Texans Release OL Tony Bergstrom
The Texans are cutting offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Cutting Bergstrom will save the club $2.875MM while leaving $375K of dead money against the cap. 
One year ago, Bergstrom joined the Texans as a free agent, agreeing to a two-year, $5.75MM deal with $1.5MM guaranteed. He went on to appear in 15 games as a reserve, but didn’t see a lot of playing time in total. In the previous season, Bergstrom appeared in every game for the Raiders and made three starts.
Bergstrom turns 31 in May and was buried on Houston’s depth chart in 2016, so he won’t have big bucks thrown in his direction. However, he did an alright job filling in for the injured Rodney Hudson in 2015 and he offers experience at both tackle and guard. Bergstrom could get a look as line depth this summer, should he choose to continue playing.
Extra Points: Romo, Lynch, Raiders, Mixon
As an undrafted free agent, Tony Romo almost wound up with the Broncos or the Cardinals over the Cowboys.
“I actually wanted to go to Denver a little bit more, I felt like I had a better chance of making the roster,” Romo told Peter King of The MMQB this week. “The money … Arizona, I believe, offered the most, probably around $20,000 or $25,000, which was like being rich at that time. Denver came in and they were like 15 to 20, but they also had Mike Shanahan who I had strong respect for, and obviously the Cowboys came in. It was Mike Shanahan on one side and then Bill Parcells on the other. Sean would call in and then eventually he passed the phone to Jerry [Jones], so you went through the whole gamut.”
While you ponder that, here’s more news from around the NFL:
- The Raiders are working on short-term deal with heavy incentives for Marshawn Lynch in advance of his reinstatement, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. After that, the Seahawks will either trade him to Oakland or release him to facilitate a deal.
- 49ers GM John Lynch won’t rule out the possibility of drafting controversial Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. “I think in terms of our board, we’ve made an effort to be as transparent as possible, but just one thing that I believe is that we’re not going to share some specifics of our board, who’s on it, who’s off it,” Lynch said (via CSNBayArea.com). “So I think that applies to that young man, as well.” The 49ers released cornerback Tramaine Brock after his domestic violence arrest, but that apparently doesn’t equal a complete zero tolerance policy.
- The Rams extension timing with first-round picks Robert Quinn, Tavon Austin, and Michael Brockers suggests that Aaron Donald will have a new deal by October, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com opines (Twitter link). This week, the Rams exercised Donald’s fifth-year option, but many expect the two sides to hammer out a long-term extension before that kicks in.
Colts Sign DT Johnathan Hankins
The Colts have taken the top remaining free agent off of the board. Johnathan Hankins has agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth up to $30MM, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The defensive tackle gets $10.5MM in the first year with $15.9MM guaranteed overall. Of course, further details on the deal’s cash flow will give us a better grip on the contract’s true value.
Hankins made the deal official (Twitter link).
The incumbent Giants had a four-year, $28MM proposal on the table for Hankins. On the surface, it seems like he got significantly more from Indianapolis. If he serves the complete term of the deal, he’ll be eligible for free agency again at age 28. Depending on how he performs, that could set him up for a massive multi-year payday in the future. In the interim, he netted a decent sized multi-year deal at a time when it seemed like he might have to settle for a one-year pact.
In terms of per year average, Hankins’ deal puts him eighth amongst all 4-3 defensive tackles, behind Ndamukong Suh, Fletcher Cox, Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson, Gerald McCoy, Michael Brockers, and Geno Atkins. The Giants were looking to pay him like Nick Fairley (four years, $28MM with $14MM guaranteed), but he went one level up while taking a bit less in per-year guarantees.
After finishing dead last in DVOA in 2016, the Colts were determined to improve the defensive line. After acquiring Hankins, Jabaal Sheard, Sean Spence, John Simon, Barkevious Mingo, and others, the Colts are certainly in better shape.
