HEADLINES

Author: Zachary Links

Jets To Re-Sign Dan Feeney

March 16th, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have agreed to re-sign offensive lineman Dan Feeney (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post). Financial terms are not yet known, but it’ll be a one-year deal for the Indiana product. 

Feeney was a was a third-round pick of the Chargers back in 2017. The Jets signed him last spring as their Plan B for missing out on guard Joe Thuney.

Feeney started nine games as a rookie with the Bolts, followed by a full 16 in each of the next three years. The Jets made him a first-stringer just five times last year, but he still suited up in 16 games, missing only one contest in the NFL’s newly-expanded season.

Feeney signed a one-year deal with the team last year after spending three seasons as a starter with the Chargers. He appeared in 16 games, but only made five starts for the AFC East club.

The Jets will ask Feeney to serve as a backup once again, after adding guard Laken Tomlinson and re-upping Conor McDermott last week.

Raiders To Sign DT Bilal Nichols

March 16th, 2022 at 8:26am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have agreed to sign defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The former Bear will receive a two-year, $11MM deal with $9MM guaranteed. 

[RELATED: Bears To Sign Ogunjobi]

Nichols, a 2018 fifth-round pick, had the best year of his career at the best possible time. In 2021, Nichols suited up for all 17 games (15 starts) and registered 51 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, and nine QB hits. He appeared in 64% of the Bears’ snaps as well, leading all defensive linemen on the team.

The Bears didn’t have much room for Nichols after the addition of Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. The Raiders, meanwhile, can use the 25-year-old as a three-technique tackle who can generate pressure against the pass. Nichols has done a solid job of that so far in his young career, having notched 62 pressures over the last two years.

Falcons To Meet With Deshaun Watson

March 15th, 2022 at 7:18pm CST by Zachary Links

7:18pm: Watson will meet with the Falcons on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. The 26-year-old quarterback is a Georgia native, heading to Clemson from Gainesville, Ga., and once worked as a Falcons ball boy. Watson and the Browns finished their meeting Tuesday.

We might be moving close to a trade resolution here, though that is obviously only part of this saga. The Texans appear to have approved trade compensation from the Browns, Panthers and Saints, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. The Watson meetings were contingent upon it. This would point to the Falcons having made a satisfactory offer as well. Watson reached out to the Falcons about a meeting, Russini adds (on Twitter).

10:55am: The Falcons have emerged as a sleeper team to trade for Deshaun Watson, according to league sources who spoke with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With that, they join the Panthers, Saints, and Browns on the known list of clubs in pursuit of the Texans quarterback. 

Watson is set to meet with the Browns today. As of this writing, the Saints and Panthers are the only clubs reported to have made an offer. Still, the Browns have done plenty of research on Watson – both before trading that fateful draft pick to the Texans and after.

Matt Ryan completed 67% of his passes for 3,968 yards and 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. Those numbers are more or less in line with his career averages, though the Falcons are now years removed from their last Super Bowl appearance.

The Falcons could see Watson as the solution, though Ryan just agreed to restructure his contract last week. It’s also possible that the Falcons are simply doing their due diligence and/or looking to raise the asking price for their NFC South rivals. The Panthers and Saints are both keenly interested in the embattled QB — even if the Falcons don’t trade for him, they could help to chip away at their draft capital.

Thanks to Ryan’s restructuring, the Falcons opened up an additional $12MM on their 2022 books. On the heels of that move, they hammered out a brand new $50MM+ extension with veteran lineman Jake Matthews.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/15/22

March 15th, 2022 at 6:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:

RFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/22

March 15th, 2022 at 2:11pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep tabs on today’s minor moves here:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Patriots Re-Sign James White

March 15th, 2022 at 12:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have re-signed veteran running back James White (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The deal, which will be formally inked on Wednesday, is a two-year pact worth $5MM. White will also get $500K guaranteed as a part of the deal. 

Even though he’s at the age of 30, White has matched his previous annual value on the nose. The Patriots re-upped White on a one-year, $2.5MM deal last year, retaining the longtime Patriots passing-down back for yet another season. Unfortunately, a hip injury capped his 2021 at just three games.

Part of the three 2010s Patriots Super Bowl-winning teams, White has been an essential part of the Pats’ offense for most of his career. Succeeding the likes of Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen as Bill Belichick-era passing-down backs, White is now set to come back for a ninth New England season and, perhaps, a tenth, depending on how things go from here.

White posted 994 all-purpose yards in 2019, but saw less time in 2020, his last healthy season. Still, White had 49 grabs for 375 yards and a touchdown that year to lead all Pats RBs in receiving.

