NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Cleveland Browns are re-signing safety Ronnie Harrison to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday, according to his agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha. Harrison wasn't very good in coverage last year for Cleveland, but he was decent against the run. He ultimately finished with 58 tackles (40 solo), four tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and three passes defensed in 12 games (11 starts) in his second season with the Browns. The 24-year-old missed some time while on the COVID-19 list last season and will return for his third year with the Browns in 2022. Harrison was originally a third-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018 out of Alabama.--Keith Hernandez - RotoBaller

 

He strikes me as a good candidate for a 'tweener role - I'd be tempted to sign him to play as a LB in nickel or dime packages, special teams, and to provide depth at strong safety.

 

Ravens announce two-year contract with Calais Campbell



One of the best remaining free agents will be staying put.

Defensive tackle Calais Campbell has signed a two-year contract to remain in Baltimore, the Ravens announced this morning.


According to multiple reports, the contract has a total value of $12.5 million.

The 35-year-old Campbell played the last two seasons in Baltimore after previously spending three years in Jacksonville and nine years in Arizona. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler.

PFT

 

The Chicago Bears signed free-agent linebacker Matt Adams to an undisclosed deal on Saturday. Adams played the last four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and will reunite with head coach Matt Eberflus. The 26-year-old has played a full season in three of his four NFL seasons, but he's totaled just 55 tackles (40 solo), six tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in 58 career games (nine starts) as primarily a special teams player. He figures to have a similar role in Chicago and will be well off the fantasy radar for those in IDP leagues. Adams was a seventh-round selection by the Colts in 2018 out of Houston.--Keith Hernandez - RotoBaller

 

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms on a deal with wide receiver Malik Turner. The 26-year-old has spent each of the last two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He didn't play much in 2020, but actually started seeing decent action in 2021. Turner finished with 12 receptions, 149 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in 16 games last season. He was able to make a handful of flashy plays, but is nothing more than a depth player. Possibly, Turner will be the No. 4 option with the 49ers, but shouldn't hold much fantasy value.

Roto Baller

 

A fringe WR signed somewhere else?? I thought we had collected the entire set...

 

That was a great signing for the Browns. Ronnie is just a baller. When healthy, this guy really stands out. He's a big physical player, and yeah I believe he could handle that role.

 

Vincent Taylor visiting Falcons



The Falcons are meeting with a possible addition to their defensive line on Tuesday.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that defensive tackle Vincent Taylor is meeting with the team. It’s the first known visit of the offseason for the former Texan, Brown, Bill, and Dolphin.

Taylor started the season opener for the Texans last season, but hurt his ankle and missed the remainder of the season. He had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery in 15 appearances with the Browns in 2020 and has 65 tackles and two sacks over his entire career.

Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson, Anthony Rush, John Cominsky, Nick Thurman, and Ta'Quon Graham return on the defensive line for Atlanta.

 

Falcons sign Anthony Firkser



Anthony Firkser will be reunited with Marcus Mariota and Arthur Smith this season.

The Falcons announced that they have signed Firkser. It is a one-year deal for the tight end.

Firkser comes to the Falcons after four seasons with the Titans. Mariota was the quarterback for the first two of those seasons while Smith was his position coach as a rookie and then moved up to offensive coordinator before leaving for Atlanta in 2020.

Firkser had 106 catches for 1,107 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season with the Titans. He had five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns in five postseason games.

Kyle Pitts remains the No. 1 tight end for the Falcons, but the departures of Hayden Hurst and Lee Smith opened some space on the depth chart.

PFT

 

Congress tells Federal Trade Commission in letter Commanders may have broken financial laws

The U.S. House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday saying it found evidence the Washington Commanders might have engaged in potentially unlawful financial conduct for more than a decade by withholding ticket revenue from visiting teams and refundable deposits from fans.

In the letter, the committee outlined through the testimony of former employees and access to emails and documents a pattern of alleged financial impropriety by owner Dan Snyder and team executives. At one point in 2016, the committee said the team may have retained up to $5 million from 2,000 season-ticket holders while also potentially concealing sharable revenue from the league.

One former employee testified before Congress saying the team had two separate financial books -- one with underreported ticket revenue that went to the NFL -- and the full, complete picture. According to testimony, Snyder was aware of the numbers shared with the league while also being privy to the actual data.

The business practice was known as "juice" inside Washington's front office. And, if correct, it could spell significant trouble for Snyder and the Commanders.

Ticket revenue is shared among all 32 NFL teams, with 40% of it deposited in a visiting team fund. Such money is among the pillars of the league's revenue-sharing commitment.

A team spokesperson referred NFL.com to the organization's statement issued on March 31: "The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time."

"We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee's work."

An NFL spokesperson released the following statement on Tuesday to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero:


"We continue to cooperate with the Oversight Committee and have provided more than 210,000 pages of documents The NFL has engaged former SEC chair Mary Jo White to review the serious matters raised by the committee."

The committee is sharing documents with the FTC while requesting the commission take any action necessary to make sure the money is returned to its rightful owners.

Congress launched an investigation into the team's workplace misconduct after the league did not release a report detailing the findings of an independent probe into the matter. After testimony from former employees, that investigation expanded to the organization's finances.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

PFT was misleading on one key detail. They said he had 106 catches / 1107 yards in "the" regular season with the Titans. Those were his regular season totals - combined - for his four years in Tennessee.

