The Chargers and quarterback Kellen Clemens are in agreement on a one-year deal, tweets freelance reporter Michael Gehlken.
Clemens, 33, will return for a fourth season as Philip Rivers‘ backup, a job that’s been among the league’s simplest in recent years. During his three-year run with the Chargers, Clemens has attempted all of 10 passes in relief of Rivers. A former second-round pick, Clemens does have 21 career starts to his name, all coming with the Jets and Rams.
The Giants will re-sign running back Orleans Darkwa, tweets Kimberley Martin of Newsday. Darkwa was not tendered a restricted free agent contact and is now presumably back on a cheaper deal.
Over the past two seasons, Darkwa has managed 30+ carries per season in New York, but has only managed four yards per carry. The 25-year-old will now head back to the Giants and attempt to carve out a role for the 2017 campaign, a task that may have been made simpler by Big Blue’s release of veteran back Rashad Jennings. Currently, the Giants’ backfield is comprised of Shane Vereen, Paul Perkins, and George Winn.
The Patriots are pushing to re-sign safety Duron Harmon, and a deal is expected to come together, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
New England’s secondary is in flux, as the club has agreed to sign cornerback Stephon Gilmore away from the Bills and is reportedly considering a trade involving Malcolm Butler. Harmon would remain a constant in the defensive backfield if re-signed, however, as he’s appeared in 63 of a possible 64 game during his four-year run with the Patriots.
Harmon, 26, has never been a full-time starter in New England, instead serving as the team’s designated nickel safety. That’s an important role in today’s passing league, however, and the ability to cover the deep section of the field is a skill that could lead to a large paycheck. As such, PFR ranked Harmon as the No. 2 free agent safety and the No. 12 overall free agent.
The Saints are expected to trade Brandin Cooks by the end of the day, and the Patriots and Titans both remain in contention for the wide receiver, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The Eagles aren’t mentioned in Rapoport’s report, and are presumably out on Cooks after signing Torrey Smith earlier today.
The Patriots are thought to be mulling a trade of cornerback Malcolm Butler for Cooks, although the Saints may want even more. A package that includes a defensive contributor plus a draft pick is thought to be the asking price for Cooks. New England has also previously offered its first-round pick (No. 32) for Cooks, but the offer was reportedly rebuffed. At one point, the Titans were thought to be in the lead for Cooks, but it’s unclear exactly what they offered.
In 2016, Cooks caught 78 passes for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns. His yards-per-reception average of 15.0 was a career high and his 66.7% catch rate was a slight step up from his 2015 showing.
Despite reports to the contrary, it sounds like Calais Campbell‘s deal with the Jaguars is not set in stone. The defensive lineman could take less money to return to his birthplace of Denver rather than join up with Jacksonville, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com tweets. Right now, the Broncos are offering him $13MM per year on a new deal. The Jaguars are offering upwards of $14MM per season. Right now, Campbell and his wife are weighing the Jaguars against the Broncos (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS). 
The Jaguars are armed with ample cap space this offseason and they were hoping to beef up their front seven with the addition of Campbell. The former University of Miami star, they hope, will join up with Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue to form a fearsome front four.
Recently, we identified the Broncos as a logical contender for Campbell. Now, they’re making a real play for him. The Broncos arguably would offer Campbell a better chance to win right away, and that’s probably a big factor for him as he enters his age-31 season. Campbell has been in nine playoff games with Arizona but has never won a ring.
Campbell, who played his high school ball in Denver, finished as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 3-4 defensive end last season. The Broncos had persistent trouble filling Jackson’s spot, and the gulf between Campbell and the other defensive end options could be sizable. Chris Baker also appeared on the Broncos’ radar, but Campbell has been a better player during his career.
Denver’s three-pronged strategy of Vance Walker, Adam Gotsis and Jared Crick to replace Jackson backfired when Walker tore his ACL and Gotsis proved too raw. Crick is under contract for another season but would fit more in a depth role. The Broncos still finished with the league’s top DVOA defense but struggled to stop the run, plummeting from third in 2015 to 28th last season.
The 6-foot-8 Campbell forced two fumbles, recovered three and registered eight sacks in 2016. Campbell would add to a Broncos team already tilted toward defense, financially and productivity speaking, if he backtracked on his Jaguars agreement and ventured back home. Without a franchise quarterback, the Broncos have most of their capital tied up in defense, having extended the likes of Von Miller, Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe and Darian Stewart over the past two-plus years.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
The Redskins will sign free agent defensive tackle Terrell McClain to a four-year, $21MM+ deal, tweets Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post.
One of the more underrated free agents on the board, McClain witness no shortage of interest during the legal tampering period. The 49ers, Seahawks, Falcons, and Dolphins were all thought to have been eyeing McClain, while the Cowboys were also hoping to re-sign him. With that level of interest around the league, McClain was able to garner an annual salary north of $5MM.
