list: T Le’Raven Clark

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Placed on list: LB Marcus Allen, OT Zach Banner, LB Devin Bush

Seattle Seahawks

• Placed on list: TE Will Dissly
• Activated from list: RB Alex Collins

Tennessee Titans

• Placed on list: OL Rodger Saffold

Washington Football Team

• Placed on list: LB Cole Holcomb
• Activated from list: DE William Bradley-King, T Cornelius Lucas

[RELATED: Chargers’ Slater Placed On COVID-19 List]

All eight players have tested positive for the virus (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero), putting their availability in doubt. Still, as of this writing, the game is still slated to go ahead as planned on Saturday (Twitter link).

On Monday alone, 36 NFL players — including Chargers tackle Rashawn Slater — were placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list. Since then, the league has issued a memo requiring booster shots for all Tier 1 and 2 staff by Dec. 27. While players are not required to be vaccinated, coaches and trainers fall within Tier 1.

The Browns were already down three players on Sunday, including tight end David Njoku, thanks to the reserve/COVID-19 designation. Despite that, they still managed to beat the Ravens and advance to 7-6 on the year.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham became the subject of trade speculation even before his first season in Cleveland was over, and those rumors have continued to crop up ever since. The Browns have done their best to quash all such rumblings, and Beckham will likely stay put at least through the end of the 2021 campaign. After all, he is dealing with a painful sprain in his right shoulder, and he is still owed $9MM over the rest of the season, so even if Cleveland were interesting in making a trade, there are obvious hurdles.

Plus, the Browns have every reason to keep Beckham around. Although he and QB Baker Mayfield have yet to develop a consistent rapport, OBJ continues to get open and remains an elite talent, so it would be surprising to see a Cleveland outfit that has postseason aspirations make that type of trade.

The same logic applies to tight ends David Njoku and Austin Hooper. Neither player has offered much production in 2021 — aside from a monster Week 5 game for Njoku that accounted for over half of his 2021 receiving yards and his only touchdown — but the hope is that the passing game will improve as the season goes on, just as it did last year. Njoku is playing on an expiring contract and requested a trade on several occasions last summer, but his most recent comments on the matter suggested that he would like to remain in Cleveland, and Cabot expects both him and Hooper to still be Browns once the deadline has passed.

Speaking of Mayfield, Cabot says the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft will likely require offseason surgery on his injured shoulder. His injury has complicated extension talks, and now, if an extension is reached, it probably won’t happen until after the season. Mayfield is under club control through 2022 via the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, which the Browns exercised earlier this year.

In related news, Cleveland does have starting RT Jack Conklin back in action for today’s critical matchup with the Steelers. Conklin had missed the prior two games with a knee injury.

Seeing their first- and second-string tight ends miss almost all of last season, and each now off the roster, the Redskins emerged as an early Hooper suitor. And the former Falcons tight end confirmed his final decision came down to the Browns and Redskins.

“It really came down to Cleveland and Washington. At the end, I chose to be a Brown,” Hooper said during a Sirius XM Radio interview (via NBC Sports Washington). “Redskins were definitely a team that had shown interest I would say. Definitely a solid organization with another talented young quarterback, so that was going to be my next landing spot.”

The Redskins have moved forward without Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, releasing the former and seeing the latter retire. Ron Rivera pursued a Greg Olsen reunion, but the longtime Panthers tight end chose the Seahawks. Washington has since added Richard Rodgers and former quarterback Logan Thomas but likely is not done restocking this position group.

The Bears and Packers joined the Redskins in the Hooper mix, but the Browns — despite their David Njoku employment — won out with a $10.5MM-per-year offer. Chicago submitted a surprising offer to Jimmy Graham (two years, $16MM), while Green Bay re-signed Marcedes Lewis.

“I’m definitely leaning Cleveland. Unless something comes up unexpected, then no question Cleveland is the leader,” Hooper said.

Once finalized, the deal will pay Hooper $42MM over four years, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets. The pact includes $18.5MM fully guaranteed at signing with $23MM locked in through the first two years. The average annual value of $10.5MM makes Hooper the league’s best compensated TE in NFL history, putting him ahead of Jimmy Graham. Graham, before he was cut, was on a deal that paid him $10MM per annum.

Hooper has drawn interest from just about everyone in recent weeks and, unlike the incumbent Falcons, they had enough available cap room to swing a deal. The deal, for now, is a (teleconferenced) handshake. On Wednesday, the two sides can make things official when the 2020 league year officially begins.

In 13 games for Atlanta in 2019, the two-time Pro Bowler set career-highs in catches (75), receiving yards (787), and touchdowns (six). In Cleveland, Hooper would provide Baker Mayfield with yet another explosive offensive weapon. Last year, despite all of their immense talent, the Browns were unable to capitalize.

This year, things could be different under their new regime, and their aerial attack could be more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, the Browns will keep their fingers crossed for the swift and full recoveries of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, both of whom are coming off of surgery. If they’re good to go, opposing defenses will have their hands full with Hooper, OBJ, Landry, and David Njoku, who would likely line up in two tight end sets with the team’s new high-priced addition.