Meanwhile, the Giants will have to figure out a way to replace the 25-year-old. At this point, the best free agent interior linemen are long gone and the draft doesn’t offer a ton of high end defensive tackles. Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen is projected to come off of the board well before the Giants’ turn at the podium and that leaves second-tier guys like Malik McDowell (Michigan State), Caleb Brantley (Florida), and Larry Ogunjobi (Charlotte) and not all of those players are scheme fits for the G-Men. On the open market, Jared Odrick stands as the best available DT.
Jay Cutler Still Mulling Retirement
Back in February, Jay Cutler was said to be mulling retirement. That’s still an option for the free agent quarterback, according to a league source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Roman Modrowski. 
The soon-to-be 34-year-old quarterback has been linked to the Jets, but we haven’t really heard his name in recent weeks. After earning upwards of $100MM over the course of his career, Cutler might not want to take the punishment of another NFL season. He might be motivated to try and leave the game as a winning quarterback, but the Jets won’t offer him a good chance at that and most contending clubs would only consider him as a backup. His only chance at starting for a playoff-caliber team would be with the Texans, but it’s not clear if they have interest.
In his 11 NFL seasons for the Broncos and Bears, Cutler has 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.
I have Cutler ranked as the best quarterback still available on the open market, ahead of Colin Kaepernick and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Seahawks Expected To Trade Marshawn Lynch To Raiders
The Seahawks and Raiders are expected to work out a trade sending Marshawn Lynch to Oakland, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal is contingent on first hammering out a reworked contract. 
On Thursday morning, we learned that Lynch has begun the reinstatement process. According to Rapoport (on Twitter), Lynch technically does not have to file for reinstatement in order to allow for a trade. If and when a new contract is executed, however, he must request and be granted reinstatement in order to play (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Ed Werder).
Lynch was held back by injuries in 2015, but he had a strong 2014 with 4.7 yards per carry and a career-high 13 touchdowns on the ground. He’s still only 30 years old and, theoretically, would be returning to football with fresh legs.
After losing Latavius Murray to the Vikings in free agency, the Raiders are without a clear No. 1 running back for the coming year. Lynch could fill that void and be the team’s primary ball carrier ahead of Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, and Taiwan Jones. Some analysts have been expecting the Raiders to target a running back with the No. 27 pick in the draft, but acquiring Lynch could push them in a different direction.
Lynch has reportedly mulled the possibility of joining the Patriots or following Richard Sherman to his next team (if the cornerback is dealt), but his affinity for Oakland has been the league’s worst kept secret for the past year. When asked about the idea of returning with the Raiders, Lynch issued steadfast denials, but there was clearly fire beneath the smoke.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Latest On Adrian Peterson
Things might be looking up for Adrian Peterson. The veteran running back impressed the Patriots in his recent workout as he looked fast and explosive, Ed Werder of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Werder adds that the Saints might look to sign him before the draft, if the two sides can agree on money. Meanwhile, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) says a deal is not expected to come together in the next couple of weeks.
The Saints were the third club to host Peterson this offseason, following meetings with Seahawks and Patriots. The Saints reportedly did not put Peterson through a workout, but it sounds like they have real interest in signing him anyway. Adding Peterson before the draft would allow the Saints to put even more focus on building the defense and would give them a strong 1-2 combo with Mark Ingram.
The Saints can only spend so much for Peterson, but at this point, the running back probably can’t do much better than a one-year deal with a modest base salary. At least with the Saints, Peterson can see a realistic path to contention, even though they’re coming off of a challenging 2016.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Marshawn Lynch Begins Reinstatement Process
Marshawn Lynch has begun the process of reinstatement, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Seahawks running back is hoping to play for Raiders, of course, but Werder suggests that he could be interested in teaming with Richard Sherman elsewhere if the star Seahawks cornerback is traded. 
[RELATED: Marshawn Lynch Interested In Patriots]
Lynch would carry a $9MM cap hit for Seattle if reinstated and the team simply cannot afford him at that rate. The Seahawks also don’t really need Lynch from a football perspective after signing Eddie Lacy in free agency this offseason. Once Lynch formally returns to football, the team will be forced to trade or release him, which could pave the way for his long-expected union with the Raiders.