Specifically for 2021, he had 34 receptions in 15 games for 291 yards. Basically another depth piece.

 

Blake Hance re-signs with Browns



Offensive lineman Blake Hance is back with the Browns for the 2022 season.

The NFL’s daily transaction report brings word that Hance has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the team. Hance was barred from negotiating with other teams with the tender in place, so his return was expected.


Hance signed with the Browns in January 2021 and was thrust into the lineup at tackle during a playoff win over the Steelers days after joining the team. He returned to play in all 17 games for Cleveland last season and started eight times.

The Browns also re-signed Chris Hubbard this offseason and he’ll join Hance as backup options behind left tackle Jedrick Wills and right tackle Jack Conklin.

PFT

 

Stephon Gilmore visits Colts

The top free agent still available got a look in Indianapolis today.

Free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore paid a visit to the Colts.


On our list of the NFL’s Top 100 free agents, Gilmore is the highest-ranked of those who have not yet signed a contract or received the franchise tag.

The 31-year-old Gilmore was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2019 with the Patriots, although last year he was traded to the Panthers and didn’t play much as he struggled to stay healthy. Gilmore is likely waiting for a team to pay him like the elite cornerback he still thinks he can be. The Colts are a team with the cap space to give him that kind of contract.




PFT

 

The Houston Texans signed free-agent cornerback Steven Nelson to a two-year, $10 million deal on Wednesday after visiting with him on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. Nelson started 16 games for the Philadelphia Eagles last year and had 50 total tackles (34 solo), an interception and seven passes defensed. The 29-year-old spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs after they selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft out of Oregon State. In his seven seasons, Nelson has 341 tackles (287 solo), 10 tackles for loss, eight interceptions, 59 passes defensed, one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries in 98 games (84 starts).--Keith Hernandez - RotoBaller

 

Packers signing Sammy Watkins to one-year deal



The Packers have added a piece to their receiving corps.

Veteran wideout Sammy Watkins visited the team on Thursday and things went well enough that Watkins has agreed to a one-year deal with the team. According to multiple reports, the deal is worth up to $4 million.


The Packers will be Watkins’ fifth NFL team. He spent three years with the Bills, a year with the Rams, and three years with the Chiefs before joining the Ravens in 2021. He played 13 games for Baltimore and ended the season with 27 catches for 394 yards and a touchdown.

Watkins joins Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard at the top of the Packers wide receiver depth chart. Amari Rodgers, Juwann Winfree, Malik Taylor, Rico Gafford, and Chris Blair are also on the roster in Green Bay.

PFT

 

A.J. Green is re-signing with Cardinals



Wide receiver A.J. Green won’t be heading to a new team for the 2022 season.

The Cardinals announced on Thursday that Green has agreed to re-sign with the team. It’s a one-year deal for Green, who joined the team as a free agent last offseason.


Green started nine of the 16 games he played for the NFC West club in 2021. He caught 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns, but never found the end zone after scoring in a Week 6 win over the Browns.

The Cardinals saw Christian Kirk depart for the Jaguars early in free agency, so Green will be joining DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore at the top of a receiver depth chart that also includes Antoine Wesley, Andy Isabella, Greg Dortch, and Andre Baccellia.

PFT

 

Report: Kelvin Joseph a person of interest in Dallas murder investigation



Dallas police want to interview Cowboys cornerback Kelvin Joseph in a murder investigation, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Cameron Ray, 20, was killed in a drive-by shooting March 18 following a fight outside a bar.


Joseph, whose rapper pseudonym is “YKDV Bossman Fat,” has admitted to Cowboys’ officials he was at the scene but was not involved in the shooting, according to Hill.

The team declined comment.

Police released surveillance video to KDFW-TV that appears to show Joseph, wearing a YKDV necklace, among the group of people who fought with Ray and his friends earlier that night.

The Cowboys made Joseph a second-round choice last season, and he played 164 defensive snaps and 142 on special teams in 10 games with two starts. He totaled 16 tackles and two pass breakups.

PFT

 

Fing sad...

These kids have the bull by the horns and year after year, someone puts themself in a situation to lose.

Remove yourself from any situation that can back fire on you. At this point your boys don't have your back, so you don't owe it to them to have theirs in a fight. In most cases, they don't have to lose what you do.

Now, if this was a 7th round practice squad player, he would have been cut without asking if he was involved, since it is a 2nd round producer he will be backed by the team until proven guilty. Hopefully he wasn't involved. It would be nice to know who started the fight. The victim might have been looking for trouble that night and found more than he bargained for. Regardless, it's a sad day when a 20 year old loses their life.

 

The top available free agent has found his next team.

Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore is signing with the Colts.


Gilmore was the No. 18 player on our list of the NFL’s Top 100 free agents, and the highest-ranked player who wasn’t already spoken for. (Tyrann Mathieu is now our top-ranked available player.)

Last season Gilmore was traded by the Patriots to the Panthers and struggled through injuries, eventually playing only half the season and usually not starting when he did play. But at his best he’s been one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, and in 2019 he was the league’s defensive player of the year.

Gilmore will turn 32 in September, but the Colts still think he has something left, and after acquiring Matt Ryan, the Colts have now made another move that shows they view themselves as contenders in win-now mode.

PFT

 

Football this weekend comes in the form of the USFL. Here is the week 1 schedule...