2018 March - Pro Football Rumors

Browns/Seahawks C.J. Smith Trade Cancelled

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

C.J. Smith won’t be going to the Seahawks after all. Seattle acquired the cornerback in a trade earlier this week, but that swap has been nullified, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Smith failed a physical upon arriving in Seattle, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. The trade saw only a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft going to Cleveland, so it’s not a major loss for the Browns.

Smith, 25 in May, spent most of the year on the Browns’ practice squad. Towards the end of the year, he earned a promotion to the varsity squad and was on the roster for the final three regular season games.

The Seahawks were in need of some depth at cornerback after releasing Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane, prompting the Smith trade. The cancelled deal may push the Seahawks to re-sign Byron Maxwell, who is still a free agent.

Raiders Re-Sign QB E.J. Manuel

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have re-signed backup quarterback EJ Manuel, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but his spot on Jon Gruden‘s 53-man roster may not be a lock.

The Raiders still have 2016 fourth-round pick Connor Cook under contract and they added free agent Josh Johnson earlier this month. Only two of those three QBs can stick around to play behind Derek Carr and there’s still the possibility that Oakland will draft a signal caller in April.

Last year, Manuel appeared in two games for the Raiders in Carr’s absence. He completed just 24 of 43 throws with one touchdown against one interception. The Raiders lost both of those games and Carr returned to action in Week 6.

Latest On 49ers S Eric Reid

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

So far, there has been no known interest in Eric Reid, despite the fact that he is among the most talented safeties available in this year’s free agent crop. Reid has speculated that the lack of buzz has been due to his kneeling during the national anthem in the past, but he indicated on Thursday that he will no longer participate in anthem protests.

“From the beginning, Colin [Kaepernick] has been flexible,” Reid said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). “He started by sitting. He changed it up. We decided to kneel. And we understand that you got to change with the times. So I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active, because I won’t. I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country to improve on. I don’t think it’ll be in the form of protesting during the anthem. And I said ‘during’ because it’s crazy to me that the narrative got changed to we were protesting the anthem, because that wasn’t the case. But I think we’re going to take a different approach to how to be active.”

Reid’s participation in anthem protests are likely one reason for his continued unemployment, but it has also been a slow moving market for safeties in general. It took Tyrann Mathieu a little while to find his deal after being released by Arizona and other notables such as Kenny Vaccaro and Tre Boston continue to look for work. We’re also just eight days into the official free agency period (side note: can you believe that it has been only eight days?), so it stands to reason that Reid is still likely to find a quality deal.

Reid says that he has yet to receive an offer from a team, but 49ers GM John Lynch said “never say never” when asked about the prospect of a return to the 49ers. Although no visit has been scheduled, Reid’s agent has been in contact with clubs, tweets Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

49ers Meet With CB Ladarius Gunter

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers met with Panthers free agent cornerback Ladarius Gunter on Thursday, GM John Lynch said (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). The Panthers did not extend a restricted free agent tender to Gunter earlier this month, but they are said to have interest in a reunion at a lesser rate.

Gunter, 26 in May, had the most defensive snaps of any Packers cornerback in 2016. Last September, the Panthers picked him up after he slid down Green Bay’s depth chart and was released after just one game. His playing time didn’t improve much from there – he appeared in just four games for Carolina last year and did not record an official statistic.

After signing running back Jerick McKinnon, center Weston Richburg, and cornerback Richard Sherman, the 49ers have stayed relatively quiet in free agency. Their most recent move of note was signing guard Jonathan Cooper to a one-year deal.

Raiders Sign OT Breno Giacomini

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:07pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have signed tackle Breno Giacomini. The club confirmed the signing, but the length and value of the deal are not yet known.

Giacomini is entering his eleventh NFL season after spending time with the Packers, Seahawks, Jets, and Texans. He has appeared in 94 career games with 86 starts, including 53 starts over the last four campaigns.

Last season, the Jets bailed on Giacomini’s multi-year deal in the midst of cutting a number of other veterans. The Texans scooped him up on one-year deal with a non-guaranteed $1MM base, $750K signing bonus, and up to $1MM in active roster bonuses. Giacomini graded out as one of the worst tackles in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, so he did not exactly outperform the deal. For what it’s worth, however, he did start in all 16 games for Houston while playing nearly 1,100 snaps.

Seahawks Re-Sign DE Marcus Smith

March 22nd, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks have re-signed defensive end Marcus Smith, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal worth up to $2.7MM.

