Saints To Sign Malcolm Jenkins
It didn’t take long for Malcolm Jenkins to find work. The former Eagles safety is on the cusp of a deal with the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. Jenkins agreed to terms, and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets it’s a four-year, $32MM deal with $16.5MM fully guaranteed.
It’s a homecoming for Jenkins, who entered the league as a first-round pick of the Saints back in 2009. Now 32, Jenkins could finish his career with Sean Payton & Co. Last year, Payton expressed regret about letting Jenkins get away in the first place.
“Probably one of the bigger mistakes that we’ve made, and you have to ask yourself how did that happen? Letting him out of the building certainly wasn’t a smart decision,” said Payton (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).
They replaced Jenkins with Jairus Byrd in 2014, handing him a six-year, $56MM deal with $28MM in guarantees. In 2016, Byrd lost his footing in the starting lineup. In 2017, they released him outright.
Between his first five years in New Orleans and his last six in Philly, Jenkins offers eleven years of high-caliber play on his resume. Along the way, he’s collected three Pro Bowl nods and two Super Bowl rings, one with each team.
This likely means the end of the line for Vonn Bell in New Orleans. The free agent safety who the Saints drafted 61st overall back in 2016 is likely to walk now, and we’ve heard that NFC South rival Carolina is interested in his services. Considering the Panthers just cut loose Eric Reid, that would make a lot of sense.
Jenkins has been a leader of the Eagles’ defense and in the locker room, and he will be a nice veteran presence as the Saints gear up for one more Super Bowl run with Drew Brees. He’s remained reliable even at his somewhat advanced age, starting all 16 games in each of his six seasons with Philly.
Cardinals To Sign LB Devon Kennard
The Cardinals have a deal in place with linebacker Devon Kennard, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Kennard, who was just let go by the Lions, will ink a three-year, $20MM deal with Arizona, which includes $12MM in guarantees, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (on Twitter).
The Lions flip-flopped on Kennard’s release briefly yesterday, pausing to scan the league for trade possibilities. Unable to find a deal, they released him outright, which opened the door for the Cardinals.
Kennard has been a solid producer over the last two seasons in Detroit. In 31 games (30 starts), Kennard recorded 104 tackles, 29 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. The Cardinals will hope he maintains that level of production in Phoenix.
One cause for concern, which likely played into why Detroit was unable to find a trading partner for the edge rusher, is more advanced analytical tools were not fond of Kennard’s abilities as a pass rusher. In fact, while he has graded as a solid defender against the run in every season since 2015, his pass rush grade has never been considered average during the same time.
Vikings Release Josh Kline
The Vikings have released right guard Josh Kline, according to a club announcement. The move will save the Vikes $1.57MM against the cap while leaving $4.46MM in dead money.
Kline joined the Vikings on a three-year, $15.5MM deal in 2019, with $7.25MM of that sum guaranteed. He went on to play 71.7% of the team’s regular season snaps across 13 games, missing the other three due to injuries. This season also marked the end of his consecutive starts streak – he tallied 51, up until he missed Week 4 against the Bears.
Kline, who has also spent time with the Titans and Patriots, will likely find work elsewhere at a lesser rate.
Dolphins To Sign Elandon Roberts
The Dolphins have agreed to sign former Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts, according to a source who spoke with Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Before this, Roberts spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Patriots. He’s appeared in 60 games for them and started in more than half of those contests. Last year, however, he was only called upon for three starts.
Playing mostly as an inside linebacker, Roberts has tallied 206 total stops since 2016. The former sixth-round pick is just the latest Patriots player to leave in free agency this week. The list, which figures to grow, already includes:
- QB Tom Brady (Buccaneers)
- LB Jamie Collins (Lions)
- LB Kyle Van Noy (Dolphins)
- OL Ted Karras (Dolphins)
- DB Duron Harmon (Lions)
- DT Danny Shelton (Lions)
Jets Interested In Vinny Curry
The Jets have “significant interest” in signing Vinny Curry, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). The Eagles free agent defensive end has history with GM Joe Douglas, who knows how effective Curry can be. 
[RELATED: Latest On Jets, Trent Williams]
Curry spent his entire career with the Eagles, up until 2018 when he signed a three-year deal with the Bucs. That pact turned into a one-year arrangement when Tampa dropped him before the 2019 season. The Eagles brought him back in the fold last March, when Douglas was still with the organization. While on the market last year, Curry picked up interest from a number of teams, including the Giants. Now, he might join New Jersey’s other football club.
Last year, Curry did well as a situational pass rusher for the Eagles. Playing in all 16 regular season games, Curry notched five sacks and 27 total tackles. Four of those sacks came after Week 12, helping him to finish with one of the highest pressure rates in the league among edge rushers.
