Browns To Sign CB T.J. Carrie
The Browns have reached agreement with free agent cornerback T.J. Carrie, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com (Twitter link).
The former Raiders corner signed for four years and $31MM, with $10MM fully guaranteed at signing, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. 
Before landing with Cleveland, Carrie also drew interest from the Broncos, but Denver signed fellow corner Tramaine Brock instead. Carrie ranked as PFR’s seventh-best available cornerback heading into the free agent period.
Cleveland needed all the secondary help it could find after ranking 27th in pass defense DVOA in 2017. So far, they’ve inked Carrie and Terrance Mitchell to go along with Jason McCourty, Jamar Taylor, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun, among others. Additionally, the Browns have interest in safety Morgan Burnett as they further remake their defensive backfield.
Carrie will almost surely play the slot in Cleveland, as the 27-year-old handled nickel duties for Oakland last season. In 15 starts, Carrie managed 70 tackles and graded as the NFL’s No. 21 CB, per Pro Football Focus. Football Outsiders’ metrics weren’t quite as fond of Carrie, as he ranked 68 out of 81 qualifiers in success rate.
Seahawks To Host TE Ed Dickson
The Seahawks are “deep” in the tight end market, and will now host free agent Ed Dickson on a visit, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Seattle also has a meeting scheduled with fellow tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, so the club is clearly trying to use the open market to replace Jimmy Graham, who signed with the Packers on Tuesday. Other free agent tight ends of note include Tyler Eifert, Virgil Green, Antonio Gates, and the recently-released Eric Ebron.
Dickson, 30, didn’t play a large receiving role during his first three years with the Panthers, but an injury to starting tight end Greg Olsen allowed Dickson to play on 80% of Carolina’s offensive plays last season. While he wasn’t a world-beater, Dickson did manage 437 yards and a touchdown, solid numbers considering he’d managed just 370 receiving yards from 2014-16. He’s also on the Falcons’ radar as they seek a complementary tight end.
At present, Seattle’s depth chart is comprised of Nick Vannett and 2017 undrafted free agent Tyrone Swoopes. Veteran Luke Willson is an unrestricted free agent.
Bills To Sign LB Trent Murphy
The Bills will sign free agent edge rusher Trent Murphy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a three-year, $21MM deal, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, while the total value can rise to $30MM, per Rapoport (Twitter link).
Murphy, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Redskins, drew plenty of free agent interest despite missing the entire 2017 campaign with a torn ACL and MCL. Both the Patriots and Buccaneers were reportedly in on Murphy, while Washington had offered him a contract to return to the nation’s capital.
The Bills plan to use Murphy at defensive end, not linebacker, as Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. Buffalo already has two starting defensive ends in Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson, but Murphy will offer depth allow the Bills to play their edge rushers in a rotational capacity.
A former second-round pick, Murphy’s best season came in 2016 when he posted nine sacks. That potential was enough to get him a multi-year deal this year, but the 27-year-old certainly comes with risk attached. Not only can a dual ACL/MCL injury be tough to recover from, but Murphy was also suspended four games last season for performance-enhancing drug usage.
The Bills have been active this offseason, not only in trading away offensive starters such as Tyrod Taylor and Cordy Glenn, but in adding defensive talent such as Star Lotulelei and Rafael Bush.
Seahawks, Jaguars To Host Austin Seferian-Jenkins
The Seahawks and Jaguars both plan to meet with free agent tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Seattle will get the first shot at Seferian-Jenkins, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
ASJ is drawing plenty of interest on the open market, and while the Seahawks and Jaguars will host him in the coming days, they aren’t the only clubs targeting the former second-round pick. Both the Saints and Falcons have also been connected to Seferian-Jenkins, who spent the 2017 campaign with the Jets.
Seattle is on the lookout for a new tight end after losing veteran Jimmy Graham to the Packers on Tuesday. While the Seahawks still have Nick Vannett on their roster, the club could use an established starter. Jacksonville, meanwhile, recently exercised its 2018 option for Marcedes Lewis, but Seferian-Jenkins would offer an upgrade on the longtime Jaguar.
In 13 games (10 starts) a season ago, the 25-year-old Seferian-Jenkins posted 50 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns. While his 50 catches ranked 13th among tight ends in 2017, Seferian-Jenkins doesn’t offer much as a blocker, as Pro Football Focus ranked him as just the 35th-best run-blocker.
Pro Football Rumors currently ranks Seferian-Jenkins as the No. 4 available tight end and the No. 37 free agent overall.
Panthers To Re-Sign DE Julius Peppers
The Panthers have re-signed veteran defensive end Julius Peppers to a one-year, $5MM deal, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
The 2018 free agent edge defender class is extremely weak, so much so that PFR named Peppers as the best pass rusher on the market. That’s not to say Peppers isn’t still a talented player, but a 38-year-old isn’t often viewed as the best available free agent at his position.
