2018 March - Pro Football Rumors

Bears To Re-Sign LB Sam Acho

March 14th, 2018 at 8:33am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears have agreed to re-sign linebacker Sam Acho to a two-year deal, as his brother (and former NFL player) Emmanuel Acho first reported (Twitter link). The news was later confirmed by Acho’s agents at SportsTrust Advisors (Twitter link).

Acho has typically spent his NFL tenure as a rotational edge rusher and special teams player, and but he garnered the most playing time of his career in 2017. Last year, Acho’s third in Chicago, he started 12 games and played on 60% of the clubs’ defensive snaps. In that time, he posted 27 tackles, three sacks, and one pass defensed.

The 29-year-old Acho played on a minimum salary benefit deal in 2017, but that won’t be the case during the upcoming campaign as such pacts cannot exceed one year.

Eagles To Re-Sign LB Nigel Bradham

March 14th, 2018 at 8:16am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Eagles will re-sign free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham to a five-year, $40MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Bradham was a key part of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning defense a season ago, but given that the Eagles are extremely pressed for cap space, it wasn’t clear if they’d be able to re-sign the 28-year-old linebacker. They’ve somehow made it work, however, and one resulting move will entail the Eagles (once again) placing linebacker Mychal Kendricks and his $5.85MM 2018 salary on the trade block, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

A former fourth-round pick, Bradham followed defensive play-caller Jim Schwartz from Buffalo to Philadelphia prior to the 2016 campaign. He’s arguably posted the best two seasons of his career during that time, and graded as the league’s 21st-best linebacker in 2017, according to Pro Football Focus.While playing on nearly 90% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps, Bradham posted 61 tackles and one sack.

While the guarantees or structure of Bradham’s new deal have yet to be reported, he’ll now become the 12th-highest-paid off-ball linebacker in terms of annual salary. Given that Eagles’ salary cap problems, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bradham’s pact contains a hefty signing bonus that will be spread across multiple years, while a back-loaded pact also isn’t out of the question.

Heading into free agency, Bradham ranked as PFR’s No. 1 available linebacker and the No. 22 free agent overall.

[RELATED: Eagles Depth Chart]

Bears To Sign QB Chase Daniel

March 14th, 2018 at 8:08am CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are expected to sign quarterback Chase Daniel to a two-year deal worth $10MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes $7MM guaranteed and it can void after one season.

The void clause, as Rapoport puts it, gives Daniel options in the event that he “becomes this year’s Nick Foles.” If Mitch Trubisky gets injured and Daniel is a breakout star, he can become a free agent in 2019 and cash in.

This time last year, the Bears signed Mike Glennon to a three-year, $45MM deal with the notion that he would be the team’s starter. Weeks later, the Bears selected Mitch Trubisky high in the 2017 draft, which radically changed everything. Glennon got the hook after one month and Trubisky did not cede the starting job the rest of the way. Mark Sanchez was the only other quarterback rostered by the Bears last year and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

This time around, things are a bit more cut and dry. Trubisky is entrenched as the upcoming starter and Daniel is here to mentor and serve as the backup in the event of injury. Glennon has already moved on since his release and has signed to back up Sam Bradford with the Cardinals.

Daniel, 31, spent last season backing up Drew Brees with the Saints and has also had stops with the Eagles and Chiefs. He has two career starts, which both came while with the Chiefs from 2013-15. The Saints originally signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2010 out of Missouri. Daniel has completed 65.4% of his passes in 78 career attempts, with a touchdown and an interception.

49ers To Sign Jerick McKinnon

March 14th, 2018 at 7:52am CST by Dallas Robinson

The 49ers have agreed to sign running back Jerick McKinnon to a four-year deal, $30MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (all Twitter links). The deal includes $12MM guaranteed, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter), and he’ll get $16MM over the first two years of the deal.

The four-year Vikings ball-carrier will see $12MM come his way in the first year of this deal, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com also reporting (via Twitter) a $3.7MM guarantee for 2019 will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March of next year. The fourth year of this contract will essentially serve as an option year, per Pelissero.

