Dolphins Re-Sign QB David Fales
The Dolphins have re-signed quarterback David Fales to a one-year contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Miami opted not to tender Fales as a restricted free agent before the 2018 league year began on Wednesday. Instead, they’ll bring him back on a one-year deal that will presumably be worth less than than original round tender of $1.907MM. That tender would have been fully non-guaranteed, while Fales’ new pact could conceivably contain some guaranteed money.
It’s unclear if the Dolphins trust Fales to be their No. 2 quarterback behind current starter Ryan Tannehill, but Brandon Doughty is the only other signal-caller on the roster at the moment. Fales, 27, has a history with Miami head coach Adam Gase, but had only attempted six career passes before getting a game’s worth of work in the 2017 season finale.
Dolphins To Sign Josh Sitton
The Dolphins have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent guard Josh Sitton, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Miami hosted Sitton on a visit on Wednesday.
Sitton’s contract will be worth $15MM in base value, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding that it could max out at $18MM. The veteran guard will receive $8MM in guarantees.
Guard has long been a problem in South Beach, but the Dolphins have now landed a former All-Pro in Sitton. The 31-year-old Sitton has experience at both left and right guard, and could conceivably slide into either spot for Miami. Whatever position he lands at, Sitton will be playing next to new Dolphins center, as the club released veteran Mike Pouncey earlier today.
Sitton originally joined the Bears in 2016 after surprisingly being released by the division rival Packers. Although minor health issues have been a concern, Sitton has been outstanding in the Windy City. Just last season, Sitton ranked as the the fifth-best guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and his marks have remained steady throughout the duration of his career. Despite that production, Chicago opted to decline Sitton’s $8MM option for 2018.
With Sitton off the market, the best free agent guards remaining include Jack Mewhort, Alex Boone, Matt Slauson, D.J. Fluker, and Joe Berger.
[RELATED: Dolphins Depth Chart]
Texans’ Jadeveon Clowney Classified As LB
The Texans will save a bit of cash this season, as Jadeveon Clowney has been classified as a linebacker (instead of a defensive end) for fifth-year option purposes, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Fifth-year options are based on positional value, and fifth-year options for top-10 picks such as Clowney are equal to the transition tender at the player’s position during his fourth season. When Houston exercised its option on Clowney, the club figured it was signing up for a $13.846MM defensive end salary. Instead, the Texans will only have to give Clowney $12.306MM, the figure for a linebacker.
Of course, the Texans are reportedly hoping to work out a long-term extension with Clowney prior to the 2018 campaign, so his new base salary could be moot, as Clowney would likely blow past both figures on a new deal.
Latest On Patriots’ Cameron Fleming, LaAdrian Waddle
The Patriots lost their starting left tackle on Wednesday when Nate Solder inked a four-year, $62MM with the Giants, but they have interest in retaining one or both of Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Fleming is probably the more important of the New England free agent linemen, as he’s demonstrated the ability to play left tackle in the past. Last season, Fleming played 543 total snaps and graded as the league’s No. 24 offensive tackle, per Pro Football Focus. At age-25, Fleming is now the best pure offensive tackle — not counting Justin Pugh, who is better at guard — on the open market after Solder and Chris Hubbard signed elsewhere.
Waddle, 26, started 10 games for the Lions in 24, but he’s mostly been a reserve since then. He was pressed into starting duty for four games a season ago, and he also chipped in on nearly 20% of the Patriots’ special teams snaps.
Patriots To Host LB Jonathan Casillas, TE Asante Cleveland
The Patriots are hosting linebacker Jonathan Casillas and tight end Asante Cleveland today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), respectively.
Casillas should be familiar to New England’s decision-makers, as the Patriots acquired him from the Buccaneers at the 2014 trade deadline. He played in eight games for the Pats that season before agreeing to a three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Giants the following offseason. New York is not expected to re-sign the 30-year-old Casillas, who finished the year on injured reserve, so he could help fill out a New England linebacker corps that also includes Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, and Elandon Roberts.
