Jets Re-Sign LB Bruce Carter
The Jets have re-signed linebacker Bruce Carter, according to a team announcement. The news comes on the heels of safety Marcus Gilchrist and two other Jets players getting released. 
Carter was a starting linebacker with the Cowboys but he has not seen that kind of playing time in the last two years with the Buccaneers and Jets. After amassing just eleven tackles in 2016, the Jets put him on the backburner this offseason and it’s not clear if other teams had sincere interest in signing him. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but this is likely a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum.
The Jets added West Georgia linebacker Dylan Donahue in the fifth round of this year’s draft but they did not make any major additions to the LB group this offseason.
Jets Release S Marcus Gilchrist
The Jets announced that they have released safety Marcus Gilchrist. Gilchrist tore his patellar tendon last season, causing him to finish the year on IR. 
[RELATED: Jets To Have Open QB Competition]
Gilchrist was believed to be on the chopping block this offseason and the drafting of two safeties with the Jets’ first two picks cemented his fate. Gilchrist has now been let go midway through the four-year, $22MM deal he signed with the Jets prior to the 2015 season.
The Jets have designated Gilchrist as a post-June 1 cut, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets, meaning that the team will save more on this year’s cap while deferring $1.375MM into the ’18 cap. All in all, the Jets are saving $4.625MM against the books with the dead money spread out across two seasons.
In his injury-shortened season, Gilchrist graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 53 ranked safety out of 90 qualified players. His overall score of 77.1 roughly matched his work across the previous three seasons.
In addition to cutting Gilchrist, the Jets also waived cornerback Nick Marshall and fullback Chris Swain. Marshall was hit with a four-game suspension for PEDs earlier this offseason.
49ers Release RB Mike Davis
The 49ers have released running back Mike Davis, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Davis drew trade interest during the draft, so Rapoport expects him to find a market for his services now that he is available. 
[RELATED: 49ers Would’ve Drafted Reuben Foster No. 3]
Davis was a fourth-round pick in 2015 but he hasn’t done a whole lot in his two NFL seasons. Between 2015 and 2016, he has averaged just 2.0 yards per carry on 54 attempts. The Niners added running back Joe Williams in the fourth round of this year’s draft and they have five other veterans RBs under contract, so there wasn’t much room for Davis. The Niners are also expected to add Georgia Southern running back Matt Breida as an undrafted free agent.
Davis missed the second half of the 2016 season with a broken hand. He was slated to return from IR later in the season, but he never made it back on to the field.
Colts Sign 18 Undrafted Players
The Colts announced the signing of 18 undrafted players, bringing their roster to the 90-man max. Here’s the full list:
- Deyshawn Bond, OG (Cincinnati)
- Dalton Crossan, RB (New Hampshire)
- Darrell Daniels, TE (Washington)
- Trey Griffey, WR (Arizona)
- Thomas Hennessy, LS (Duke):
- Bug Howard, WR (North Carolina)
- Jerome Lane, WR (Akron)
- Chris Lyles, CB (Mississippi College)
- Christopher Muller, G (Rutgers)
- JoJo Natson, WR (Akron)
- Reggie Porter, CB (Utah)
- Brandon Radcliff, RB (Louisville)
- Rigoberto Sanchez, P (Hawaii)
- Garrett Sickels, OLB (Penn State)
- Jhaustin Thomas, DE (Iowa State)
- Jerry Ugokwe, OT (William & Mary)
- P.J. Walker, QB (Temple)
Sanchez has experience in both kicking and punting. Last year at Hawaii, he averaged 44.6 yards per punt and nailed all 13 of his field goal tries. According to Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter), Sanchez received a $12K bonus, which is rather high for a kicker.
Griffey is the son of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. The wide receiver had 23 catches for 382 yards and two scores in his final season at Arizona.
Walker is Temple’s all-time leader in completions, passing yards, and touchdowns. In 2016, he threw for 3,295 yards with 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. His yardage and TD totals marked a career high.
Cardinals To Meet With Daryl Washington
Daryl Washington has been cleared by the league to return to football, but the Cardinals have some questions first. Cardinals GM Steve Keim says the team wants to sit down with owner Michael Bidwell, coach Bruce Arians, and the linebacker to determine the next step. 
“To be quite honest with you, we have had dialogue with his agent, but have not have had a chance to talk with Daryl yet, just because of how busy we have been,” Keim told SiriusXM (transcript via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). “We will attend to that in the near future and obviously get a chance to talk to Daryl and see what is going on…There will be a sit-down…an educational briefing on ‘Just where have you been the last three years, what’s going on in your life?’ Once that meeting occurs, there will be a decision made.”