Although the Buccaneers had reportedly expressed interest in McKinnon, his decision ultimately came down to the Jets and 49ers, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Gang Green inked former Browns running back Isaiah Crowell to a pact on Tuesday, but it’s unclear if the Jets were deciding between the two players, or had hoped to pair the bruising Crowell with the pass-catching McKinnon.

McKinnon will now surprisingly become the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid running back at $7.5MM annually. Currently, he sits behind only the franchise-tagged Le’Veon Bell, Devonta Freeman, and LeSean McCoy. San Francisco had ample cap space to work with, but it’s still a hefty deal for a (primarily) receiving running back.

But McKinnon’s new contract speaks to the increasing value of pass-catching runners in today’s NFL. While the former Vikings back has never managed 160 carries in a season, he’s put up at least 40 receptions in each of the last two campaigns. In 2017, he set a career-high with 51 catches and 421 yards while grading as the league’s No. 8 pass-blocking back, per Pro Football Focus.

San Francisco lost former starting running back Carlos Hyde to the Browns earlier this morning, so McKinnon will now join a backfield that includes Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, and Joe Williams.

[RELATED: 49ers Depth Chart]

Browns To Sign TE Darren Fells

March 14th, 2018 at 7:41am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns will sign tight end Darren Fells to a three-year, $12MM contact , tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. The deal contains more than $6MM in guarantees.

Cleveland had been on the lookout for a veteran tight end since releasing Gary Barnidge prior to the 2017 campaign. Fells, who turns 32 years old next month, will now team with former first-round pick David Njoku and Seth DeValve to give Cleveland a solid trio of tight ends.

Fells has never been a major part of his club’s passing attack, whether during his tenure in Arizona or his one-season run in Detroit. Last year, Fells collected 17 of 26 targets for 177 yards, but did manage to get into the end zone three times. As a blocker, Fells is roughly league-average in the run game but a top-10 option in the passing game, per Pro Football Focus.

Although they boast the most cap space in the league, the Browns have refrained from adding top-of-the-market players, preferring to sign mid-tier options (at least thus far). In addition to Fells, Cleveland has brought in Carlos Hyde, Donald Stephenson, Chris Hubbard, and Chris Smith.

Jaguars To Sign CB D.J. Hayden

March 14th, 2018 at 7:37am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars have agreed to terms with cornerback D.J. Hayden, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link). He’ll collect a three-year, $19MM deal which contains $9.5MM in guarantees and can max out at $21MM.

Jacksonville has invested heavily in its secondary over the past few years, and has added corners Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye through the draft and free agency, respectively. However, the Jaguars aren’t able to keep everyone in their defensive backfield, and Tuesday they lost slot cornerback Aaron Colvin to the division-rival Texans.

Colvin received $34MM over four years from Houston, so the Jaguars are saving quite a bit of cash and cap space by replacing him with Hayden. However, Jacksonville is also looking at a significant in talent, at least based on prior results. Although he’s a former No. 12 overall pick, Hayden has never lived up to the draft billing, and 2017 was no exception.

Hayden ranked as a the No. 96 cornerback among 121 qualifiers a season ago, per Pro Football Focus. Colvin, meanwhile, finished 47th in the same grades, so Jacksonville should expect a downgrade in its slot performance. Hayden will be flanked by All-Pro caliber outside corners in Ramsey and Bouye, so it’s possible he’ll show improvement, but he’ll need to exceed expectations to do so.

Browns To Sign RB Carlos Hyde

March 14th, 2018 at 7:22am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns have agreed to sign free agent running back Carlos Hyde to a three-year, $15MM deal that includes $6MM in 2018, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Hyde, 27, ranked as PFR’s No. 2 available running back and the No. 33 overall free agent. Among our list of the top free agent backs, only Dion Lewis, Isaiah Crowell, and Chris Ivory (who was released early and thus could sign earlier) have landed new contracts. Lewis, whom PFR tabbed as the best back on the market, received four years and $20MM from the Titans, outpacing Hyde in contact length but matching him in annual value.