Cleveland, meanwhile, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Chargers opted not to tender him a contract. While he’s never topped 12% playing time on offense and only has one career reception, Cleveland would be a candidate for special teams and reserve duty behind Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots are expected to release fellow tight end Dwayne Allen at some point, but given that he doesn’t have any guarantees due in the near future, Allen could stick on the New England roster throughout the summer.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at the second-round level ($2.914MM):
- Cowboys DE David Irving (story)
- Giants: C Brett Jones (story via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Jets: Quincy Enunwa (story)
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Browns: DT Jamie Meder
- Chiefs: DE Rakeem Nunez-Roches (via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
- Jets: OL Brent Qvale, TE Neal Sterling
- Lions: WR T.J. Jones (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Rams: OLB Matt Longacre (via Rapoport)
- Seahawks: DE Dion Jordan (story)
- Texans: C Greg Mancz
Non-tendered:
- Buccaneers: DE Ryan Russell (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Chargers: LB Josh Keyes
- Chiefs: LB Ramik Wilson (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Dolphins: OL Anthony Steen
- Falcons: RB Terron Ward (via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
- Jaguars: S Peyton Thompson, RB Tyler Gaffney
- Jets: DL Xavier Cooper
- Lions: RB Zach Zenner, DE Brandon Copeland, DL Zac Kerin
- Packers: LB Joe Thomas (via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Panthers: WR Kaelin Clay, CB Ladarius Gunter, TE Scott Simonson, OL David Yankey (via David Newton of ESPN.com)
- Rams: LB Cameron Lynch, T Darrell Williams
- Saints: WR Brandon Coleman, DT David Parry
- Seahawks: RB Thomas Rawls, RB Mike Davis (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Steelers: WR Eli Rogers (story via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
- Texans: LB Brian Peters, DE Angelo Blackson, LB Ben Heeney
- Titans: S Curtis Riley (via Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com), RB Bishop Sankey (via Chris Tomasson)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Browns: QB Kevin Hogan
- Colts: TE Erik Swoope, G Jeremy Vujnovich, CB Christopher Milton, LS Luke Rhodes
- Dolphins: C Jake Brendel, LB Mike Hull, CB Jordan Lucas
- Giants: DT Robert Thomas (via Vacchiano)
- Jets: S Doug Middleton FB Lawrence Thomas TE Eric Tomlinson
- Lions: QB Jake Rudock, DT Christian Ringo
- Packers: WR Geronimo Allison (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- Rams: K Sam Ficken (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
- Raiders: LB/DE James Cowser, S Erik Harris, G/T Denver Kirkland
- Ravens: LB Patrick Onwuasor, WR Quincy Adeboyejo, OL Matt Skura, OL Maurquice Shakir
- Seahawks: RB J.D. McKissic, DE Quinton Jefferson, DE Branden Jackson (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Non-tendered:
- Chiefs: DB Keith Baxter (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Giants: TE Ryan O’Malley, LB Curtis Grant (via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com)
- Lions: DT Rodney Coe, P Kasey Redfern (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Packers: CB Herb Waters, LS Taybor Pepper (via Silverstein)
- Saints: C Jack Allen
Steelers Release DB Robert Golden
The Steelers have released safety Robert Golden, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Pittsburgh will save nearly $1.5MM against the salary cap by parting ways with Golden. He’s not the only veteran defensive back the Steelers have released in cost-cutting moves, as William Gay and Mike Mitchell are also on their way out.
Golden, 27, has spent his entire six-year career with the Steelers. In 2017, Golden appeared in all 16 games, posting 11 tackles and one interception in that time.
Giants To Sign CB Teddy Williams
The Giants have signed cornerback Teddy Williams to a one-year contract, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Williams, 29, has been in the NFL since 2012, but he’s never started a game as he mostly sticks on special teams duty. He’ll likely provide the same role for New York. Last year, Williams appeared in three games for the Panthers and managed five tackles.
Colts To Sign DL Denico Autry
The Colts have an agreement with free agent defensive lineman Denico Autry, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal worth $17.8MM in total and contains $6.5MM guaranteed.
Indianapolis and general manager Chris Ballard have shown a willingness to invest in its defensive line over the past two years. In 2017, the Colts brought in free agents Johnathan Hankins and Jabal Sheard, and now they’ll add Autry to the mix.
While Autry may not be a household name, he’s been an underrated player for the Raiders over the past four seasons. Last year, the 27-year-old appeared in all 16 games (three starts) and posted 23 tackles and three sacks. For that effort, Pro Football Focus graded Autry as the No. 56 interior defender among 122 qualifiers.
The Colts haven’t made any other free agent moves this week, but they are clearly interested in defensive lineman, as they are reportedly targeting Benson Mayowa and Adrian Clayborn.
Chargers Re-Sign Adrian Phillips
The Chargers have re-signed safety Adrian Phillips, who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, the club announced.
An original round RFA tender for Phillips would have been worth $1.907MM, so the Titans presumably signed him to a cheaper pact. However, RFA tenders are non-guaranteed, so players often have incentive to accept a reduced overall rate in exchange for some level of guarantees.
Phillips, 25, appeared in 15 games and more starts for Los Angeles in 2017. He will provide depth in the event fellow safety Tre Boston does not re-sign with the Bolts.