2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Jets TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins Suspended

March 15th, 2017 at 5:29pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets announced tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has been suspended two games by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Seferian-Jenkins was arrested for DUI in September 2016.

A former second-round draft pick of the Buccaneers, Seferian-Jenkins was waived by Tampa Bay following his arrest last year. Claimed by the Jets, ASJ played in seven games (two starts) for Gang Green and managed 110 yards on 10 catches.

Seferian-Jenkins is still the top tight end on New York’s depth chart, but the club will have to rely on Eric Tomlinson and Braedon Bowman for the first two games of the 2017 season. By missing two games, ASJ will forfeit two game checks totaling roughly $125K.

Redskins Release Ricky Jean-Francois, Re-Sign Ziggy Hood

March 15th, 2017 at 5:08pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins have released defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Washington has also re-signed fellow interior defender Ziggy Hood to a two-year deal, the club announced.

Jean-Francois, 30, played in 32 games (eight starts) with the Redskins over the past two seasons. Last year, he saw action on roughly 40% of the club’s defensive snaps, racking up 32 tackles and 1.5 sacks in that span. Jean-Francois was entering the final year of a three-year contract he agreed to prior to the 2014 campaign, and his release will save Washington $3MM in cap space.

Hood, meanwhile, started 14 games for Washington in 2016, but graded out as a bottom-10 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus. The 30-year-old Hood appeared in all 16 contests for the Redskins last year, managing 33 tackles, one sack, and three passes defensed. The former first-round pick was an unrestricted free agent, so he’ll now be signed through the 2018 season.

Washington has revamped its defensive line this offseason, as it agreed to multi-year pacts with outside free agents Stacy McGee and Terrell McClain, and was also loosely linked to Johnathan Hankins and Bennie Logan.

Bills Make Offer To WR Andre Holmes

March 15th, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

4:53pm: A Bills spokesperson also says that Holmes has not signed (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).

It seems that the Bills offered Holes a three-year, $4.5MM deal and the NFLPA accidentally documented it as a done deal rather than an offer. Now, the entire football world knows the exact terms of the Bills’ offer to Holmes, which could be detrimental to both sides. The deal could still go down, but as of right now, Holmes remains a free agent.

3:40pm: Hold up. Holmes took to Twitter to say that any reports of him signing with any team at this time are false. This is a strange development, particularly since ESPN’s report cites NFLPA documents.

3:29pm: It’s rare that NFL free agent deals become official before leaking out, but that’s exactly what happened with the Bills and wide receiver Andre Holmes. Holmes inked a three-year, $4.5MM deal with the Bills, according to NFLPA documents obtained by Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal includes $2.425MM guaranteed.

Wide receiver was a big need for the Bills coming into free agency and the Holmes pickup doesn’t totally check that box. He can be a valuable supporting cast member behind star Sammy Watkins, but it would be a bit underwhelming to see the Bills go into the season with Watkins, Holmes, Dezmin Lewis, and free agent pickups Philly Brown and Jeremy Butler as their top five wide receivers. Walt Powell and Kolby Listenbee are also under contract, giving the team seven receivers in total.

Holmes, 28, spent the past four seasons in Oakland. The former undrafted free agent was a large part of the Raiders’ offense as recently as two years ago, as he posted 47 receptions for nearly 700 yards and four touchdowns during the 2014 campaign. In 2016, however, Holmes had only 14 catches with a larger emphasis on special teams.

Titans, Wesley Woodyard Agree To Extension

March 15th, 2017 at 4:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have signed linebacker Wesley Woodyard to a two-year extension, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The new pact will keep him in place through the 2019 season. He can earn up to $12.75MM over the next three years.

Woodyard, 31 in July, has not missed a single regular season game in his three years with the Titans. He was an every-game starter for Tennesee in his first year there (2014), but he has seen his role downsized a bit in each of the last three seasons. Still, he’s a valuable piece of the defense and he’ll now be tied down for an additional two years.

Woodyard’s old deal called for him to hit the open market after the 2017 season. While he was slated for a $5.5MM cap number with a $4.25MM base salary, Woodyard has agreed to accept a paycut as part of the extension, per Yates. Woodyard will now earn a base salary of $2.2MM, a $1MM roster bonus (already paid out), and have the chance to earn $300K in per-game roster bonuses.

Ravens Trade C Jeremy Zuttah To 49ers

March 15th, 2017 at 4:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have traded center Jeremy Zuttah to the 49ers, according to a team announcement. In the deal, the two teams will swap sixth-round picks. The Ravens will move up 12 picks late in the draft. The Ravens get pick No. 186 from the 49ers and San Francisco takes Baltimore’s pick No. 198.

The Ravens initially planned to release Zuttah, but the Ravens were able to work out a trade instead. This happens from time to time in the NFL – a team notifies a player of his release, word leaks out, and a team receives a phone call from an interested club before the transaction becomes official. Now, the 49ers get Zuttah without having to compete with other interested teams.

Zuttah is not a superstar, but he is a solid center with starting experience. The Rutgers product has been a starter for Baltimore for the last three seasons. In 2016, the advanced numbers Pro Football Focus placed Zuttah as the 13th best center in the league. His 82.7 score was his best showing since his rookie campaign.

Buccaneers Re-Sign C Joe Hawley

March 15th, 2017 at 3:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bucs announced that they’ve re-signed center Joe Hawley. It’s a two-year deal.

Hawley was ranked as one of our top 15 centers on the open market heading into free agency. He’ll now return to Tampa Bay and likely continue as the starting center. Hawley has been the Bucs’ No. 1 man in the middle since 2015.

