Broncos Sign Emmanuel Sanders
1:57pm: The Broncos have officially announced the transaction.
12:20pm: After he allegedly accepted a deal with the Chiefs, the Broncos officially announced that they have signed former Steelers wideout Emmanuel Sanders, tweets ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Schefter reports that it is a three-year, $15MM deal, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun adds (via Twitter) that it is worth a maximum of $18MM with escalators.
Assuming he passes his physical, a press conference is scheduled for 1:30 MST, tweets Lindsay Jones of USA Today.
Giants Sign Quintin Demps
1:08pm: The team has officially announced the transaction.
8:20am: The Giants have agreed to sign free safety and return specialist Quintin Demps. Demps tweeted the news himself late Saturday night, and the signing has since been confirmed by multiple sources. Demps provides New York with the quality return skills they were seeking from Jacoby Jones and Ted Ginn, Jr. before those players signed elsewhere.
Demps returned 33 kickoffs for 992 yards last season, and he also performed well in the defensive backfield. He saw the field a great deal in the Chiefs’ subpackages, and he tallied a career-high four interceptions. His presence will add quality depth to the Giants’ secondary, who have concerns about Will Hill and Stevie Brown.
As for the Chiefs, the team will now have to replace their top kick returner and their top punt returner following the departures of Demps and Dexter McCluster. Husain Abdullah and 2013 fifth-round pick Sanders Commings will get the first crack to take Demps’ place at safety, though Kansas City could of course address the position via free agency–where the number of safeties available has rapidly diminished–or the draft.
Giants Sign Walter Thurmond
1:06pm: The team has officially announced the transaction.
8:48am: The deal is worth $3.5MM, tweets CBSSports’ Jason La Canfora.
8:41am:The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with former Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It was a very busy Saturday night and early Sunday morning for the Giants, as they added both Thurmond and Quintin Demps to their defensive backfield over the course of a few short hours.
Thurmond was a valuable part of Seattle’s tremendous secondary last season, and he visited with the 49ers, Jaguars, and Redskins before agreeing to terms with the Giants. He missed four games in 2013 due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, but he did record 24 tackles to go along with one interception and one sack, and he could fill the slot corner role vacated by Terrell Thomas.
Even after acquiring Thurmond and Demps, New York may not be done adding to its secondary. The team still has a visit scheduled with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie later today (Twitter link), and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Giants “want him badly” but that any potential deal would of course depend on the length and terms of the contract.
AFC West Notes: LBs, Watson, Wilfork, Chiefs
The Broncos have responded to their Super Bowl loss by attempting to win the offseason Super Bowl, signing DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, and (controversially) Emmanuel Sanders. However, they still have a gaping hole at middle linebacker, writes Mike Klis of the Denver Post. The Broncos missed out on D’Qwell Jackson and also had interest in Karlos Dansby, Jon Beason, Perry Riley and Daryl Smith before those players signed elsewhere.
If the season started today, the talented but oft-injured Nate Irving and the unproven Steven Johnson would be battling for the “Mike” linebacker position. As a result, Klis writes, the Broncos will be forced to compile a “Plan B” list of free agent linebackers and/or find a gem in the draft. Klis suggests Michigan State’s Max Bullough would be an intriguing option in the third round.
More from the AFC West:
- After the Rodger Saffold debacle, the Raiders‘ offensive line is still in flux. ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez writes that the team would love it if Menelik Watson won the job and was healthy enough to keep it, but if Auburn’s Greg Robinson is still available when Oakland is on the clock with the fifth-overall pick in this year’s draft, he would be very difficult to pass up.
- Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com writes that Vince Wilfork, assuming he is released by New England, would fill a major need for the Chargers as a run-stuffer in the interior of their defensive line. However, Williams also notes that San Diego has little cap room and would have to release someone in order to bring Wilfork in.
- The Chiefs thought they had a deal in place with Emmanuel Sanders, but Sanders ultimately signed with Denver instead. But even if the Chiefs had landed Sanders, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com writes that wide receiver would have remained a top priority for Kansas City. The team signed CFL veteran Weston Dressler and has expressed an interest in Devin Hester and Jason Avant, but all of those players are complementary pieces and the Chiefs may be looking at Hester solely as a return man. Given that the Sanders deal fell through, Kansas City will almost certainly address their dearth of receivers in the very deep 2014 draft.
Buccaneers Sign Oniel Cousins
The Buccaneers have signed offensive guard Oniel Cousins to a one-year deal, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Cousins was drafted by the Ravens in the third round of the 2008 draft out of UTEP, and he never performed up to expectations.
Baltimore released him prior to the 2011 season, and he was claimed by the Browns several days later. He made just one start for Cleveland in 2011 and no starts in 2012, but he did start four games for the Browns in 2013. Although he has played right tackle in his career, Cousins will likely compete for time at right guard given the recent signing of Anthony Collins. Presumably, however, this is simply a depth signing for Tampa Bay.
Anthony Spencer Rumors: Sunday
We learned earlier that free agent defensive end Anthony Spencer was set to visit the Rams today. However, that report turned out to be incorrect, as Spencer is in fact scheduled to visit the Giants today, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). New York has already signed Quintin Demps and Walter Thurmond over the course of the past 12 hours, and they are apparently now interested in bolstering their pass rush after the departure of Justin Tuck.
