NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Former Bengals CB William Jackson signing with Washington

One of free agency's top cornerbacks is bound for Washington.

Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback William Jackson is signing with the Washington Football Team on a three-year, $42 million deal with $26 million guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

The 28-year-old Jackson is a former first-round pick who garnered the No. 25 spot in Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 free agents of 2021 and is hauling in a pay day to match his lofty status among free-agent cornerbacks.

Jackson heads to a Washington team already rife with first-round talent -- particularly in the pass rush -- on defense and should fit nicely.

In his final season in Cincy, Jackson tallied 11 passes defended and 45 tackles. He'll move on from the Bengals into a more high-profile slot for Washington in the NFC East.

Washington's banking on improving an already excellent defense with the addition of one of the best corners available in this year's thin free agent class.

NFL.com

 

Trent Williams re-signs with 49ers



The 49ers are keeping left tackle Trent Williams.

Williams who arrived in a trade from Washington last year and started 14 games, has re-signed with San Francisco.

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Williams posted an Instagram video of himself celebrating the contract. Dianna Russini of ESPN reported that it’s a six-year contract that includes a $30.1 million signing bonus.

The 32 year-old Williams was a first-round pick of Washington in 2010 and played his entire career there until growing disgruntled with the franchise, which he accused of misdiagnosing a medical condition. Williams did not play at all in 2019 and insisted he would never play for Washington again, and that precipitated the trade to San Francisco. The 49ers obviously liked what they got from Williams last year, and now he is poised to be their starting left tackle for years to come.

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49ers to sign Alex Mack



For the second time in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the 49ers have made a big move on their offensive line.

The 49ers are expected to sign free agent center Alex Mack, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. That news comes about an hour after the news that left tackle Trent Williams is re-signing with the 49ers.

Mack made no secret that San Francisco was where he hoped to sign, saying in February that he’d love to play for Kyle Shanahan again. Mack played in Shanahan’s offense both in Cleveland and in Atlanta.

“Kyle is an incredible coach,” Mack said. “He’s an incredible coach, great person, strong motivator and runs an offense that is something that I’d know really well and that I performed very well in. Yeah, that said, they [the 49ers] are a very enticing thing.”

In Mack and Williams, the 49ers have made a pair of aggressive moves to ensure a strong offensive line this season: Mack was the No. 80 player on our list of the NFL’s Top 100 free agents, while Williams was No. 8. Now the biggest question is whether Jimmy Garoppolo can get the job done playing behind that offensive line.

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The Las Vegas Raiders added more speed to their wide receiver corps.

The Raiders and veteran receiver John Brown agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $3.7 million with incentives that could push the deal to $5.5 million, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the pact.

Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio first reported the deal.

Brown spent the last two seasons in Buffalo before being released last week. In nine games in 2020, the speedster generated 458 yards and three touchdowns on 33 receptions. Brown enjoyed the best season of his career in 2019 as the Bills' top target, compiling 72 catches for 1,060 yards and six TDs.

We know the Raiders have always loved speed at receiver, dating back to the days of legendary owner Al Davis. Brown brings that in spades.

NFL.com

 

Cardinals agree to sign A.J. Green



Veteran wide receiver A.J. Green may wind up in Arizona.

The Cardinals have agreed to sign Green, according to multiple reports.

The 32-year-old Green was a seven-time Pro Bowler in his 10 seasons with the Bengals, but his production has declined recently. He didn’t play at all in 2019 and had just 47 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games last season.

The Cardinals, however, might be a better fit for Green, as the presence of DeAndre Hopkins would mean Green isn’t expected to be he No. 1 receiver. The Cardinals have already signed J.J. Watt, and now they’re adding another well-respected veteran on a team that seems to see itself as priming for a Super Bowl run this season.

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Raiders trading Rodney Hudson to Cardinals



The Raiders won’t cut center Rodney Hudson after all. Instead, they’ll trade him to the Cardinals.

Arizona and Las Vegas are finalizing a trade that will send Hudson and a seventh-round pick to the Cardinals for a third round pick, according to multiple reports.

The surprising news that the Raiders planned to cut Hudson led to some teams contacting the Raiders about acquiring him in a trade. The Cardinals will now get a Pro Bowl center.

Arizona has been loading up on well-known veterans, with Hudson joining a team that now also includes J.J. Watt and A.J. Green. The Cardinals think they’re contenders this year, and they’re bringing in the final pieces of the puzzle.