Washington earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2012 and he was still productive in 2013, but that’s the last we’ve seen of him on an NFL field. Washington was hit with an indefinite suspension in 2014 for a substance abuse violation, so the Cardinals say that they want to get caught up on the last three years.
Previous reports have indicated that the Cardinals are not interested in taking Washington back. At minimum, however, he’ll have an opportunity to make his case face-to-face with the team’s most important decision makers.
Lions, Executive Brian Xanders Part Ways
The Lions and executive Brian Xanders have parted ways, as Neil Stratton of Inside The League tweets. Xanders’ departure has been confirmed by Justin Rogers of The Detroit News (Twitter link). 
Xanders was hired by the previous regime in Detroit to serve as the club’s senior personnel executive. With no connections to current GM Bob Quinn, he lost some of his power in the last year and he’ll look for a better opportunity.
From 2009 through 2012, Xanders served as the Broncos’ GM. In recent years, he has been in the mix for multiple top jobs, including the Dolphins’ GM job in 2014 and the Browns’ search for a lead exec last year.
Former Lions GM Martin Mayhew is now with the 49ers’ Senior Personnel Executive, so that could be one potential fit for Xanders as he looks for his next job.
Jay Cutler May Retire To Pursue TV Career
Former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is thinking about a career change. Unable to garner interest from teams as a starter, Cutler is exploring a move to television, TV sources and people with knowledge of Cutler’s thinking tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. 
Cutler’s camp has talked with TV execs about the possible switch and he auditioned for FOX, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets. It’s not clear if he has started talking contract with any network, but he is at least serious about making the jump.
Recently, agent Bus Cook insisted that Cutler does not plan on retiring. However, it sounds like the 34-year-old would rather go the Tony Romo route than to serve as someone’s backup or simply wait by the phone for when a quarterback gets injured.
In his 11 NFL seasons for the Broncos and Bears, Cutler amassed a career 68-71 record. His best season came in 2008 for Denver when he threw for more than 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. That season earned Cutler his sole career Pro Bowl selection. In 2016, he made five starts and was a far cry from the best version of himself.
Extra Points: Charles, Broncos, Lions
Jamaal Charles says he doesn’t know what his role will be with the Broncos, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
“They just told me to come in and compete,” Charles said. “I really don’t know until the game comes. I’m just happy to be on the team.”
Charles, who signed a one-year deal with a base value of $1MM on Tuesday, did allude that he’ll likely start out handling passing-down work in offensive coordinator Mike McCoy‘s scheme. Denver traded away fellow running back Kapri Bibbs during the draft, so Charles will join a backfield that includes C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker, Juwan Thompson, and sixth-round pick DeAngelo Henderson.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- With the draft in the rear view mirror, Dave Birkett of the Free Press looked at five Lions players who could be on the hot seat. The list starts with running back Ameer Abdullah thanks to his fumbling and health issues. Wide receiver Marvin Jones is also on notice from Birkett’s view after his production fell off after the first month of the 2016 season. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead, defensive lineman Ziggy Ansah, and coach Jim Caldwell round out the list.
- Veteran guard Jahri Evans‘ deal with the Packers is for one year and $2.25MM, tweets Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Evans, 33, will earn a $1.15MM base salary, a $200K signing bonus, $800K in per-game roster bonuses, a $100K workout bonuses, and can bring in an additional $250K via incentives. Green Bay added only one offensive lineman — sixth-rounder Kofi Amichia — in the draft, so Evans looks like the favorite to start at right guard in 2017 (though he’ll likely face competition from Don Barclay and/or Kyle Murphy).
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
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Lions, Matthew Stafford Begin Negotiations
It’s early, but contract talks are underway between the Lions and Matthew Stafford, GM Bob Quinn told Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. The quarterback is entering the final year of his deal. 
“We’re in the early stages,” Quinn said. “It’s really too early to kind of give any update but we’re going through the process. These things don’t happen overnight. I feel confident we can get something done.”
Stafford could be in line to become the league’s highest-paid quarterback, supplanting Andrew Luck at the top. Luck signed his five-year, $122.97MM extension last summer, just prior to his 27th birthday. Stafford, meanwhile, is 29, but the rising cap and dearth of quality quarterbacks could result in him netting an even richer deal.
Last year, Stafford performed like a top quarterback as he threw for 4,327 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. The University of Georgia product had the tenth-best completion percentage in the league (65.3%) amongst qualified QBs and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 9 signal caller.
The Lions are hoping for a repeat of that in 2017, but they would like to lock him up now before they are faced with a pricey decision to make on the franchise tag. Tagging Stafford in 2018 would cost upwards of $26MM. Doing it again for 2019 could cost nearly $32MM. Obviously, those cap numbers are unpalatable and the Lions would greatly prefer a long-term deal at a lower yearly rate.