Patriots To Re-Sign James White
Running back James White is expected to re-sign with the Patriots, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The versatile RB with 25 touchdown catches since 2014 back in the fold for New England.
On his latest Patriots contract, White will earn $2.5MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal. This marks White’s third deal with the Pats, who most recently signed him for three years and $12MM back in 2017. He played an essential role on each of New England’s past two Super Bowl-winning teams.
White, 29, came into the league as a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2014 and that’s where he’s been ever since. He’s not just a valuable third-down tailback — he’s also a longstanding team captain. After tallying 994 all-purpose yards in 2019, he saw less time in 2020. Still, White had 49 grabs for 375 yards and a touchdown to lead all Pats RBs in receiving.
The Patriots received a promising season from 2019 third-round pick Damien Harris last season; White figures to return to his role complementing the emerging back. Sony Michel is entering a contract year, though Rex Burkhead is a free agent. It would stand to reason the Pats are not done at this position this offseason.
Lions To Sign WR/KR Kalif Raymond
The Lions have agreed to sign Kalif Raymond, per an announcement from his agents. The Titans non-tendered the wide receiver/kick returner earlier this year, freeing him up to sign with any club. 
[RELATED: Lions’ Nick Williams Takes Pay Cut]
Raymond, 27 in August, has performed as one of the league’s better punt returners. He brought back 23 punts for 208 yards last year, good for a 9.0 yard average per try. He also returned 15 kickoffs for 275 yards total. After previous stints with the Broncos, Jets, and Giants (twice), he’ll push to make the Lions’ final cut in September.
After losing Kenny Golladay to the Giants and Marvin Jones to the Jaguars, the Lions are expected to keep searching for solutions at wide receiver. For now, they’ve added Raymond, Tyrell Williams, and Breshad Perriman to the group.
Broncos Cut Nick Vannett
The Broncos have released tight end Nick Vannett, as Mike Klis of KUSA tweets. The move will save the Broncos $2.68MM against the salary cap with $875K left in dead money. 
Vannett recorded 14 receptions for 95 yards with a touchdown across 15 games last year. He was deployed mainly as a blocking TE, as has been the case for most of his career. He was involved in the Seahawks’ passing offense for a time, however. In 2018, Vannett turned 43 targets into 29 catches for 269 yards.
Vannett will now look for work elsewhere as he enters his sixth NFL season. Meanwhile, the Broncos will look to replace his blocking via free agency or the draft. Currently, their tight end depth chart is headlined by Noah Fant and Albert Okwuegbunam, who are used more as pass-catchers.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Geno Stone
Houston Texans
- Re-Signed: LS Jon Weeks
- Released: LS Anthony Kukwa
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: WR Mack Hollins
New England Patriots
- Released: LB Cassh Maluia, LB Michael Pinckney
New York Jets
- Released: LB Del’Shawn Phillips
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Deontay Burnett
Washington Football Team
- Re-Signed: CB Danny Johnson, LB Jared Norris
Giants To Sign Ryan Anderson
The Giants have agreed to sign outside linebacker Ryan Anderson to a one-year deal, according to Art Stapleton of The Record (on Twitter). The deal is worth $1.125MM for the veteran’s salary benefit, so it will count for just ~$988K against the 2021 cap. 
[RELATED: Giants To Sign Adoree’ Jackson]
Anderson, 27 in August, came into the league as a second-round pick out of Alabama. He’s spent much of the last four years as a reserve for Washington, but he showed glimpses of his potential in 2019 as he notched 44 stops and four sacks. He looked especially promising in a late-season game against the Eagles that year, when he came away with two sacks and three forced fumbles. In total, Anderson has 86 tackles and six sacks for his career.
The Giants have been especially active in recent days. On Monday, the Giants agreed a three-year, $39MM deal with free agent cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. And, over the weekend, they inked standout wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a four-year, $72MM pact with $40MM guaranteed.
Packers To Re-Sign Kevin King
The Packers are bringing back Kevin King (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The cornerback will return on a one-year deal worth $6MM. 
The Packers nabbed King in the second-round of the 2017 draft due to concerns about his health. If not for injuries, King would have been a top-32 choice, so the Packers saw the Washington product as a strong value. Though he’s flashed serious ability at times, Packers fans haven’t been wild about his coverage on the whole. King has shown a knack for clutch interceptions in the past, but the memory of his NFC Championship Game performance is still fresh.
King, who hauled in five interceptions in 2019, will return in 2021 to pair with lead corner Jaire Alexander.
Bills’ Star Lotulelei To Return
In the midst of the initial free agency frenzy, Star Lotulelei informed the Bills that he plans to return in 2021 (Twitter link via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic). The defensive tackle opted-out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Lotulelei inked a five year, $50MM free agent deal with the Bills in 2018. The deal yielded mixed reactions and mixed results. The former first-round pick has largely declined since his strong rookie year in Carolina. Although he started for the Bills in 2018 and 2019, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus weren’t high on his performance. In ’19, Lotulelei was on the field for 516 snaps and recorded two sacks from the interior.
Still, Lotulelei can help the Bills’ run defense, which was one of their weak spots in 2020.
Josh Gordon Hopes To Return To NFL
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Currently under an indefinite suspension, wide receiver Josh Gordon says he hopes to eventually return to the NFL (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 
Gordon was released by the Seahawks earlier this month following his latest ban. That led him to the Fan Controlled Football league, where he teamed up with old pal Johnny Manziel.
Gordon, 29, was activated to the Seahawks’ roster in December. Ultimately, he wasn’t able to take the field in 2020. His last action came in 2019, when he played in eleven total games — six for the Patriots and five for the Seahawks. Despite Gordon’s off-the-field issues, Pete Carroll was taking the patient approach with Gordon, hoping that he’d develop into a high-end weapon for Russell Wilson.
Still, the football world is rooting for Gordon to get his life on track. And, still, every evaluator remembers Gordon’s unbelievable 2013 season with the Browns when he notched 1,646 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Lions’ Nick Williams Takes Pay Cut
Nick Williams has accepted a pay cut to keep his roster spot with the Lions. The defensive tackle will now earn $1.25MM in base salary this year, down from $4.1MM last year (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). In exchange, Williams will also get $500K in guaranteed money, though his per-game roster bonus will go down from $400K to $250K. 
Williams, a 2013 seventh-round pick, has managed a lengthy pro career. In 2019, he turned in a career year with new watermarks in tackles (42), and sacks (six) for the Bears. He parlayed that into a solid payday with the Lions, but he was less impressive as a full-time starter. Last year, he had 23 tackles and one sack in 14 games (13 starts).
The extra coin could allow the Lions to pursue other free agents still on the board, including slot specialist K’Waun Williams.
Falcons To Sign Barkevious Mingo
The Falcons have agreed to sign linebacker Barkevious Mingo (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). His one-year deal is worth $1.25MM with $1.1MM guaranteed, according to ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein. 
[RELATED: Falcons To Sign Mike Davis]
Mingo, a 6’5″, 235-pound ‘backer, spent last year with the Bears. He appeared in 36% of the team’s snaps but played a much larger role on special teams. On defense, he finished with a total of 35 stops and 2.5 sacks while appearing in all 16 games.
The LSU product entered the league with lofty expectations as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft. That pick didn’t exactly work out for the Browns, but Mingo has enjoyed a solid career over the last eight years. His 2016 stop in New England yielded a Super Bowl ring and he’s now signed for his ninth season in the league.
Mingo will be joined by lots of fellow fresh faces in Atlanta, including the newly-signed Mike Davis.