Saints To Re-Sign Travaris Cadet
Travaris Cadet is re-signing with the Saints, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Jets and Bills were also in the mix for the running back, though a Wednesday morning report indicated that the final decision came down to the Saints and Jets. 
Ultimately, the Saints won out even though the Jets were said to be offering more money. His connection with Jets offensive coordinator John Morton also didn’t lure him to New York. Cadet, in all likelihood, stayed in New Orleans because he had a greater degree of comfort and chance to win.
Cadet he has spent the bulk of his five-year career with the Saints. Last year, he caught 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns in black and gold. The pass-catching specialist will slot in behind Mark Ingram, who is more of a traditional tailback. Fellow Saints running back Tim Hightower remains in free agent limbo.
Vikings Re-Sign WR Adam Thielen
The Vikings have re-signed restricted free agent Adam Thielen. The wide receiver gets a three-year deal from Minnesota, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Thielen can make up to $27MM over those three years, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal carries a base value of $17MM and includes $11MM guaranteed. 
Initially, the Vikings placed a second-round tender on Thielen, which was probably about right for a player at his level. The receiver racked up 967 receiving yards last year after totaling 281 in his previous two NFL campaigns. The second-round tender would have paid him $2.81MM and, of course, forced another team to cough up a second-round choice if successful in signing Thielen away. We did not hear word of any team considering an offer sheet, however.
Theilen now returns to the Vikings one day after Cordarrelle Patterson was lured away in free agency. Stefon Diggs, Jairus Wright, Laquon Treadwell, and Isaac Fruechte remain with the team. Even without Patterson, the Vikings have one of the league’s most fearsome groups of wide receivers on paper.
In other Vikings news, the team re-signed cornerback Terence Newman on Wednesday morning.
Charges Dropped In Darrelle Revis Case
The judge in the Darrelle Revis hearing dismissed all charges against the cornerback, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com tweets. Revis was facing charges stemming from an altercation in which two men were knocked unconscious This could pave the way for the veteran free agent to sign with a club. 
“Darrelle Revis absolutely, categorically and positively did not knock out anyone, did not conspire with anyone to commit an assault, did not say ‘shut up before I knock your ass out next,’ and surely did not ‘rob’ another of a cell phone,” his attorneys said in a statement following the Feb. 12 incident. “The voice and admissions made on the video are NOT that of Darrelle Revis. We have no doubt but that further investigation relative to the clothing and voice verification will corroborate the above assertions.”
There may be differing opinions on what Revis can bring to the table at this stage of his career. One general manager recently told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News he wouldn’t go after the veteran cornerback even if he agreed to play “for free.” Another executive said, “you respect the body of work throughout his career, but all good things come to an end.” Revis’ effort on the field has fallen off dramatically, but the cornerback denies that his work ethic has slipped.
The seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro is coming off the worst year of his career. In 2016, he allowed the highest quarterback rating among cornerbacks who were targeted 75+ times. He also ranked 66th among Pro Football Focus’ 112 qualified corners. That’s hardly the kind of play the Jets had in mind when they signed him to a five-year, $70MM pact with $39MM in overall guarantees.
The University of Pittsburgh product has been linked to the Steelers, but they are reportedly not interested. Revis earned honorable mention on our Top 50 Free Agents list.
Patriots Re-Sign LB Dont’a Hightower
Dont’a Hightower isn’t going anywhere. He’s re-signing with the Patriots, according to his agents (on Twitter). It’s a four-year, $43.5MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The pact includes $19MM guaranteed. 
Hightower also had offers from the Steelers and Jets. The Jets, at one point, reportedly offered upwards of $12MM per year, but Hightower actually rejected that offer two days ago and never considered signing there (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald on Twitter). As I tweeted earlier today, that’s not a surprise. Few expected Hightower to ultimately leave the defending champs and all of his suitors seemed dubious about his openness to sign elsewhere.
Hightower was reportedly seeking around $12MM per year and the Patriots were rumored to be offering something in the $10MM/year range for the last few weeks. Based on what we know, it sounds like the Pats more or less met him in the middle – he gets an average annual value of $10.875MM with a decent amount in guarantees. Of course, we won’t have a full understanding of the deal until we know what the cashflow is like. If the majority of the guaranteed cash comes to the linebacker in the first two seasons, then we’ll chalk this up as a solid deal for Hightower and his agents at SportsTrust.
Regardless of the payout, Hightower automatically wins on two fronts. First, he re-signed with the Patriots and they were far and away his preferred landing spot. Secondly, he only signed for four years, so he’ll still be able to hit free agency before his age-31 season. If he continues to hold his position as the best non-rush linebacker in the NFL, he should be able to cash in again before the 2021 campaign.
Hightower finished the 2016 campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. Before the start of free agency, we listed him as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings. After the first wave of free agency saw cornerback A.J. Bouye and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery come off the board, Hightower was far and away the best player left on the open market.
Hightower is now the second-highest paid true linebacker in the NFL, based on AAV. Only Luke Kuechly of the Panthers ($12.4MM) earns more than him per year.
