Kenny Britt

FA Rumors: Sanders, Tillman, Britt, Osgood

Emmanuel Sanders is a hot commodity and he has a full docket for the first week of free agency. After his visit with the Jaguars, he’s headed over to Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Here are the latest free agent rumors..

  • Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that Charles Tillman is unlikely to sign with the Buccaneers. There has been a great deal of talk over the last 24 hours about Tampa Bay pairing the former Bears corner with new acquisition Alterraun Verner.
  • Four or five teams have interest in free agent wide receiver Kenny Britt, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Redskins have been linked to the troubled athlete and Florio speculates that the Patriots could be interested as well.
  • The 49ers want to bring back wide receiver Kassim Osgood, but they might not do so until they sign a cornerback and determine how much cap space they have left, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
  • Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst is visiting the Titans on Thursday and there’s a real scenario where he could be team’s No. 2 quarterback this fall, Jim Wyatt of The Tennesseean tweets.
  • Cornerback Walter Thurmond completed his visit with the Jaguars and he’s now spending time with Seahawks officials. His next stops will be Washington to visit the Redskins and Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com.
  • Agent Eugene Parker tells Roy Cummings of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) that Bears free agent return man Devin Hester doesn’t have any visits scheduled yet.

NFC Rumors: Sproles, Tuck, Suh, Watson

Let’s check on the latest miscellaneous notes from around the NFC….

  • The Saints are set to cut Darren Sproles today, but they are still holding out hope on trading him, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. There are more than ten teams interested in the diminutive tailback if he’s cut free, so it’s conceivable that they could find a trade partner.
  • Justin Tuck‘s exploration of the free agent market may end up with him returning to the Giants, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio hears that one team was willing to pay Tuck $3MM per year, but the veteran defensive end would prefer to remain in New York at that price.
  • Talks have yet to start between the Lions and Ndamukong Suh on reworking his deal, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The thinking previously was that Detroit had to re-work the deal before the start of free agency but that’s not the case.
  • Buccaneers linebacker Dekoda Watson is likely to sign elsewhere at the start of free agency, a league source tells Mike Florio.
  • The Bears would like to bring back cornerback/special teams player Sherrick McManis, but the Ravens, Eagles, and Falcons could be in play as well, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • With Donte Whitner set to leave the 49ers, San Francisco could turn to safety Ryan Mundy as a fallback, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Free agent left tackle Jared Veldheer has fired his agent in order to hire his brother, James Veldheer, as his new agent, tweets Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910. Veldheer is expected to sign with the Cardinals.
  • The Redskins are monitoring Kenny Britt, who could be had on a reasonable deal in a soft market, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. Of course, the Redskins’ likely deal with Andre Roberts lessens their need for Britt.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

WR Rumors: Britt, Hawkins, Edelman, Jones

With about 17 hours left to go until the official start of free agency, here’s a look at some of the rumors regarding receivers:

  • The Redskins have interest in both Kenny Britt and Andrew Hawkins, writes Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Britt is an unrestricted free agent who has had his share of struggles both on and off the field, but he can still be a playmaker. Hawkins is a restricted free agent who was tendered at the original-pick level; because he was an undrafted free agent, the Redskins would not have to sacrifice a draft pick to sign him. Hawkins played under Redskins head coach Jay Gruden the past three seasons with the Bengals.
  • The Patriots are heavily engaged in contract talks with Julian Edelman, reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Edelman was on the free agent market for over a month last offseason before re-upping with the Pats, but that would assuredly not happen were he to reach free agency tomorrow.
  • James Jones is receiving interest from both the Lions and the Jets, but a return to the Packers is not out of the question, tweets Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net.
  • The 49ers could be interested in Dexter McCluster, says ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson (via Twitter).

NFC Rumors: Giants, Saints, Vikings, Lions

A few Monday afternoon updates on NFC teams:

  • The Giants have some level of interest in Brandon Pettigrew, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). With Jimmy Graham franchised and Dennis Pitta extended, Pettigrew may be the top unrestricted free agent tight end of the offseason.
  • Assuming Charles Tillman doesn’t re-sign with the Bears, the Panthers look like a potential destination for the veteran defensive back, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • The Saints brought safety Louis Delmas in for a visit after he was released by the Lions, but New Orleans doesn’t appear likely to sign Delmas, a source tells Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.
  • Adding a veteran safety doesn’t look like a top priority for the Vikings, but it could be worth keeping an eye on Ryan Clark as a possible fit, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
  • The Redskins have remained in contact with the reps for safety Mike Mitchell, says John Keim of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Keim adds that Kenny Britt and Andrew Hawkins are two potential WR targets to keep an eye on for the Redskins.
  • Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press says the Lions will definitely sign a wide receiver and a safety in free agency, but it’s not clear yet which specific players the team will land (Twitter link via Pro Football Talk).
  • As Lions GM Martin Mayhew suggested last month, while he’d like to have a new deal worked out with Ndamukong Suh by the time the 2014 league year begins tomorrow, he won’t consider it a setback if nothing is done, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. Suh, who recently hired Jimmy Sexton of CAA to negotiate his next deal, has a cap number of $22MM+ for 2014 that the Lions would like to reduce.

Titans Rumors: Verner, Free Agents, Britt

There’s some concern that free agent cornerback Alterraun Verner may be out of the Titans’ price range, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The club has spoken to Verner’s agent and hasn’t ruled out using its franchise tag, but indications are that Tennessee won’t franchise its standout cornerback, who figures to attract several big-money suitors on the open market, says Wyatt. Here’s more on the Titans from the Tennessean scribe:

  • Within the same piece, Wyatt suggests that locking up Verner may require a deal similar to the one the Titans gave Jason McCourty, who is averaging $8.6MM per year.
  • GM Ruston Webster on Verner, and free agents in general: “You have to look at where he is going to fit in your puzzle with the salary cap, with the value, whatever you set his value at. You want to get good players on your team. We try and get as many of those as we can everywhere, but obviously you have to spread it out some, so you have to be careful that way.”
  • There are indications that the Titans have spoken to – or plan to speak to – the agents for several prospective free agents, writes Wyatt, listing running back Jackie Battle, wide receivers Damian Williams and Marc Mariani, return specialist Leon Washington and offensive lineman Chris Spencer.
  • One free agent with whom the team appears ready to part ways? Wide receiver Kenny Britt. Unsurprisingly, Wyatt tweets that Tennessee has no plans to re-sign Britt.