Another round of minor moves from this evening:
Denver Broncos
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints
Colts GM Chris Ballard‘s staff is rounding into form. The organization announced a number of changes to their football operations staff earlier today, including the promotion of Ed Dodds to assistant general manager.
Dodds has spent 16 years in the NFL, including a decade with the Seahawks, where he served as the team’s senior personnel executive. In this role, Dodds was responsible for scouting both college and professional players. The team earned five division titles and a Super Bowl title during his tenure. He was hired last season as Indy’s vice president of player personnel, and he’s also spent time with the Raiders organization.
The Colts front office has seen plenty of turnover this offseason. The team had fired former general manager Ryan Grigson back in January, and they quickly replaced him with Ballard, who previously served as the Chiefs’ director of football operations.
The Colts’ other notable personnel changes include:
Benardrick McKinney is about to be a whole lot richer. Mark Berman of Fox26 in Houston reports (via Twitter) that the Texans have signed the linebacker to a five-year, $50MM deal ($21MM guaranteed). The 25-year-old’s contract was set to expire at the end of the 2018 campaign.
“Bernardrick plays a key role in our defense and has been highly productive, but more importantly he is a core player who has developed into a team leader within our program,” said general manager Brian Gaine (via HoustonTexans.com) “We are excited to have him a part of our long term future here at the Texans.”
The 2015 second-round pick out of Mississippi State has emerged as one of the Texans’ top defenders over the past two seasons. Following a solid rookie campaign in 2015, McKinney earned a second-team All-Pro nod in 2016 after compiling 129 tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble.
This past season, the linebacker finished with 95 tackles and three sacks, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 24th among qualifying linebackers. For 2018, he’ll presumably start alongside Jadeveon Clowney, Zach Cunningham, and Whitney Mercilus.
While signing McKinney was surely a priority for the organization, the Texans are still trying to ink at least one of his teammates to a long-term deal. We heard back in April that a long-term deal with Clowney was inevitable but not imminent.
After signing fullback James Develin to a new deal, the Patriots have handed out their second extension of the day. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports (via Twitter) that the organization has signed long snapper Joe Cardona to a four-year extension. The 26-year-old was entering the final year of his contract.
After serving as Navy’s starting long snapper for four straight years, the Patriots selected Cardona in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, making him only the fourth player at his position to ever be drafted. After having his Naval assignment delayed so he could play his rookie season, New England signed the player to an unorthodox contract. The organization ended up nixing $100K of his signing bonus in favor of roster bonuses.
The long snapper ultimately earned all of that money, as he hasn’t missed a game during his three years in the league. The special teamer has also managed to compile six tackles throughout his career. Cardona has continually had to request permission to play in the NFL, which he’s been granted for each of his three seasons.
Earlier today, the Patriots inked Develin to a two-year extension worth $3.8MM.
The Cardinals have swapped one wideout for another. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Arizona has signed receiver Greg Little. The 29-year-old had participated in the team’s rookie minicamp earlier this week. To make room on the roster, the team has released wideout Cobi Hamilton (via Rapoport).
The 2011 second-round pick has been unable to put it together during his seven years in the NFL. He did show promise during his tenure with the Browns, including a 2011 rookie season where he hauled in 61 receptions for 709 yards and two scores. The receiver hasn’t played in a game since since 2014 when he was on the Bengals. He’s also had brief stints with the Raiders and Bills.
Behind Larry Fitzgerald, any one of the Cardinals’ wideouts could realistically make the team. Little will ultimately be competing with a number of receivers for a gig, including JJ Nelson, Christian Kirk, Brice Butler, Chad Williams, Carlton Agudosi, and Rashad Ross.
Hamilton, a 2013 sixth-round pick, has spent time with seven different teams during his four-year career. In 14 career games (nine starts) with the Steelers and Texans, the 27-year-old has compiled 18 receptions for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
After having auditioned for the Jets earlier this week, Courtney Upshaw has signed with the organization. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the defensive lineman has inked a deal with the organization. To make room on the roster, New York has waived defensive lineman Chris Jones (via Darryl Slater of NJ.com on Twitter).
