NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The only reason I knew a little about Foreman was I picked him up On an L4SN fantasy team and was very surprised at how well he produced for me. If he can build off of last year and is one of those players that is currently on the up-swing, I think the Bears will have a good one in Foreman. Its hard to tell tho (atleast with me) if that was his peak or if he's just getting started... I guess time will tell.

 

Mike Gesicki agrees to deal with Patriots



The Patriots are plucking a tight end away from one of their divisional rivals.

According to multiple reports, Mike Gesicki has agreed to sign with New England. Gesicki, who was No. 46 on PFT’s list of the top free agents, has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $9 million.


It’s the second straight one-year pact for Gesicki as he played out his final season with the Dolphins while on the franchise tag. He appeared in every game for Miami, but saw his role change in Mike McDaniel’s offense and he dropped from 73 catches for 780 yards to 32 catches for 362 yards last season.

He did catch five touchdowns in the regular season and one more in the playoffs, so he could be put to use as a red zone target by the Patriots. The Patriots traded Jonnu Smith to the Falcons, so Gesicki and Hunter Henry are set to be the top tight ends in New England this year.

PFT

 

Seahawks sign Devin Bush



Free agent linebacker Devin Bush has found his new home in Seattle.

The Seahawks signed Bush on Thursday night, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.


The Steelers made Bush the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, and he has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. He showed flashes of the talent that made him a Top 10 pick but never quite lived up to the expectations his draft status set.

Seahawks General Manager John Schneider had identified inside linebacker as a position the Seahawks needed to improve, and Bush should help. Seahawks inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks is recovering from a torn ACL, and Cody Barton left for the Commanders in free agency.

Bush has started 14 games in each of the last two years and will likely be a starter in Seattle this year. There has also been talk that the Seahawks could bring back linebacker Bobby Wagner, although it’s not clear where negotiations with Wagner currently stand.

PFT

 

Bengals LT Jonah Williams requests trade following Orlando Brown signing

Cincinnati seized the opportunity to upgrade at left tackle this week. Unfortunately for Jonah Williams, that upgrade means his job is in jeopardy.

Williams has reacted in kind, requesting a trade through his agent, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday.

The offensive lineman is seeking a new start somewhere else after the Bengals went fishing for the top left tackle on the open market in Orlando Brown and were able to land him with a deal that included the largest signing bonus ($31 million) ever given to an offensive lineman. Left tackle wasn't necessarily a position of priority, but signing Brown provided the Bengals with an upgrade and multi-year security ahead of an anticipated extension for Joe Burrow.

Williams is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, which is scheduled to pay him a guaranteed base salary of $12.6 million. Cincinnati can clear the entirety of that number from its cap by trading him, but likely won't recoup the first-round pick the Bengals spent on him in 2019.

A Day 2 pick could get a deal done if the Bengals are interested in moving on from Williams. Cincinnati has dedicated considerable resources to its offensive line in the last year, signing La'el Collins, Ted Karras and Alex Cappa in 2022 alone (and drafting starting left guard Cordell Volson), and Williams might not be long for the Bengals anyway -- unless he accepts a move to the right side of the line. If that were to happen, he'd replace Collins, who is coming off a season-ending knee injury that could delay his return in 2023. Keeping Williams around might be wise for depth -- something the Bengals have struggled with mightily in the last two years.

And after the first wave of free agency came and went, Williams will quickly find himself as the most coveted tackle available. It will likely cost a suitor assets and a new contract for him, though, adding a couple of hurdles to the matter.


It's not that Williams hasn't been good -- he just hasn't been near the elite level required to draw top assets from trade partners. What he has been recently, however, is consistently available, starting in 42 of a possible 50 games over the last three seasons after missing his entire rookie campaign due to injury.

From a club perspective, Williams' missed season proved to be a blessing in disguise because it helped the Bengals land Burrow. As it stands now, though, Williams may not be around to see the quarterback sign his next contract in Cincinnati.

PFT

 

By the way - OBJ is still a FA, asking for $20m, but only offered $4M so far... he's not happy, im laughing my ass off.

 

Reports: Nick Scott to sign with Bengals



Free agent safety Nick Scott reached agreement on a three-year, $12 million deal with the Bengals, according to multiple reports.


Bengals are smart!

 

Dolphins sign linebacker Malik Reed

Free agent linebacker Malik Reed will move to Miami.

Reed agreed to a one-year contract with the Dolphins today, his agent announced.


The 26-year-old Reed originally signed with the Broncos in 2019 as an undrafted rookie. He played three years in Denver before he was traded to Pittsburgh just before the start of last season. In Reed’s best season in 2020, he had eight sacks.

In four NFL seasons, Reed has played in 59 games with 36 starts.

 

The Packers are bringing back safety Rudy Ford.

Ford agreed to a one-year deal worth a maximum of $2.5 million, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.


The Packers originally signed Ford on Aug. 31 after the Jaguars cut him out of the preseason. He played all 17 games last season, starting a career-high six and totaling a career-high three interceptions in 442 snaps.

The Cardinals made Ford a sixth-round selection in 2017, and he played two seasons there, two with the Eagles and one with the Jaguars before landing in Green Bay.

In his career, Ford has appeared in 73 games with 12 starts and has recorded 132 tackles, four interceptions and six pass breakups.

He is a core special teams player, having played more than 50 percent of the special teams snaps in four of six seasons.