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Curtis Samuel agrees to deal with Washington



Richard Sherman said earlier this offseason that he thinks Washington Football Team wide receiver Terry McLaurin would be a special player with some help around him at the position and the team has made a move to help find out if that’s the case.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Washington has reached an agreement with former Panthers wideout Curtis Samuel. It is a three-year deal worth $34.5 million.

It won’t be the first time that Samuel and McLaurin are part of the same receiving corps. They were both at Ohio State in 2015 and 2016.

Samuel was limited to 22 games in his first two seasons, but only missed one game the last two years. He had 77 catches for 851 yards and three touchdowns and 41 carries for 200 yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers last season.

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Kyle Van Noy returns to Patriots



Last year, linebacker Kyle Van Noy left the Patriots for the Dolphins. This year, the Dolphins cut Van Noy.

He has announced that he’s heading back to New England.

Van Noy became a start in New England, landing a solid free-agent deal with Miami. But Miami decided after a year to go younger and cheaper.

It’s the latest move by the Patriots in an effort to improve a roster that seemed overmatched throughout much of 2020. Even so, the Patriots won seven games.

They’re laying the foundation to win more than a few more in 2021.

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Chiefs sign Kyle Long



Kyle Long is back, and he may be ready to help the Chiefs win another Super Bowl.

Long, the former Pro Bowl guard, has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Chiefs, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Although Long was out of football in 2020 after announcing his retirement, he indicated that he has stayed in great shape and is eager to play again.

The Chiefs, who might have won the Super Bowl with a better offensive line, have now added two veteran guards in Long and Joe Thuney. The identity of their starting tackles remains to be seen.

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Kyle Rudolph agrees to deal with Giants



The Giants are set to meet with wide receiver Kenny Golladay on Thursday and they prepared for that conversation by adding another piece to their offensive puzzle.

Kyle Rudolph‘s agents announced that the veteran tight end has agreed to a contract with the NFC East team. They put a since-deleted post on Instagram saying it was a two-year, $16 million deal, but the agreement on a deal has been confirmed.

Rudolph was released by the Vikings in a cap-cutting move earlier this offseason. He was set to make a $7.65 million base salary, so anything close to the numbers the agency initially posted would be a good outcome for Rudolph on the financial front.

The Giants also have Evan Engram under contract for the 2021 season, so there may be a lot of two tight end sets coming to their offense this season.

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Will Fuller headed to Dolphins on one-year deal



Will Fuller has found a new team.

According to multiple reports, Fuller has agreed to a one-year deal with the Dolphins.

Fuller will serve the remaining game of his six-game suspension for a performance-enhancing drug violation to kick off the season. Once that’s out of the way, he’ll try to produce at the same level he did before the ban was handed down last year.

Fuller had 53 catches for 879 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games to set career highs in all three categories. It was also the first time that Fuller did not miss a game due to injury and a repeat on that front would be a plus to his chances of landing a longer deal in his next visit to free agency.

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Allen Robinson accepts his franchise tag



All it took was a simple flirtation with Kenny Golladay to get Allen Robinson to squeeze the bird in the hand.

The Bears receiver has signed his one-year franchise tender, NFL Media reports. Anyone who reads PFT is not surprised; we posted roughly an hour ago that it was moving this way — even though Robinson previously had shown no inclination to sign.

It’s not just the smart play, it’s the only play. With $17.9 million on a one-year deal at a time when the market is down and the top receivers aren’t getting big offers, Robinson risked having the tag rescinded — and then having to find $17.9 million for 2021 on the open market.

He’s now under contract with the Bears. He also can now be traded by the Bears, in theory. However, his new team would step into Chicago shoes, with a July 15 deadline for doing a long-term deal.

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Bears releasing former Pro Bowl CB Kyle Fuller

One of the cornerstones of Chicago's defense is being cut.

The Chicago Bears are releasing two-time Pro Bowl and one-time All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The plan to release Fuller did not materialize until after the transaction wire Thursday, so the possibility to for suitors to acquire him -- similar to the Raiders trading offensive linemen Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson -- remains in play, Rapoport added.

Rapoport noted it's the Bears' only cut due to cap space this offseason. Fuller's release would save $11 million on the cap for the Bears, but they would also eat $9 million in dead money. Fuller holds a $20 million cap number.

Should the release become official Friday, the Broncos are expected to make a strong push for the corner, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. Denver head coach Vic Fangio was the Bears defensive coordinator previously and was their for Fuller's best season.

Fuller was a 2014 NFL Draft first-round pick for the Bears who was a starter for all six seasons (he sat out 2016 on injured reserve) he played with Chicago.

In his six years on the field, Fuller had 19 interceptions, including a league-leading seven in 2018, in which he earned the first of two straight Pro Bowl bids. The ballhawk also led the league with 21 passes defended that year.