Jets Hosting FB Zach Line On Visit
The Jets are hosting fullback Zach Line on a visit, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). Now that Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick DiMarco, and James Develin are off the board, we have Line as the second-ranked free agent fullback left in free agency. 
Line has appeared in all but one of the Vikings’ regular season games in the last two years and has spent the last four seasons with Minnesota. The 6’1″, 230 pounder has a grand total of 13 carries and seven receptions over the course of his career, but can be a difference-maker when it comes to blocking.
Line graded out as the league’s 12th best fullback last year, according to Pro Football Focus, though only 17 fullbacks played enough to qualify for their rankings. Line had roughly even grades for run blocking and pass blocking in his 211 snaps.
The Jets, in theory, could make two additions in the backfield today if they sign Line and Travaris Cadet. Cadet is currently deciding between Gang Green and the Saints.
Eddie Lacy’s Contract Includes Weight Bonus
There’s more of Eddie Lacy to love and although the Seahawks say they’re not sweating it, they have given their newly-acquired running back some incentive to keep the extra pounds off off. Lacy’s one-year deal with the Seahawks includes a $385K bonus tied to his weight, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. All in all, his one-year deal calls for $2.865MM guaranteed, but he can raise that to $5.55MM through the weight bonus and other incentives. 
Lacy reportedly weighed in at 267 pounds on one of his free agent visits this year and that’s a bit concerning for a running back. Last year, Lacy was listed at 234 pounds. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll chalked Lacy’s weight up to his ankle injury from last season and said that he expects Lacy to slim down once he’s back to 100%.
Still, Lacy was struggling with his weight before his injury last fall and the Seahawks are going to be mindful of his size. On top of his one-year, prove-it deal, Lacy has additional motivation to stay in shape.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Vikings Re-Sign CB Terence Newman
The Vikings have re-signed cornerback Terence Newman, according to a team announcement. Newman said this week that he wanted to continue playing and this deal will allow him to do that as he approaches his age-39 season. 
Newman has started 26 of 31 games since arriving in Minnesota in 2015. He’s a favorite of head coach Mike Zimmer and the two have been in the same locker room for eight seasons with Zimmer either serving as head coach or defensive coordinator. He has 41 career interceptions, putting him second among all active players. Only DeAngelo Hall (43 career picks) has more.
The Vikings lost one cornerback when Captain Munnerlyn left in free agency and they were unwilling to lose two valuable vets. The Vikings also showed interest in cornerbacks like slot specialist Nickell Robey-Coleman and former Ravens fan favorite Lardarius Webb. They might be out on both players after welcoming Newman back into the fold.
We ranked Newman as one of the ten best cornerbacks in free agency this year.
Lions Hosting G Tim Lelito On Visit
The Lions are hosting Saints free agent guard Tim Lelito on a visit today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Lelito grew up in the Detroit area, so this could be a natural fit for the veteran. 
Heading into free agency, we had Lelito ranked as one of the ten best available interior linemen. Now that many of the better guards and centers are spoken for, Lelito is one of the top guys left along with Jahri Evans. He could be a great pickup for the Lions after they already fortified their offensive line by adding tackle Ricky Wagner.
The Rochester, Michigan native appeared in all 16 games last season and has only missed one regular season contest in his four years with the Saints. He placed as the 49th best guard in the league last season, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF gave him a solid mark for his pass blocking with a less impressive score on running plays.
LB Zach Brown To Visit Raiders
The Raiders are getting a visit from Bills free agent linebacker Zach Brown, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Oakland is looking to improve its linebacker group after underwhelming overall production in 2016. 
Last week, Brown seemed to hint on Twitter that he won’t be returning to Buffalo. At the same time, the market for Brown has been slow to develop. The Oakland trip, as far as we know, is Brown’s first free agent visit. He was linked to the Dolphins last week, but they have since added Lawrence Timmons on a two-year deal.
The Raiders currently project to start Bruce Irvin, Cory James, and Shilique Calhoun at their three linebacker spots. Starter Malcolm Smith left the Raiders for the Niners this offseason and Perry Riley remains in free agent limbo. Brown would make a lot of sense for Oakland and, at minimum, the Raiders could use him to pressure Riley into staying on a more team-friendly deal. At last check, the Raiders were working on a new deal with Riley.
PFR named Brown as the second-best free agent linebacker in terms of ability and I predicted he’d earn the 25th-largest contract of any free agent this offseason. Brown still has time to prove me right, but given his soft market thus far, I’m skeptical that he’ll place that high.
Travaris Cadet Deciding Between Jets, Saints
Travaris Cadet is down to two teams. The running back is weighing offers from the Jets and Saints, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). The Bills were once in the mix for Cadet, but it sounds like they’re now out of the running.
Cadet’s relationship with Jets offensive coordinator John Morton is a key factor in his decision, Wilson hears. The Jets are also offering more money than the Saints, so they could win out here.
Cadet bounced around a bit in 2015, but he has played the majority of his five-year career with the Saints. Last year, he caught 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns with New Orleans. Meanwhile, he had just four carries for 19 yards. That’s roughly been the way Cadet has been used over the years – he’s a pass-catching specialist who also has some experience on kick returns.