McClain, 28, is coming off the best season of his career, as he started more 12 or more games for the first time since 2012. In 15 starts, McClain put up 39 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. PFR ranked him as the No. 11 free agent interior defender.
The Saints have plucked two players from the rival Panthers in a matter of minutes. Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. will be signing with New Orleans, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team announced that the wideout has been signed to a three-year deal.
Ginn, 32 in April, hasn’t quite justified his selection at No. 9 overall in 2007. However, he has bounced back in the last two years with Carolina. In 2015, he had 44 catches for 739 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns. Last season, he had 54 grabs for 752 yards and four scores.
On Thursday morning, the Saints also signed linebacker A.J. Klein away from Carolina.
This move could signal a more seismic transaction from the Saints, because they now have four notable contributors at wide receiver in Ginn, Brandin Cooks, Michael Thomas and Willie Snead. Cooks, though, has been the subject of incessant trade rumors for over a week now despite having produced consistently in New Orleans. The 23-year-old talent has griped about his role in the offense, and as the 2016 season went on, Thomas showed he could have the makeup of a No. 1 receiver in the future.
The Saints and Patriots are reportedly discussing a Cooks-for-Malcolm Butler swap of players in the final year of their rookie contracts. Although, Cooks — being a former first-rounder — has a fifth-year option. Butler will need to be extended soon to give the Saints value in that deal.
The Bears have agreed to sign safety Quintin Demps to a three-year deal, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Demps will get $13.5MM with $5MM in his first year, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. 
Demps is entering his age-32 campaign, which theoretically could have depressed his value, but he’s started 26 games over the past two years and is coming off a season in which he graded as the league’s No. 12 safety, according to Pro Football Focus. After earning only $1.5MM in 2016, Demps should be in a for raise, but he’s not going to break the bank in a safety market that also included Eric Berry, Tony Jefferson, and T.J. McDonald.
The secondary was an obvious area of need for the Bears this offseason, and now Demps will pair with third-year pro Adrian Amos in the back end. Paired together, the duo isn’t spectacular, but Demps and Amos represent at least an average starting safety duo. Next up, Chicago will likely need further address it defensive backfield by tackling the corner position.
PFR had Demps as our No. 11 ranked safety heading into today, ahead of J.J. Wilcox, Mike Adams, Jairus Byrd, and Rashad Johnson.
The Saints are signing linebacker A.J. Klein, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Saints have been prioritizing defensive help this offseason, particularly help in the front seven.
Klein might not be the only defensive pickup the Saints make today if the rumored Malcolm Butler-for-Brandon Cooks deal is completed.
Klein was said to be seeking a starting job this offseason. He will move on from the Panthers after playing alongside the likes of Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis and join a Saints team that’s had issues at this position. Former first-round pick Stephone Anthony has not been able to provide clear evidence he’s going to be a long-term answer, and the Saints moved him from middle ‘backer to the strong side in the offseason.
A 25-year-old fifth-year player, Klein will join a linebacking corps that houses Anthony, Dannell Ellerbe and Craig Robertson. Kuechly’s 2016 injury opened the door for more Klein playing time; he made seven starts but only accumulated 29 tackles. As a part-time starter in 2014-15, Klein made 39 and 48 stops, respectively, while vacillating from the middle to the outside in Carolina’s 4-3 scheme. New Orleans pivoted back to a 4-3 look recently, so Klein won’t have as steep of a learning curve as he would going to a 3-4 team.
After being hit with the exclusive franchise tag, Kirk Cousins is not free to negotiate with teams this week. However, he wants out. Cousins appealed personally to owner Daniel Snyder for a trade, but was told not to get his hopes up, sources tell ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter). Washington has shown “zero inclination” to trade Cousins, adds Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Cousins has been the subject of trade talk for some time with the 49ers often linked to him. The Redskins have been reluctant to commit to Cousins on a long-term deal, but the Niners would presumably be happy to give him the kind of monster deal he is seeking – provided that they also wouldn’t have to give up too much to acquire him via trade. The Browns, who have even more cap room than the Niners, have also been brought up as a possible landing spot.
On Wednesday, we learned that Snyder may be holding up a potential trade to San Francisco due to his bad relationship with the Shanahans, Kyle and Mike. Snyder reportedly still holds a grudge against the Shanahans after firing the pair following the 2013 campaign, per Jones, and especially dislikes that the duo’s prediction of a failed Robert Griffin III career ultimately proved true. As such, Snyder has no interest in “helping” Kyle Shanahan in any regard, including sending him a ready-made franchise quarterback in Cousins.
Ultimately, Cousins may have no choice but to sign the franchise tender and hope he can reach the 2018 free agent market unfettered. If he chooses that route, he’ll play out the 2017 campaign while earning nearly $24MM.