Bengals To Sign Ricardo Allen
After being cut by the Falcons, Ricardo Allen has found a new home. On Wednesday, the Bengals agreed to sign the veteran safety to a one-year deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Allen operated as a first-string safety for the Falcons from 2015-2020, including a start in Super Bowl LI. Despite losing his 2018 season to injury, the 29-year-old has been mostly healthy over the last two years.
The Bengals made a point to upgrade their secondary by bringing in new cornerbacks like Eli Apple, Mike Hilton, and Chidobe Awuzie. Allen, meanwhile, gives them another option at safety on what should be a fairly low-cost deal.
In his 12 games last season, the 29-year-old registered 25 stops and a pair of interceptions. He comes to Cincy with plenty of veteran experience, having appeared in 77 games (76 starts) since 2014.
Vikings To Re-Sign Ameer Abdullah
The Vikings have agreed to a new deal with Ameer Abdullah (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). Terms of the deal are not yet known,
Abdullah had lots of hype coming out of Nebraska in 2015. The Lions’ second-round pick was reasonably productive as a rookie, averaging 4.2 yards per carry plus added 25 catches for 183 yards. His follow-up season was mostly lost to injury and he was unable to reassert himself in 2017, as he averaged just 3.3 yards per tote. In 2018, he found his way to the rival Vikings as a backup RB.
Abdullah, 28 in June, has only seen 31 carries across two-years-and-change in Minnesota. Still, he’s suited up for every possible game across the last two years with much of his time spent on special teams. He also serves as the Vikes’ main kick returner with a career average of 26.4 yards per attempt. This year, he may see more time behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison now that Mike Boone is out of the picture.
Giants Complete Kyle Rudolph Signing
Despite Tuesday’s roadblocks, the Giants have ironed things out with Kyle Rudolph. The former Vikings tight end inked his new deal with the G-Men on Wednesday morning (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
[RELATED: Giants Concerned About Kyle Rudolph‘s Physical]
Rudolph first agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal last week. Then, a Giants physical yielded concerns about a foot issue that put surgery on the table. While it loomed possible that Rudolph’s reworked contract would have less in the way of guarantees or other added protections in the event of an injury, the Giants are honoring the original deal they agreed to with the veteran tight end, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Rudolph will undergo surgery this offseason, Garafolo adds, but he is expected to ready for action by the time the Giants begin the regular season. It is not certain if Rudolph will be full-go when training camp opens.
The 31-year-old marks yet another notable signing for the Giants, who have also landed star wide receiver Kenny Golladay and former Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Rudolph is now set to support top tight end Evan Engram as the Giants look to reignite their offense.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DE Efe Obada
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: K Matt Ammendola
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Joe Fortunato
Miami Dolphins
- Re-Signed: LB Elandon Roberts
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-Signed: OL Jordan Simmons
49ers Re-Sign K’Waun Williams
K’Waun Williams found plenty of interest on the open market, but the 49ers managed to keep him from straying. On Wednesday, the Niners agreed to a new one-year deal with the slot cornerback (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
The veteran cover man agreed to a modest contract to stay in San Francisco, rejoining the 49ers on a one-year, $2.38MM pact, Rapoport adds (via Twitter). This agreement comes after Williams’ three-year, $10MM extension expired after the 2020 season.
The Lions, Chiefs, and Jets also had their eye on Williams. The Jets were an especially logical destination, since Williams played for Robert Saleh in San Francisco.
Williams was limited to just eight games last year between his ankle injuries and knee issues. But, in the previous year, he played in 15 contests with eight starts while snagging two interceptions.
Williams, 30 in July, started his career as a Browns UDFA. Since then, he’s blossomed into one of the league’s stronger slot specialists. Now, he’ll return for another season, along with recently re-signed corners Emmanuel Moseley and Jason Verrett. Richard Sherman, meanwhile, seems destined to head elsewhere.
Bengals To Meet With Ryan Kerrigan
Ryan Kerrigan will meet with the Bengals on Wednesday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). If things go well, Washington’s all-time sack leader could be the latest addition to Cincinnati’s revamped defense.
[RELATED: Bengals Release Geno Atkins]
The Bengals recently dropped Geno Atkins – one of their own all-time sack leaders — leaving the door open for a veteran like Kerrigan. Kerrigan’s playing time dropped considerably in 2020 — the former Pro Bowler played on just 38% of the team’s snaps and finished with 5.5 sacks. After the season, Kerrigan made it known that he wants an opportunity to start.