Although Rapoport suggests Spencer would be an “intriguing fit” for the Giants, others seem less convinced. ESPN’s Dan Graziano tweets that Spencer is a “poor fit” in the Giants’ 4-3 defense, and he cites Spencer’s age and recent microfracture surgery to conclude that New York should only sign Spencer if the cost is very low. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com also tweets that it may take time for Spencer to fully recover from his surgery.
NFC East Rumors: Kelly, Spencer, Giants, Britt
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an explanation as to why the Eagles, traditional big-spenders in free agency, have not splurged on outside players this offseason, despite having $24MM in salary cap space. And it’s not just because the team has been burned in the past by ill-advised, big-money deals; it’s also about scheme. Rather than pursue the premier free agents on the market, the Eagles instead “targeted specific players they thought fit their scheme, could provide in-roster competition, and were versatile enough to help on special teams.”
Furthermore, as Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com writes, head coach Chip Kelly believes the team has spent heavily this offseason, but the Eagles spent the money to retain their own players and view free agents from outside teams as complements to the core of their roster. The strategy that Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman have followed adheres to the blueprint Roseman laid out last month, and it suggests the Eagles have turned a corner in the franchise’s approach to free agency.
Here are some more notes from the NFC East:
- We learned earlier today that Henry Melton will still visit with the Cowboys as planned, but Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reports that “talks have heated up” with several teams. In a separate post, George writes defensive end Anthony Spencer will be visiting the Rams on Sunday. The Cowboys remain interested in bringing Spencer back if the price is right.
- Steve Serby of the New York Post believes the Giants are losing the offseason battle to their divisional rivals, but that was before the team landed Quintin Demps and signed Walter Thurmond.
- The Redskins may be throwing their hat into the Kenny Britt ring, with Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweeting that the team is working on scheduling a visit with the receiver.
Henry Melton Rumors: Sunday
Henry Melton will visit with the Cowboys this week as scheduled, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport tweeted last night that Melton and the Seahawks were “deep in negotiations” and he wondered if Melton would make it out of Seattle without a deal in place.
As it turns out, Melton remains unsigned, and the Cowboys will bring in the big tackle with the hopes that he can anchor the middle of their defensive line. Joel Corry of the National Football Post tweets that Melton would be a good fit in Dallas as he is comfortable with the Cowboys’ defensive scheme, and Rapoport adds that Dallas’ defensive coaches want him (Twitter link).
If the Cowboys do land Melton, he would help replace Jason Hatcher, who enjoyed a career year in Dallas in 2013 before signing with the Redskins several days ago.
Anquan Boldin, 49ers Nearing Deal
MARCH 3: ESPN’s Ed Werder expects the 49ers to announce a new contract for Boldin within the next 24 hours (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 26: Assuming the 49ers and Boldin come to terms on a new agreement, expect the money to be similar to the three, $17.5MM deal Reggie Wayne signed in 2012, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. According to Barrows, the question is whether Boldin will get two or three years.
Boldin is coming off a 2013 season in which he earned a base salary of $6MM, so it sounds like his new salary will be in the same ballpark. If his next contract is indeed structured similarly to Wayne’s, it could include a decent bonus as well — $6.5MM of Wayne’s $17.5MM total came in the form of a signing bonus.
FEBRUARY 23: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin and the 49ers are “closing in” on a deal to keep Boldin in San Francisco, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Although Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote several days ago that the two sides had not yet begun negotiations, it has been clear for some time that Boldin wants to stay with the 49ers and that the Niners want him back. Now, according, to Schefter, a deal is expected to get done.
AFC North Notes: Smith, Haden, Dalton
Now that the Ravens have signed Dennis Pitta to a long-term deal, Baltimore’s next biggest priorities are left tackle Eugene Monroe and middle linebacker Daryl Smith. Monroe could still receive the franchise tag before tomorrow’s 4 p.m. deadline, but even if the Ravens do not tag him, they are expected to continue to work towards a multiyear contract extension with him. Meanwhile, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com is “quietly confident” that the team will re-sign Smith, especially since they just released Jameel McClain.
Hensley adds that the bump in the 2014 salary cap makes it a little more likely that the Ravens can re-sign Jacoby Jones, but they will still not want to pay him more than $1-2MM. The team sees Jones as a returner, but if other teams see him as both a returner and receiver, those teams could offer him something closer to the $4MM he made last season. For a team that has a number of holes to fill–and Hensley added that GM Ozzie Newsome would not be afraid to sign some unrestricted free agents this season–Jones might be too much of a luxury item.
More notes from the AFC North:
- Several weeks ago, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that, despite the posturing of GM Kevin Colbert, the Steelers would not be able to bring back both LaMarr Woodley and Jason Worilds and that Woodley would be released. Although he does not deviate from that stance in his latest piece, he does add an interesting twist. He notes that, according to Pro Football Focus, Woodley graded out as a slightly better player overall in 2013 (when he played, of course) and as a significantly better pass rusher. Although Woodley’s significant cap hit and recent injury history probably means he is still the odd-man out in Pittsburgh, the PFF grades and the increased salary cap at least give reason for pause.
- Some of the Browns‘ top performers are eligible for free agency in 2015, and Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com believes that several of them will receive new contracts this season. He also hears that the team and Joe Haden are close to a new deal.
- Paul Dehner of Cincinnati.com looks at the Bengals‘ quarterback outlook for 2014. Although Andy Dalton is of course the unquestioned starter and the team is not likely to peruse the free agent market for QBs, Dalton’s rocky postseason performances and his entering the final year of his rookie contract make this a pivotal year for him and for his club. Dehner believes mid- to late-round QB prospects like Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger would be logical selections for the Bengals.