Both the Colts and Titans are interested and are not afraid of Clowney’s asking price, per Fowler and Graziano. A new entry in the Clowney sweepstakes, Tennessee could use edge help but seemingly has key issues to sort out involving Ryan Tannehill (or a replacement) and Derrick Henry first.

Here is the latest from the free agency market, shifting to one of this era’s top cornerbacks:

• Chris Harris appears set to have a busy legal tampering period. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback has drawn interest from the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Raiders and Texans, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The final holdover from the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl-winning secondary, Harris both expressed a desire to finish his career in Denver and hit the market for the first time. While the Broncos have not ruled out another extension for the 30-year-old cornerback, Harris expects to be elsewhere in 2020. Harris met with at least 24 teams at the Combine, including the Cowboys, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). A Cowboys fit would be interesting, with the team set to lose Byron Jones. The Broncos are one of the teams targeting Jones.
• In Demario Davis, the Saints already have a 30-something entrenched as a starting linebacker. However, New Orleans is interested in Patriots free agent Jamie Collins, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Collins, 30, enjoyed a bounce-back season back in New England, after he did not justify his then-off-ball-‘backer-record deal in Cleveland. The Saints have A.J. Klein as a free agent-to-be and can save $8MM by releasing Kiko Alonso.
• While the Saints were willing to let Kenny Vaccaro walk two years ago, they want to retain Vonn Bell, Holder adds. It would be at a price, however. Considering the Saints added promising safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round last year and have Marcus Williams as an extension candidate, their Bell price point may be low.
• The tight end landscape could look strange by the time George Kittle‘s negotiations ramp up. Austin Hooper is expected to become the league’s highest-paid tight end — by a considerable margin — in free agency, Graziano and Fowler note. A 2016 third-round pick, Hooper has made the Pro Bowl twice but has only one 700-yard season on his resume. However, the Falcons tight end was on pace for nearly 1,000 yards before a midseason hamstring injury. The Falcons will let Hooper test the market, and with this draft not deep at tight end, the market will likely be robust. The Bears, Packers and Redskins are interested.
• Phillip Lindsay has exploded out of the blocks to start his career, becoming the first UDFA to start his NFL run with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. But backfield mate Royce Freeman, a Broncos 2018 third-round pick, has underwhelmed. The Broncos may be eyeing an upgrade, with Mike Klis of 9News tweeting the team is exploring veteran backs on the market. With teams potentially skittish about big deals for backs, after some recent ones backfired, some bigger-name backs may be available at reasonable rates.

Already this morning we heard that the Bears and Redskins are interested in Hooper, but given that they advanced to the NFC Championship Game in 2019 and have a future Hall of Famer under center, the Packers look like a much much more appealing landing spot for Hooper if they can make the money work. The 25-year-old will likely take home a contract paying him at least $12MM per season, and the tight end market as a whole is widely expected to be reset this year after it has stagnated for some time.

Indeed, the Packers’ own Jimmy Graham has long been the TE pacesetter in terms of average annual value ($10MM), but his play has not really merited that status in recent years. He did lead Green Bay tight ends with 38 catches for 447 yards in 2019, but an upgrade is definitely in order.

Hooper would provide just that. In 13 games for Atlanta in 2019, the 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowler set career-highs in receptions (75), yards (787), and touchdowns (six). Green Bay has often asked Rodgers to make hay out of an underwhelming receiving corps, and a combination of Davante Adams, Hooper, and perhaps a rookie WR from a class that is historically deep at the position would undoubtedly make A-Rod a very happy man. Adding Hooper may also allow the team to cut Graham and save about $8MM against the cap, which would help pay for Hooper’s salary.

Of course, the team also hopes RB Aaron Jones will stick around for the foreseeable future after a monster 2019 campaign as a do-it-all playmaker for the Green Bay offense. Jones is now eligible for an extension after having completed three years in the league, and Demovsky says the Packers were scheduled to meet with his reps at the scouting combine. Jones, a 2017 fifth-rounder, is interested in having contract talks.

The interest from Chicago and Washington makes plenty of sense. Not only has the tight end position become hugely important in many NFL offenses over the past several seasons, but neither club got much production from their own TEs in 2019. The Bears’ Trey Burton saw his second year in Chicago almost completely wiped out by mismanaged recovery from sports hernia surgery and a calf injury, and as Lieser notes, Burton underwent surgery again this offseason. While the team is hopeful he can return to form in 2020, it’s far from a certainty. And even if he does, having a weapon like Hooper would be a huge lift to an offense that relies heavily on tight ends and that features an uncertain QB situation.

The Redskins also make plenty of sense as a landing spot for Hooper. The club pursued Greg Olsen before he signed with the Seahawks, and Washington needs to add to its cadre of weapons for Dwayne Haskins, or whoever happens to be under center in 2020. Last year, the Redskins’ tight end group was paced by Jeremy Sprinkle, who caught 26 passes for 241 yards and a TD.

In Atlanta, Hooper, 25, was busy setting career-highs in receptions (75), yards (787), and touchdowns (six), despite playing in only 13 games. He is clearly a player on the rise, and he will be a hot commodity over the coming weeks.

Lieser believes the Bears are a long-shot to sign him, and it’s unclear if Hooper would want to join a rebuilding outfit like the Redskins, as he will likely have more appealing destinations available to him.