Smith flamed out as a former first-round pick of the Eagles and was waived last summer. He signed on with the Seahawks and played a bit in a reserve role. In 252 snaps, Smith had 14 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Exact terms of the deal are not yet known, but it stands to reason that the deal comes with a low base salary and little in the way of guarantees. There are incentives in place, however, that can provide Smith with a solid pay day if he performs. He’d also be in position to make more money next March if he can make some noise.

Giants Cut WR/KR Dwayne Harris

March 22nd, 2018 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants announced that they have released wide receiver/return specialist Dwayne Harris. Harris was set to begin his fourth season with the G-Men.

Harris broke out in 2016 with a kick return average of 28.7 yards and one kickoff returned 100 yards for a touchdown. He also returned 34 punts for an average of 10.0 yards per try and caught 36 passes for 396 yards and four TDs. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2016, but he was one of several Giants wide receivers to suffer a season-ending injury in the fall. The new regime apparently felt that Harris was not worth the money given his age and susceptibility to injuring his foot once more.

By releasing Harris, the Giants will save $2.45MM while eating $1.6MM in dead money. He’ll find a market in free agency, but it will be somewhat limited with his 31st birthday coming up in September.

Packers To Sign CB Tramon Williams

March 22nd, 2018 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers have agreed to sign cornerback Tramon Williams, according to former teammate James Jones (on Twitter). Williams, who spent the first eight seasons of his career in Green Bay, returns on a two-year deal.

Williams was a crucial part of the Packers’ Super Bowl victory in the 2010 season. He had three interceptions during that playoff run and came up with a critical stop late in the championship game to seal the win for Green Bay.

Williams, 35, is coming off of one of the best seasons of his career. The Cardinals long searched for a quality cornerback to pair with star Patrick Peterson and Williams did an admirable job in that role. Pro Football Focus ranked Williams ninth amongst all corners last year and he finished 23rd in Football Outsiders’ success rate and 18th in yards per pass allowed. As a whole, the Cardinals ranked sixth in DVOA against opposing No. 2 wide receivers. They’ll now have to rebuild their secondary after losing Williams and parting ways with Tyrann Mathieu.

The Packers have been eager for an upgrade at cornerback and recently tried to steal restricted free agent Kyle Fuller away from the rival Bears. Fuller would have been a better long-term pickup, but Williams should still be a contributor in the short term.

Patriots Re-Sign OT LaAdrian Waddle

March 22nd, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have re-signed offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the veteran.

The Pats have lost a number of key free agents this offseason, including running back Dion Lewis, wide receiver Danny Amendola, cornerback Malcolm Butler, and tackle Nate Solder. Today, they retained one of their important remaining UFAs by re-upping Waddle, who turns 27 in July.

The Cowboys hosted Waddle on a visit earlier this week, along with fellow Pats free agent tackle Cameron Fleming. Ideally, the Pats would like to retain both players, but they might not be able to keep both of them at home.

Waddle, by most measures, is the lesser tackle of the two, but he’s still productive. For now, he projects to start on the offensive line with Marcus Cannon holding down the other top tackle job.

On Thursday, the Patriots re-signed Marquis Flowers, a key component of their special teams unit. He’s the latest key special teamer to re-up with the team, following new deals for Matt Slater, Nate Ebner, Brandon Bolden, and Brandon King.

Dolphins To Sign RB Frank Gore

March 22nd, 2018 at 2:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have agreed to sign running back Frank Gore, according to Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the veteran.

Gore, a potential future Hall of Famer, now has the opportunity to finish his career where it all began. Gore was born in Coral Gables, Florida and made his name at the University of Miami. After ten seasons in San Francisco and three seasons in Indianapolis, he gets to ply his craft in Miami once again.

The Dolphins project to start Kenyan Drake at running back, but the opportunity is there for Gore to split carries with him. The remainder of the Dolphins’ running back depth chart is decidedly less accomplished than Gore as Senorise Perry, De’Veon Smith, and Brandon Radcliff are all former undrafted free agents with minimal live action on their resume.

Gore, 35 in May, has 14,000+ career rushing yards to his credit, as well as five Pro Bowl selections. He nearly turned in a tenth 1,000 yard season in 2017, but he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Gore is no longer the star that he was with the 49ers, but he can still be a useful piece in Miami’s backfield. From the Dolphins perspective, it’s a low-risk proposition that they can bail on, if necessary, without any real financial penalty.

[RELATED: Dolphins Depth Chart]