The 2012 second-round pick initially entered the NFL as a linebacker, but he’s since been converted to a defensive lineman. After having spent four relatively productive seasons with the Ravens, Upshaw joined the Falcons back in 2016. He proceeded to play in 26 games (five starts) during his two years in Atlanta, averaging 16 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble per season. Only the Eagles had expressed reported interest in the 28-year-old.
Leonard Williams and Henry Anderson are currently slotted in as the Jets starters at defensive end, while Steve McLendon is listed as the team’s starting nose tackle. Upshaw will presumably have an opportunity to contribute at either position.
Jones, a 2013 sixth-round pick out of Bowling Green, joined the Jets earlier this month. He hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since 2016, when he compiled 23 tackles in 13 games (six starts) with the Dolphins and 49ers.
Punter Andy Lee will be sticking around Arizona for the foreseeable future. The team announced today that they’ve signed the veteran to a two-year extension. The deal will kick in next season and last through the 2020 campaign.
The 35-year-old joined the Cardinals last offseason and proceeded to play in all 16 games for his new organization. The three-time Pro Bowler ended up averaging 47.3-yards per punt, a franchise record. He also managed to land 29 punts inside the 20 yard line, his highest total since 2012. Predictably, Lee also served as the holder for field goals and extra points.
The 2004 sixth-round pick spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the 49ers before brief stints with the Browns and Panthers. His 1,135 career punts ranks 12th all-time, and he should easily secure the sixth spot on that list by the end of the 2018 season. His 52,666 punting yards already ranks in the top-five on the all-time list. The veteran has missed only seven regular season games during his career, with all of those coming during his stint with Carolina.
The Titans have signed second-round defensive end Harold Landry, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The former Boston College standout will earn roughly $6.7MM over the course of his four-year deal, in accordance with his slot at No. 41 overall. The deal includes a signing bonus worth nearly $3MM.
Landry, a 6’3″, 250-pound athlete, was an absolute monster at Boston College. He broke out in his junior season as he tallied 22 tackles for a loss and 16.5 sacks in 2016. Last year, he missed some games due to injury, but still managed 8.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks.
The defensive end should have an opportunity to contribute immediately for the Titans. Landry could eventually replace DaQuan Jones in the starting lineup, and he should have the edge over David King and Julius Warmsley for backup reps.
With the signing of Landry, the Titans have officially wrapped up their entire 2018 draft class. Here’s the full rundown of their four-man group:
Christian Hackenberg could return to the AFC East. The former Jets quarterback visited with the Patriots on Thursday at Gillette Stadium, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
The Patriots have some level of interest in the former second-round pick, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sign him right away. Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) doesn’t expect Hackenberg to officially join the Pats on Thursday, but he may be an option for New England going forward.
The Jets used the No. 51 overall pick on Hackenberg in 2016, but he did not see a regular season snap with the team in his first two seasons. This year, he was effectively squeezed out of the picture thanks to the re-signing of Josh McCown and the additions of Teddy Bridgewater and No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold. The Jets shipped Hackenberg to the Raiders for a conditional seventh-round pick, but he was released after three weeks in Oakland.
The Patriots do not have a clear need for a quarterback with Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, and rookie Danny Etling in the fold. However, it may be useful to have a fourth arm in camp this summer and someone like Hackenberg could conceivably push Etling – a seventh-round pick – for the final QB spot on the 53-man roster.
James Develin and the Patriots are closing in on a two-year contract extension, a source tells Jeff Howe of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal will be worth $3.8MM with a $600K signing bonus, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Develin signed his first NFL contract with the Bengals, but he has played all of his NFL downs with the Patriots. Save for the 2015 season he lost to injury, Develin appeared in every regular season game for the Pats between 2013 and 2017. Last year, he earned his first career Pro Bowl nomination.
Develin typically doesn’t see a ton of targets in the Pats’ offense, but he provides tremendous blocking ability. Last year, he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked run blocker amongst qualified fullbacks and fourth amongst FBs for his pass blocking. Many teams have gotten away from using a fullback, but Develin’s 407 snaps ranked first amongst all players at the position, ahead of other notables such as Zach Line, Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick DiMarco, and Anthony Sherman.