The Buccaneers did have a couple of free agent options left to survey at center if they wanted to move on from Hawley. Former Jet Nick Mangold remains on the board and ex-Bucs center Jeremy Zuttah became a late addition when the Ravens cut him on Wednesday. However, Tampa Bay did not want to lose the 28-year-old (29 in October).

As Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) notes, Hawley is the seventh free agent to re-sign with Bucs, joining Bryan Anger, William Gholston, Jacquizz Rodgers, Chris Conte, Josh Robinson and Sealver Siliga.

Saints To Re-Sign Travaris Cadet

March 15th, 2017 at 3:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Travaris Cadet is re-signing with the Saints, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Jets and Bills were also in the mix for the running back, though a Wednesday morning report indicated that the final decision came down to the Saints and Jets.

Ultimately, the Saints won out even though the Jets were said to be offering more money. His connection with Jets offensive coordinator John Morton also didn’t lure him to New York. Cadet, in all likelihood, stayed in New Orleans because he had a greater degree of comfort and chance to win.

Cadet he has spent the bulk of his five-year career with the Saints. Last year, he caught 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns in black and gold. The pass-catching specialist will slot in behind Mark Ingram, who is more of a traditional tailback. Fellow Saints running back Tim Hightower remains in free agent limbo.

Vikings Re-Sign WR Adam Thielen

March 15th, 2017 at 3:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have re-signed restricted free agent Adam Thielen. The wide receiver gets a three-year deal from Minnesota, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Thielen can make up to $27MM over those three years, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal carries a base value of $17MM and includes $11MM guaranteed.

Initially, the Vikings placed a second-round tender on Thielen, which was probably about right for a player at his level. The receiver racked up 967 receiving yards last year after totaling 281 in his previous two NFL campaigns. The second-round tender would have paid him $2.81MM and, of course, forced another team to cough up a second-round choice if successful in signing Thielen away. We did not hear word of any team considering an offer sheet, however.

Theilen now returns to the Vikings one day after Cordarrelle Patterson was lured away in free agency. Stefon Diggs, Jairus Wright, Laquon Treadwell, and Isaac Fruechte remain with the team. Even without Patterson, the Vikings have one of the league’s most fearsome groups of wide receivers on paper.

In other Vikings news, the team re-signed cornerback Terence Newman on Wednesday morning.

Charges Dropped In Darrelle Revis Case

March 15th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The judge in the Darrelle Revis hearing dismissed all charges against the cornerback, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com tweets. Revis was facing charges stemming from an altercation in which two men were knocked unconscious This could pave the way for the veteran free agent to sign with a club.

“Darrelle Revis absolutely, categorically and positively did not knock out anyone, did not conspire with anyone to commit an assault, did not say ‘shut up before I knock your ass out next,’ and surely did not ‘rob’ another of a cell phone,” his attorneys said in a statement following the Feb. 12 incident. “The voice and admissions made on the video are NOT that of Darrelle Revis. We have no doubt but that further investigation relative to the clothing and voice verification will corroborate the above assertions.”

There may be differing opinions on what Revis can bring to the table at this stage of his career. One general manager recently told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News he wouldn’t go after the veteran cornerback even if he agreed to play “for free.” Another executive said, “you respect the body of work throughout his career, but all good things come to an end.” Revis’ effort on the field has fallen off dramatically, but the cornerback denies that his work ethic has slipped.

The seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro is coming off the worst year of his career. In 2016, he allowed the highest quarterback rating among cornerbacks who were targeted 75+ times. He also ranked 66th among Pro Football Focus’ 112 qualified corners. That’s hardly the kind of play the Jets had in mind when they signed him to a five-year, $70MM pact with $39MM in overall guarantees.

The University of Pittsburgh product has been linked to the Steelers, but they are reportedly not interested. Revis earned honorable mention on our Top 50 Free Agents list.

Patriots Re-Sign LB Dont’a Hightower

March 15th, 2017 at 12:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Dont’a Hightower isn’t going anywhere. He’s re-signing with the Patriots, according to his agents (on Twitter). It’s a four-year, $43.5MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The pact includes $19MM guaranteed.

Hightower also had offers from the Steelers and Jets. The Jets, at one point, reportedly offered upwards of $12MM per year, but Hightower actually rejected that offer two days ago and never considered signing there (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald on Twitter). As I tweeted earlier today, that’s not a surprise. Few expected Hightower to ultimately leave the defending champs and all of his suitors seemed dubious about his openness to sign elsewhere.

Hightower was reportedly seeking around $12MM per year and the Patriots were rumored to be offering something in the $10MM/year range for the last few weeks. Based on what we know, it sounds like the Pats more or less met him in the middle – he gets an average annual value of $10.875MM with a decent amount in guarantees. Of course, we won’t have a full understanding of the deal until we know what the cashflow is like. If the majority of the guaranteed cash comes to the linebacker in the first two seasons, then we’ll chalk this up as a solid deal for Hightower and his agents at SportsTrust.

Regardless of the payout, Hightower automatically wins on two fronts. First, he re-signed with the Patriots and they were far and away his preferred landing spot. Secondly, he only signed for four years, so he’ll still be able to hit free agency before his age-31 season. If he continues to hold his position as the best non-rush linebacker in the NFL, he should be able to cash in again before the 2021 campaign.

Hightower finished the 2016 campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. Before the start of free agency, we listed him as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings. After the first wave of free agency saw cornerback A.J. Bouye and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery come off the board, Hightower was far and away the best player left on the open market.

Hightower is now the second-highest paid true linebacker in the NFL, based on AAV. Only Luke Kuechly of the Panthers ($12.4MM) earns more than him per year.