2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens RB Kenneth Dixon Suspended

March 9th, 2017 at 3:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL has suspended Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon four games for violating the league’s policy on PEDS, tweets Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun.

Dixon, a fourth-round pick in last year’s draft, was part of a committee backfield employed by the Ravens in 2016. Dixon was the less-used part of that rotation, however, as he managed only 88 carries on the season. The 23-year-old put up 4.3 yards per carry on those touches, and also added 30 receptions.

Baltimore agreed to sign running back Danny Woodhead to a three-year deal today, and he’ll presumably handle much of that work that would’ve been assigned to Dixon.

Eagles To Sign G Chance Warmack

March 9th, 2017 at 3:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have agreed to a one-year deal with guard Chance Warmack, Peter Schrager of FOX Sports tweets.

The former first-round pick has played the past four seasons with the Titans. After missing only two regular season games and starting 46 games over the first three years of his career, Warmack was limited to only two appearances in 2016. The lineman was ultimately forced to undergo surgery on an injured hand.

While Warmack didn’t earn high ranks from Pro Football Focus for his two games last season, his previous campaigns received some impressive grades. 2015 was a “down year” for the lineman based on the website’s metrics, but Warmack still would have ranked in the top-50 had that performance taken place in 2016.

Warmack will be joining a depth chart that already features guards Allen Barbre, Brandon Brooks, Isaac Seumalo, Matt Tobin, and Josh Andrews.

Seahawks Sign Luke Joeckel

March 9th, 2017 at 3:14pm CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks have signed former Jaguars offensive lineman Luke Joeckel to a one-year deal, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).

The former second-overall pick had spent his entire four-year career with the Jaguars. The versatile offensive lineman started 30 games for the team between 2014 and 2015. However, he was limited to only four games in 2016 after undergoing knee surgery.

Joeckel’s ability to play both tackle and guard should be especially useful to Seattle. The team currently has four linemen (excluding centers) on their roster in George Fant, Mark Glowinski, Germain Ifedi, and Rees Odhiambo. Joeckel could reasonably slide in as the team’s starting right tackle.

Joeckel ranked 13th in our listing of the best available free agent interior offensive lineman.

Patriots Re-Sign S Duron Harmon

March 9th, 2017 at 3:13pm CST by Zachary Links

He’s not going anywhere. In the midst of an active week for the Patriots, they are maintaining some stability. Safety Duron Harmon has re-signed with the team, Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald tweets. It’s a four-year, $20MM deal (with $3MM of that money coming via incentives). Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets that the deal includes $6.5MM in guaranteed money, which will all translate in 2017 ($1.5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus).

Harmon will join Devin McCourty as Patriot safeties signed long-term, providing some continuity to what could be a rearranged secondary come 2017. The Patriots now have them both locked up through at least 2019.

New England could lose both Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler this offseason. Ryan is a UFA and hasn’t signed elsewhere yet, but the Patriots and Saints are potentially set to complete a momentous trade that would send Butler to New Orleans and Brandin Cooks to Massachusetts. The Pats added Stephon Gilmore today as well to infuse some additional talent into this group.

Harmon functioned as a part-time starter for the Pats during his four-year rookie-deal tenure. This contract likely will point him toward more work. He made 27 tackles and picked off one pass last season, starting four games.

Vikings To Sign Riley Reiff

March 9th, 2017 at 3:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings have agreed to sign offensive tackle Riley Reiff, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Minnesota lost out on fellow free agent Ricky Wagner yesterday, and also failed to re-sign incumbent left tackle Matt Kalil, who joined the Panthers. At present, it’s unclear exactly which position Reiff will play for the Vikings, but if the club doesn’t add another left tackle, Reiff will likely slot in on the blindside. Reiff played left tackle for most of his career before being displaced in 2016.

The Vikings fielded one of the league’s offensive lines last year, a distinction earned both through injury and poor play. Nearly every starting lineman went down with some sort of health issue in 2016, forcing the Vikings to turn to second- and sometimes third-teamers in an effort to keep Sam Bradford upgright. Reiff isn’t a start, but he’ll add stability to Minnesota’s front five.

Reiff had beeen in Detroit since it nabbed him 23rd overall in the 2012 draft. Aside from a 16-appearance, eight-start rookie year, Reiff has lined up with the Lions’ No. 1 unit dating back to his second season. The 28-year-old has appeared in no fewer than 14 games, all starts, in each season since 2013. He also has experience at both tackle spots, though PFF wasn’t that bullish on his work on the right in 2016, as it placed him a below-average 48th among 78 qualified OTs.

Jaguars To Sign A.J. Bouye

March 9th, 2017 at 3:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars and cornerback A.J. Bouye are have reached agreement on a contract, per Ian Rapoport and James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link). Prior to the deal, Bouye was still deciding between the Jaguars, Titans, and Bears, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). The agreement was finalized on Thursday after the official start of free agency, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Schefter tweets that the deal is for five years and $67.5MM, with $26MM guaranteed. That means the cornerback will be making around $13.5MM annually. Rapoport adds that Bouye will be receiving $44MM over the first three years of the contract.