Ford is expected to compete for a starting safety job.

PFT

 

The Steelers are making a big addition to their offensive line.

Free agent guard Isaac Seumalo has agreed to a three-year deal with Pittsburgh, according to Jordan Schultz of theScore.com.


Seumalo is the second former Eagles guard the Steelers have signed in free agency. They also signed Nate Herbig, who most recently played for the Jets but played three seasons in Philadelphia when Steelers assistant General Manager Andy Weidl was with the Eagles. Weidl likely played a big role in both former Philadelphia linemen coming to Pittsburgh.

The Steelers still have last year’s two starting guards, Kevin Dotson and James Daniel, but the addition of two guards in free agency makes clear that they think they can upgrade at the position by bringing in competition.

PFT

 

Texans trade Brandin Cooks to Cowboys



Brandin Cooks is on the move again.

The 2013 first-round receiver has been traded for the fourth time in his career. Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Cooks has been shipped to the Cowboys for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick.


Cooks wanted to be traded before the 2022 deadline, but his guaranteed pay of $18 million in 2023 became an impediment. It’s currently unclear whether the Texans will be paying any of the guaranteed money, or whether Cooks has reduced his salary to accommodate the deal.

The move comes a year after the Cowboys traded receiver Amari Cooper in lieu of paying him $20 million. That looked like a mistake in hindsight, especially as the receiver market thereafter exploded.

Cooks has six 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Last year, he caught 57 passes for 699 yards and three touchdowns.

Cooks has now been traded by the Saints to the Patriots, but the Patriots to the Rams, by the Rams to the Texans, and by the Texans to the Cowboys.

PFT

 

Laremy Tunsil gets new deal from Texans

On the same day the Texans sent receiver Brandin Cooks to Dallas, the Texans sent tackle Laremy Tunsil to the top of the tackle market.

Saint Omni — a non-certified agent who made headlines last year for trying to negotiate with teams on behalf of linebacker Roquan Smith — told Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that the Texans have signed Tunsil to a three-year, $75 million deal, with $50 million fully-guaranteed at signing.


Like all initial reports of deals, which are blindly passed along without scrutiny of the actual, true details, we’ll wait for the real numbers before believing it’s as good as advertised.

“Mr. Omni is prohibited from negotiating Player Contracts or discussing potential trades on behalf of any NFL player or prospective player or assisting in or advising with respect to such negotiations,” the NFL said in a memo to all teams in August 2022, after it became clear that Omni was contacting teams in an effort to cajole them into trying to trade for Smith.

Although Tunsil technically represented himself, non-agents have in the past assisted self-represented players through phony email accounts. The agent pretends to be the player, in the digital negotiations with the team.

It will be interesting to know — if we ever find out — whether Tunsil negotiated the deal in face-to-face meetings with G.M. Nick Caserio, or whether Tunsil sent and received proposals via email.

PFT

 

The Texans forked out, $6M and the Cowboys will chip in the remaining, $12M... per reports.

 

Gee I wonder how long he'll a member of the Cowboys?

 

Panthers announce agreement with Adam Thielen



Free agent receiver Adam Thielen has found a new home.

Nine days after the Vikings released him, Thielen has agreed to terms with the Panthers. He announced the deal on Instagram just before the team did. Thielen visited Carolina last week.


The Panthers needed to rebuild their receiving corps after trading DJ Moore to the Bears as part of the deal for the No. 1 overall pick, which will deliver a franchise quarterback. Carolina now has seven receivers on their roster, including Terrace Marshall, Jr., Laviska Shenault, and Shi Smith.

The team also has interest in signing free agent receiver D.J. Chark.

In 2022, Thielen caught 70 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns.

The two-time Pro Bowler has 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career.

PFT

 

Happy for Thielen, glad he got a gig.

 

Thielen’s numbers have been going down since Jefferson got there.

 

I hope his numbers continue to slow down, given that he's now a division rival.


Update on Atlanta in free agency... after signing Jessie Bates, David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, Tae Davis and Taylor Heinecke, trading for Jonnu Smith, and forking out the big bucks to resign Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, the Falcons STILL have $24 million in cap space.

Remaining needs, from my viewpoint = defensive lineman (preferably a run-stuffer), cornerback, at least one more solid WR (preferably two), offensive guard, swing tackle. Our own remaining free agents (all likely cheap) would suffice for everything except the DL and CB spots.

 

Adam Thielen would be a nice red zone target just stay healthy not saying anything bad but your best days are behind you anyway thanks for the memories and good luck a member of the Panthers huh

 

C.J. Gardner-Johnson joins the Lions on a one-year deal



The Eagles have lost another free agent.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, whose extended stay on the open market pointed to an inevitable one-year deal, has indeed done a one-year deal, with the Lions.


The news comes from multiple reports; ESPN and NFL Media conflict on the value of the deal. ESPN has the deal as being worth “up to $8 million,” which NFL Media calls it an $8 million contract.

Either way, it’s millions short of whatever Gardner-Johnson targeted on a multi-year deal, or he would have had one. As noted on Saturday, players who remain available this far into the process usually have overshot their market.

For Gardner-Johnson, he’ll get a chance to build on a season that saw him intercept six passes in 12 games, and try again next year.

PFT

 

Those Detroit Lions are loading up, kinda quietly, but Im afraid they are going to be something that will have to be dealt with in the North.