Peppers, of course, spent the first eight years of his career with the Panthers before reuniting on a one-year pact for 2017. The veteran defensive end collected $3.5MM with Carolina a season ago, and he will now see a pay increase after a successful campaign.
And successful it was, as Peppers managed 11 sacks, his highest total 2012. Sacks can be fluky, of course, but Pro Football Focus graded Peppers as a league-average defensive end, ranking him 63rd among 110 qualifying edge defenders.
Peppers played 50% of Carolina’s defensive snaps in 2017, and he’ll likely continue in a rotational role during the upcoming season. He’ll play alongside other Panthers defensive linemen including Mario Addison, Wes Horton, and Daeshon Hall.
[RELATED: Panthers Depth Chart]
Lions Re-Sign LB Nick Bellore
The Lions have re-signed linebacker Nick Bellore, the club announced today.
While Bellore is a linebacker in title, he was essentially a special teams-only player in 2017. The 28-year-old Bellore played only 108 defensive snaps a season ago, but saw nearly triple that action on special teams. Detroit general manager Bob Quinn has shown a willingness to pay for ST prowess in the past, and the Lions finished fifth in special teams DVOA last season.
Every one of Detroit’s free agent forays has been on the defensive side of the ball thus far, as the club has signed linebackers Devon Kennard and Christian Jones, plus re-signed defensive backs Nevin Lawson and Tavon Wilson.
Jets Still Interested In Re-Signing Morris Clairborne
Even after landing the top corner on the market in Trumaine Johnson, the Jets are still open to re-signing fellow defensive back Morris Claiborne, Calvin Watkins of Newsday reports (Twitter link).
Gang Green entered the offeason hoping to acquire two starting cornerbacks, and they’ve already signed one in Johnson, who inked a five-year, $72.5MM deal with the Jets on Tuesday. With Johnson now on board, Claiborne would slot in as New York’s No. 2 corner if he’s retained.
Typically an injury risk, Clairborne stayed healthy for 15 games a season ago and posted one interception. He entered the free agent period ranked as PFR’s No. 5 cornerback and No. 30 free agent overall.
Contract Details: Brees, Butler, T. Johnson
Let’s take a look at the details from the latest contracts signed in the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
- Drew Brees, QB (Saints): Two years, $50MM. $10.5MM signing bonus. $10.2MM 2018 base salary. $3.3MM available via incentives in 2018. $24MM cap charge in 2018. $33.5MM cap charge in 2019 (Twitter links via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
- Malcolm Butler, CB (Titans): Five years, $61.23MM. $24MM guaranteed. $10MM signing bonus (via Howard Balzer).
- Justin Ellis, DT (Raiders): Three years, $13.5MM. $6.5MM guaranteed. 2019 base salary ($2.25MM) becomes fully guaranteed on third day of 2019 league year (via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM).
- Mark Herzlich, LB (Giants): One year, $790K minimum salary contract (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY).
- James Hurst, T (Ravens): Four years, $17.5MM. $6MM guaranteed (via Caplan).
- Trumaine Johnson, CB (Jets): Five years, $72.5MM. $34MM guaranteed (via Balzer), $34MM fully guaranteed (per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).
Browns To Sign CB Terrance Mitchell
The Browns have agreed to a three-year, $12MM deal with free agent cornerback Terrance Mitchell, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Cleveland has spent the early portion of free agency adding mid-tier free agents, but the club had yet to address their secondary. The Browns reportedly had interest in the top cornerback on the market in Trumaine Johnson, but they’ll instead settle for Mitchell, whom general manager John Dorsey know from the pair’s time in Kansas City.
While the Browns can use all the help they can get after ranking 27th in pass defense DVOA, it’s unclear exactly how much Mitchell can offer. Last season, he ranked as a bottom-20 corner, per Pro Football Focus, while posting the most starts (nine) of his career. Mitchell, 25, did put up four interceptions, but his overall coverage marks left much to be desired.
Mitchell will now join a Browns secondary that also includes Jason McCourty, Jamar Taylor, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun, among others.
Titans Re-Sign DL David King
The Titans have agreed to re-sign defensive lineman David King, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). King had been slated to become an exclusive rights free agent, but he’s now inked a new one-year deal.
Because he was an ERFA, King had no negotiating rights. He’ll earn the minimum salary as he returns to Tennessee for the upcoming campaign.
King, 28, was a seventh-round pick in 2013, and last season marked his most successful campaign to date. Tennessee picked up King just prior to the start of the 2017 campaign, and he went on to play roughly a quarter of the club’s defensive snaps and 16% of the Titans’ special teams snaps.