An undrafted free agent out of Central Florida in 2013, Bouye had started only eight games during his first three years in the league, but was pressed into duty in 2016 and ended up starting 11 contests. During that time, Bouye managed one interception and 16 passes defensed, and graded as the NFL’s third-best corner behind Denver’s Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, per Pro Football Focus. In the most recent edition of PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents, Bouye ranked first overall.

One of the more intrguing free agents in recent memory thanks to his lack of experience, Bouye generated quite a market during the legal tampering period. The Colts, Titans, Bears, Buccaneers, Jets, and Eagles were all thought to be interested in the 25-year-old Bouye, who is expected to command north of $12MM annually. The Texans also wanted to retain Bouye, but Houston couldn’t keep up with the other offers flowing Bouye’s way.

The Jaguars are no strangers to defensive spending in free agency. In 2016, Jacksonville added Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson on top-of-the-market deals, and this offseason the club has already inked Barry Church and is in the running for Calais Campbell, though the latter is now deciding between the Jaguars and Broncos.

Jacksonville’s pass defense ranked 12th in DVOA last year, a ranking that only figures to improve following the addition of Bouye, who will team with 2016 first-round pick Jalen Ramsey to form a lethal (and youthful) cornerback duo.

Eagles Sign Alshon Jeffery

March 9th, 2017 at 3:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles are signing Alshon Jeffery, according to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The deal will be for one-year and $14MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

The former Bears star is coming off of a so-so year that included a four-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs, but he’s still a major talent and a proven performer. In 2013, Jeffery flashed his full potential when he caught 89 passes for 1,421 yards and seven touchdowns. In the following season, he had 85 catches for 1,133 yards and ten scores. Injuries slowed him in 2015 and he struggled in the Bears’ sluggish offense last season, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that he can rebound in the right system.

Jeffery, 27, has been linked to the Eagles for some time, as Philadelphia was known to be targeting more weapons for quarterback Carson Wentz. Having already signed Torrey Smith, the Eagles have now added Jeffery, the top wide receiver on the market and the No. 2 free agent overall. They’ll get Jeffery at a one-year cost of $14MM, roughly $3MM less than what Jeffery would have earned on a second franchise tag in Chicago

The Titans, 49ers, and Vikings were all thought to be interested in securing Jeffery. Terrelle Pryor is now the best free agent receiver on the board, along with the likes of Terrance Williams, Markus Wheaton, and Cordarrelle Patterson.

Ravens To Sign Danny Woodhead

March 9th, 2017 at 3:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens will sign running back Danny Woodhead, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, adding Woodhead is now fully healthy after suffering a torn ACL during the 2016 season. It’s a three-year deal for Woodhead, tweets Michael Gehlken.

Woodhead, PFR’s No. 10 running back, was pursued by at least two other clubs in recent days, the Chargers and the Broncos. Despite spending the past four seasons with the Bolts, Woodhead is opting to head east for Baltimore. In sum, Woodhead’s decision may have simply come down to money, as freelance reporter Michael Gehlken reports (Twitter link) the Ravens “came strong” with an offer despite the interest from Los Angeles and Denver.

In Baltimore, Woodhead will join a backfield that ranked 21st in rushing DVOA and is currently manned by Terrance West (who received an original round RFA tender this week), Kenneth Dixon, Javorius Allen, and Lorenzo Taliaferro. If he is truly recovered, Woodhead looks like the easy favorite for third-down work in a Ravens offense that increasingly relied on the short passing attack in 2016.

Receiving prowess has always been Woodhead’s strong point, as the 32-year-old has managed more than 30 receptions four times, and twice gone over 75 catches. He’s been serviceable on the ground, as well, and could carve out a true rushing role in a Ravens offense that lacks a No. 1 RB threat. Injuries, however, have ruined two of Woodhead’s past four campaigns, as a broken fibula wiped out 2014 while the aforementioned ACL injury sidelined him last year.

Falcons Sign DL Jack Crawford

March 9th, 2017 at 3:00pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons have signed former Cowboys defensive lineman Jack Crawford, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (via Twitter). It’s a three-year contract for the 28-year-old.

The former fifth-round pick had spent the past three seasons in Dallas. After missing most of the 2014 season, the lineman played in all 32 games over the past two years. In 10 starts this past season, Crawford compiled 25 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus graded the veteran as the NFL’s 106th-best edge defender in 2016, and Crawford earned admirable marks for his pass coverage.

Crawford should provide some depth to the Falcons, who are currently rostering defensive ends Adrian Clayborn, Brooks Reed, Courtney Upshaw, and Derrick Shelby.

Jaguars Release Sen’Derrick Marks

March 9th, 2017 at 2:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars have announced the release of defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks. Jacksonville was reportedly trying to trade Marks earlier this week.

Marks saw an ACL tear in Week 17 of the 2014 season alter his career. The 30-year-old defensive tackle and full-time Jags contributor has started just three more games since. Marks played in all 16 games last season but sat behind Malik Jackson and Abry Jones, both of whom being set for long-term Jacksonville tenures after Jones was re-signed last month.

Marks had one more season at $4.675MM on his Jags contract. Now, Jacksonville has cleared all but $200K of his 2017 wages will be cleared off the books. He registered 8.5 sacks in 2014 but just 3.5 since.