For a long time, it was Raiders-or-bust for Beast Mode, but he’s at least considering other options if he cannot work things out with Oakland. Lynch has interest in joining up with the Patriots and he’s now reportedly daydreaming about following Sherman out of Seattle. The Raiders are still the odds-on favorites to land Lynch, but it’s certainly a situation worth monitoring.
Patriots Host Mike Gillislee, Damien Williams
The Patriots got a double dose of restricted free agent running backs on Wednesday. The Patriots hosted Bills RFA RB Mike Gillislee and Dolphins RFA RB Damien Williams, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links). 
The Bills surprised many in the football world when they assigned Gillislee an original round/right of first refusal tender, which would only entitle them to a fifth-round pick if they did not match an offer sheet. For another $1MM or so, the Bills could have placed the second-round tender on Gillislee and that probably would have kept every potential suitor at bay. Gillislee averaged an NFL-best 5.7 yards per carry on 101 attempts as LeSean McCoy‘s understudy.
Williams, 25, was eclipsed by Jay Ajayi in Miami last year. Ultimately, he finished out with 35 carries for 115 yards (3.3 yards per carry average) and three touchdowns. Although the Dolphins would like to keep him, they would be able to get by just fine with Ajayi and Kenyan Drake holding down the RB position. They can also replenish the RB group in the late rounds of this year’s draft.
It’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots’ interest in either player is sincere. Already, the Pats have free agent addition Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, James White, D.J. Foster, and Branden Bolden on the roster and LeGarrette Blount remains available. The Patriots could be taking a real look at guys like Gillislee, Williams, and Adrian Peterson, but they could also be faking it to put additional pressure on Blount to re-sign. It doesn’t sound like Blount has much of an outside market for his services, so that could be an effective strategy for New England.
Big Ben Wants Steelers To Take TE?
Is Ben Roethlisberger pushing the Steelers to take a tight end in this year’s draft? According to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com, Big Ben was at the team’s headquarters within the last two weeks and pushed coach Mike Tomlin to get him “some more help” in the form of a tight end. Meanwhile, in a statement to Pro Football Talk, Roethlisberger issued something of a denial: 
“The report of me lobbying to draft a tight end or pass catcher is wrong. Coaches and teammates know I love the guys we have and always believe we can win. I trust the organization to do their best selecting players to help us, and and every year they tell me generally the positions they are exploring, but I have not lobbied or demanded we add a tight end or pass catcher or any other position through the draft or free agency.”
Last year, the Steelers thought they landed themselves a star tight end when they signed Ladarius Green in free agency. Unfortunately, injuries and possibly post-concussion symptoms kept him from doing much. Jesse James did alright in the starting role, but he’s far from an elite option.
Tight ends O.J. Howard and David Njoku are considered to be big-time talents, but they’ll probably both be off the board when the Steelers pick at No. 30 overall. With later picks, the Steelers could consider tight ends like Gerald Everett, Evan Engram, and Jake Butt.
Chargers To Re-Sign TE Jeff Cumberland
The Chargers are expected to re-sign veteran tight end Jeff Cumberland, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Cumberland is looking to get back on track after missing the entire 2016 season to injury. 
Cumberland, 30 in May, signed a one-year, minimum deal with the Chargers last offseason. Unfortunately, the ex-Jet suffered a torn Achilles in August, ending his season before it could begin.
Always viewed as more of a blocker than a receiving threat, Cumberland caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and recording 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in that season.
The kind of role the Bolts have in mind for Cumberland remains to be seen. Already, the Chargers have young standout Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates atop the TE depth chart with 6’5″ athletes Sean McGrath and Asante Cleveland in support. Cumberland’s deal might not include any guaranteed cash, so his spot on the 53-man roster is far form a certainty.