“I definitely want to be a starter,” Kerrigan said in January. “I mean, I think any player would say that. I don’t think anybody just wants to settle for being a role player or a reserve player…I’ve got to really be open-minded to several factors and open-minded to all teams, and that’s kind of what I plan to do. I definitely feel like I’ve still got a lot of ball in me, a lot of good productive years ahead.”
Kerrigan, 33 in August, could still return to Washington, though he’ll probably want some assurances when it comes to his role.
WFT Interested In Patriots WR N’Keal Harry
The Washington Football Team is keeping an eye on N’Keal Harry, as John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Harry has drawn trade interest in recent days and it has been widely speculated that the Patriots could move him. 
The Pats made Harry a first-round pick in 2019, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations. In total, the Arizona State product has just 414 receiving yards and four touchdowns across 21 games. He’s had lots of setbacks, too, including an injury-riddled rookie year and the offense’s overall woes in 2020.
Despite his inconsistent performance, Keim hears that at least three other teams are in the mix. As he notes, WFT GM Martin Mayhew was with the 49ers in 2019 and they were hoping to land Harry before the Patriots scooped him up in Round 1. In Washington, Harry could fit alongside Terry McLaurin and newcomer Curtis Samuel. Meanwhile, after adding Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, the Patriots can afford to part ways with the 6’4″ pass-catcher.
Texans Re-Work Whitney Mercilus’s Deal
Whitney Mercilus inked a four-year extension with the Texans in 2019. Now, he’s set to be a free agent after the 2021 season, thanks to a restructuring of his contract (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). 
Some believed that he’d be shipped out following the trade of inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to the Dolphins, but the two sides managed to work things out. In terms of income, it’s a simple restructure for Mercilus as his base salary will be turned into a lump-sum bonus. The biggest change is that his 2022 and 2033 seasons are now voidable, making him eligible for free agency after this season. Meanwhile, the Texans will have an extra $4MM to work with in 2021.
Mercilus, a 2012 first-round pick, has spent his entire career with the Texans. Last year, he finished out with four sacks and 21 total tackles in 13 games. That marked a drop from 2019, when he had 7.5 sacks and 48 stops.
Buccaneers To Re-Sign Ndamukong Suh
The Buccaneers are on the verge of re-signing Ndamukong Suh. Once finalized, it’ll be a one-year, $9MM contract for the defensive tackle, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Through incentives, Suh’s deal could be worth up to $10MM (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Suh joined Tampa on a similar contract in 2019. They re-upped him in 2020 for a touch less — a one–year, $8MM deal. Suh may be past his prime, but he still managed six sacks in the regular season — his highest total since 2015 — plus 27 total stops. All along, Bucs GM Jason Licht has said that he’s wanted to bring Suh back for a third year in Tampa.
“I think he’s said it, that’d he’d love to come back here,” Licht said in February. “I know that there’s mutual respect for each other, and I’ve told him that we’d like to have him back. We’re just kind of letting the dust settle here for a couple days. We’ve got some time here…We’ll have to see how it all shakes out, but he’s definitely one that we want back.”
Suh, 34, is still among the league’s better interior tackles and the Bucs have managed to keep most of their stars together post-Super Bowl. Their recent re-up of Rakeem Nunez-Roches cast some doubt on the odds of a Suh return, but the Bucs pulled it off to keep their strong run defense in tact.
Bucs To Extend Donovan Smith
The Buccaneers and offensive tackle Donovan Smith reached agreement on a two-year, $31.8MM deal, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. As a part of the extension, Smith will earn $30MM guaranteed over the next two years. 
Between Smith’s new contract and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh‘s re-up, this has been a pretty great morning for GM Jason Licht & Co. Many wondered if the Bucs would be able to keep the band together after their Super Bowl win, but they’ve pulled it off with some clever accounting. Quarterback Tom Brady, wide receiver Chris Godwin, edge rusher Shaq Barrett, inside linebacker Lavonte David, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and kicker Ryan Succop and other core players have been re-upped, positioning the Bucs for another championship run.
Smith has never been a world-beater, but even an average blindside protector is a valuable in the NFL. In 2019, the Bucs re-signed him to a three-year, $41.25MM contract. He’s served as the Bucs’ starting left tackle since entering the league in 2015 and he’s missed only two games throughout his career (The latest one was due to COVID-19 exposure).