Fuller, 29, would become one of the top free agents available.

NFL.com

 

Browns signing CB Troy Hill to four-year, $24 million deal

The Browns entered this offseason aware that they needed to be better defensively, especially in the secondary.

Cleveland has turned to the franchise that once called the Forest City home for reinforcements.

The Browns are signing former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Troy Hill to a four-year, $24 million deal, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation.

Hill joins fellow former Rams teammate John Johnson as the second Los Angeles defensive back to make the move from L.A. to Cleveland this week, as the Browns use free agency to strengthen their secondary heading into 2021.

Like Johnson, Hill is an immediate upgrade to a Browns defensive backfield that was decimated by injuries ( Greedy Williams , Grant Delpit) before the season even began, yet managed to perform well enough to end up in the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Hill's move to Northeast Ohio is also a homecoming of sorts for him, as he grew up on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, before moving to Ventura, California, to attend high school at St. Bonaventure.

Hill brings with him a top-30 coverage grade among all cornerbacks in the NFL in 2020, per Pro Football Focus, trailing Cleveland's top corner, Denzel Ward, by just four places in PFF's rankings. Hill played in the slot in Los Angeles and can be expected to do the same for the Browns, especially if they're able to get Williams back after he missed the entire 2020 season due to a nerve issue.


With Hill and Johnson joining the Browns, their secondary is already much better than it was in 2020. With each on contracts of at least three years and Ward due for an extension after either 2021 or 2022 (depending on whether Cleveland picks up his fifth-year option), much of the Browns' secondary is set for the next few years. If Johnson and Hill can replicate their play in Los Angeles, it will soon no longer be a weakness in Cleveland.

NFL.com

 

Bengals sign Riley Reiff

The Bengals knew they needed to do a better job of protecting Joe Burrow, and they’ve taken a big step toward doing that.

Riley Reiff has agreed to terms with Cincinnati today.

A veteran offensive tackle who has been a starter at left tackle for most of his career, Reiff spent the last four years with the Vikings and five years before that with the Lions.

Burrow is coming off reconstructive knee surgery, and as the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft, his health has to be a top priority for the Bengals. They’re hoping Reiff can keep him upright.

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Colts sign defensive lineman Isaac Rochell

Free agent defensive lineman Isaac Rochell is signing with the Colts.

Rochell has agreed to a one-year deal in Indianapolis.

A 2017 seventh-round pick of the Chargers, Rochell played his whole career there, but the Chargers chose not to tender him as a restricted free agent this offseason.

Rochell played in all 16 games for the Chargers last season, starting six, and was on the field for 42 percent of defensive snaps and 52 percent of special teams snaps.

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Championship!!

 

Steelers announce JuJu Smith-Schuster’s new deal



Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s return to Pittsburgh is now official.

The Steelers announced that Smith-Schuster has agreed to a contract to return for a fifth season with the team. That was a reversal from where the wideout thought things were going early in the week, but he ultimately decided to take a one-year deal with the team that drafted him in the second round in 2017 rather than an offer from the Ravens.

That Ravens offer was for $9 million plus incentives while the Steelers were offering $8 million. Smith-Schuster went for familiarity and the deal is structured in a way that makes a light impact on the Steelers cap.

Per multiple reports, the deal includes a $7 million signing bonus, a $1 million salary, and four voidable years that lower the 2020 cap hit to $1.6 million.

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He's back....

 

Texans sign Phillip Lindsay



The Texans have added another running back.

This time it’s Phillip Lindsay, who signed a one-year contract after the Broncos let him hit free agency.

Lindsay joins a crowded backfield in Houston, where he’ll share time with David Johnson and Mark Ingram. At a time when many NFL teams are recognizing that running backs are easily replaceable, the Texans have three well-known names at the position.

Originally an undrafted free agent, Lindsay became a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2018 but had his least productive season in 2020, carrying just 118 times for 502 yards.

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Eagles signing Anthony Harris to one-year deal



The market for free agent Anthony Harris had remained quiet until Friday night.

The Eagles will sign the safety to a one-year, $5 million deal, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Harris was one of the top remaining players on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents, ranked 12th. His agreement leaves receiver Kenny Golladay as the only available free agent among the top 35 on PFT’s list.

Harris, 29, spent six seasons in Minnesota. He made an NFL-leading six interceptions in 2019.

He played 81 games with 47 starts with the Vikings and leaves after 284 tackles, nine interceptions, 28 pass breakups, a forced fumble and four fumble recoveries.

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