Now that they’ll pair Hyde with a pass-catching back in Duke Johnson, the Browns may be out of the Saquon Barkley sweepstakes. Cleveland had reportedly been considering the Penn State standout with the first overall selection, but with a pair of veteran runners now poised to dominate carries in their backfield, the Browns could use that No. 1 pick — and the No. 4 overall slot they acquired from the Texans — on other positions, namely quarterback.

Hyde spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers, and had toted the ball more than 200 times in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Hyde put up 938 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns, but also posted a career-low 3.9 yards per carry. In the pass game, Hyde finished sixth among running backs with 59 receptions, but also graded as the single-worst pass-blocking back in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.

With Hyde off the board, the best remaining free agent running backs include Jerick McKinnon, Rex Burkhead, Frank Gore, and Orleans Darkwa.

[RELATED: Browns Depth Chart]

Vikings Interested In OL Kevin Pamphile

March 13th, 2018 at 10:46pm CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings have “preliminary” interest in offensive guard Kevin Pamphile, reports Chris Tomasson of St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). However, the front office is still sorting out what to do regarding the offensive line in free agency. Tomasson notes that the Vikings are interested in bringing back Joe Berger.

The 27-year-old Pamphile has spent his entire career with the Buccaneers, including a 2017 campaign that saw him appear in 16 games (15 starts). Pro Football Focus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance last season, ranking him 57th among 77 offensive guard candidates. The site rated him as a better run blocker than pass blocker. We previously heard that Pamphile was generating interest from eight-to-ten teams. The lineman was listed 15th among interior linemen in PFR’s position rankings.

The 35-year-old Berger has spent the past seven seasons in Minnesota, and he started all 16 games in 2017. We heard earlier today that the Vikings had interest in retaining the veteran, and there were at least three other teams eyeing the lineman.

Frank Gore To Visit Lions

March 13th, 2018 at 9:53pm CST by Ben Levine

Frank Gore is set to have his first meeting of the offseason. Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network reports (via Twitter) that the veteran running back is set to meet with the Lions this week.

We heard in late February that the Colts were planning to move on from the veteran running back, and previous reports indicated that the 34-year-old intended to keep playing in 2018. The Bills have already been connected to the Gore, who was listed as the sixth-best free agent running back in our positional rankings.

Despite playing in his 13th NFL season, Gore still collected 250-plus carries for the seventh consecutive campaign. The former 49ers star ultimately started all 16 games for Indy, compiling 961 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 261 carries. Gore also added another 29 receptions for 245 yards and one touchdown. Pro Football Focus actually wasn’t all that critical of his 2017 performance, as the site ranked him 17th among 58 eligible running backs.

Gore would provide the Lions with another option at running back. The team is already rostering Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Tion Green, and Dwayne Washington.

Broncos Fielding Calls On QB Trevor Siemian

March 13th, 2018 at 9:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Broncos have received calls from several clubs with interest in quarterback Trevor Siemian, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post.

That Denver is hearing from teams with an eye towards acquiring Siemian should come as no surprise, given both that the Broncos signed fellow quarterback Case Keenum to a two-year deal earlier today and the fact that Denver had been openly shopping Siemian. With Keenum now the Broncos’ starter, and former first-round pick Paxton Lynch likely to serve as the club’s backup, Siemian doesn’t have a role in the Mile High City.

Siemian offered league-average production in 14 games as the Broncos’ starter in 2016, as the former seventh-round pick completed 59.5% of his passes for 3,401 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Last season, however, Siemian struggled mightily, and Denver ultimately turned to Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch under center.

Siemian could conceivably attract interest from any number of teams as a backup quarterback, especially given his price tag. He’ll earn just $1.907MM in 2018 (a raise over his scheduled base salary, thanks to the proven performance escalator), an entirely palatable figure for a No. 2 signal-caller.