Bills To Sign J.D. McKissic

March 15th, 2022 at 11:51am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are set to sign J.D. McKissic (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Once finalized on Wednesday, it’ll be a two-year, $7MM deal for the former Washington running back. 

McKissic can also earn an extra $1MM in incentives, according to Schefter, which would boost the total value to $8MM. That’s a solid haul for the 28-year-old (29 in August), considering the ups and downs of his early career.

McKissic enjoyed a breakout season in 2017, when he compiled 187 rushing yards and one touchdown on 46 carries for the Seahawks. He also added another 34 receptions for 266 yards and two scores for good measure. After that, he lost much of his 2018 to injury.

The former undrafted free agent out of Arkansas State has rebounded well in recent years. After a productive 2019 with the Lions, he’s posted averages over 4.3 yards per carry in two D.C. seasons. Now, he’ll look to bring more of the same to the AFC East.

Ravens To Sign Marcus Williams

March 15th, 2022 at 11:38am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have agreed to terms with Marcus Williams. The standout safety will leave New Orleans and head to Baltimore on a whopping five-year, $70MM deal (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler). NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds that the contract includes $37MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link).

Williams, 26 in September, played on the tag last season after attempts to reach a long-term agreement came up short. The Saints still wanted to hammer out a long-term extension this time around, but their cap situation did not cooperate.

Last year, Williams posted a career-high 74 tackles to go along with two interceptions and eight pass breakups. He also made some serious strides in coverage, allowing a sub-50% completion rate for the first time in his career. Williams also added two interceptions, bringing his career tally to 15.

Baltimore was likely to be in the market for a new safety. They were frequently named as a potential suitor for Tyrann Mathieu, among other options who were available. With incumbent DeShon Elliott a pending free agent, it is not surprising the Ravens have made the investment in Williams. The former is a well-respected member of the defense, but injuries have been a constant throughout his four-year career. That, coupled with Williams’ skillset lending itself more naturally to a true free safety role, make this a logical move.

With Williams in place, the Ravens’ secondary still includes All Pro corners in Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. At an average of $14MM per season, on the other hand, this deal adds considerably to the finances Baltimore has invested on the back end of its defense. It will also eat up nearly all of the cap space the team had manufactured recently, leaving them just short of the cap ceiling. Still, the deal should help give a boost to the team’s disappointing pass defense from last season.

Texans To Re-Sign Maliek Collins

March 15th, 2022 at 11:31am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans are keeping Maliek Collins. On Tuesday, the defensive tackle agreed to return on a two-year deal worth $17MM (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).  The pact also includes $8.5MM guaranteed, giving Collins security heading into his seventh pro season.

[RELATED: Falcons Eyeing Texans’ Watson?]

Collins, a three-technique tackle, emerged as a key contributor in Lovie Smith‘s defense last year. The two sides were said to have mutual interest and, as expected, they’ve hashed out a deal in advance of the official start to free agency.

The Texans snagged Collins on a one-year, $5MM deal last year. This time around, they were willing to go significantly higher. At one point in time, Collins seemed like a lost cause. However, he’s clearly bounced back from his iffy Raiders run.

Last year, Collins notched a career-high 29 tackles with nine tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks.

Randy Gregory To Sign With Broncos; Nixes Cowboys Deal

March 15th, 2022 at 11:18am CST by Zachary Links

Plot twist! Randy Gregory will be signing with the Broncos, rather than re-signing with the Cowboys, as reported by Vic Lombardi of 92.5 in Denver (Twitter link). 

Earlier today, it was reported that the edge rusher would return to Dallas on a five-year, $70MM deal. Instead, Gregory has chosen to join the Broncos for the same terms. Gregory will receive $28MM guaranteed, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports, adding that the Broncos and Gregory negotiated throughout Monday.

It’s not exactly clear when, why, or how the Cowboys agreement fell apart, but this is a fairly common occurrence during the NFL’s legal tampering period. At least one star player per year seems to reach handshake deals — or near-deals — only to pivot to a different team.

Gregory has dealt with injuries and off-the-field issues throughout his career. However, owner Jerry Jones stood by the 2015 second-round pick and he was rewarded with a huge 2021. Last year, Gregory notched six sacks and three forced fumbles, bolstering the Cowboys’ pass rush.

Gregory will turn 30 in November, but due to all of the hiccups in his career, this marked his first foray into free agency. Now, he’s taking full advantage and perhaps giving the Cowboys deja vu of DeMarcus Ware‘s departure.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn — who helped guide Gregory to a career year — said that he wanted to see Gregory in Dallas for “years to come.” Now, he’ll have to settle for watching him on TV.

Load More Posts