Curry might not be a game changer, but the Jets will take their Ws where they can. Thus far in free agency, they’ve missed on several of their top targets.
Latest On Vikings’ Everson Griffen
There’s still strong mutual interest between the Vikings and free agent Everson Griffen, a source close to the defensive end tells Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). However, the defensive end market is still evolving and Griffen may have to wait for younger players to set the market price for the position. 
One league source familiar with Griffen’s situation tells Tomasson that the 32-year-old could be in line for a deal worth $8MM-$10MM, plus incentives. The veteran is coming off a four-year, $58MM extension he signed with Minnesota back in 2017.
The former fourth-rounder has spent his entire career with the Vikings, earning four Pro Bowl nods in 10 seasons. This past season, Griffen finished with 41 tackles, eight sacks, and an interception.
The pass rusher hasn’t compiled fewer than 5.5 sacks since 2011, and while he’s getting up there in age, he should still find himself with a long list of suitors.
Contract Details: Bridgewater, Panthers, Vaitai, Lions, Byrd, Patriots, Brees, Saints
The latest notes on all of the contracts being handed out around the league:
- QB Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers: signed. Bridgewater got a three-year deal worth $63MM and a whopping $40MM of that is guaranteed in the first two years, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. He got a $15MM signing bonus to take over for the start of the Matt Rhule era. Newton’s post has the full breakdown on how it’ll be paid out with various workout and roster bonuses.
- OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Lions: signed. Vaitai’s five-year, $50MM contract includes $20MM guaranteed which will come in the first two years of the deal, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio tweets. Detroit can get out of the pact after that.
- WR Damiere Byrd, Patriots: signed. Byrd’s one-year deal can be worth up to $2.5MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network notes in a tweet.
- QB Drew Brees, Saints: re-signed. Brees’ two-year, $50MM new deal with New Orleans includes a signing bonus of $23MM and a small base salary of only $2MM in year one, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That structure as well as two voidable years added on for 2022-2023 help keep his 2020 cap hit very low so the Saints can spend more as they gear up for one more Super Bowl with Brees under center.
- LB Sean Lee, Cowboys: re-signed. Lee is back for one more ride on a one-year, $4.5MM deal with $2MM guaranteed. He actually could earn up to $6.5MM if he hits some playing time incentives, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, although he writes they’re “not-likely-to-be-earned.”
- S Darian Thompson, Cowboys: re-signed. Thompson is getting a two-year deal worth $2.5MM, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. He’s getting a $200K signing bonus and can earn an extra $250K with playing time escalators.
- WR Cody Core, Giants: re-signed. New York locked up the special teams ace who barely plays on offense, and he got paid handsomely. Core will be getting $4MM over a two-year deal, Wilson tweets. Only $1MM of it is guaranteed however.
- S Jordan Poyer, Bills: extension. The full details are in on Poyer’s new pact. Poyer had two new years added on and will now make $22.7MM over the next three years with $13MM of that being guaranteed, Wilson tweets. He also got a $3MM signing bonus. In a separate tweet, Wilson notes that Poyer has an annual $500K interception incentive he can earn.
Falcons To Sign Dante Fowler Jr.
Dante Fowler Jr. has agreed to sign with the Falcons, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year deal for the pass rusher (per Rapoport). Fowler will be getting a whopping $48MM over the three years, ESPN’s Vaughn McClure tweets.
The former third-overall pick joined the Rams via trade midway through the 2018 season. He finally exploded for a career season in 2019, finishing with career-highs in tackles (58), sacks (11.5), passes defended (six), and forced fumbles (two).
Fowler had spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the Jaguars, including a rookie campaign that was wiped out thanks to a torn ACL.
In Atlanta, he’ll be playing under head coach Dan Quinn, who actually worked with Fowler when the two were at Florida. He’ll immediately provide some reinforcement to a pass rush that recently lost Vic Beasley via free agency.
With the Falcons being low in space space, the past two days have mostly been highlighted by players they’ve released, including running back Devonta Freeman. Otherwise, they’ve extended defensive tackle Tyeler Davison and traded for tight end Hayden Hurst.
According to Rapoport, the Rams tried to retain Fowler. The team has already seen several key defensive free agents leave, including linebacker Cory Littleton (Raiders) and defensive lineman Michael Brockers (Ravens).
Chargers To Sign Linval Joseph
After beefing up their offensive line, the Chargers are turning their attention to the other side of the ball. On Wednesday, the Bolts reached agreement on a deal with free agent defensive tackle Linval Joseph (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). 
It’s a two-year, $17MM deal for the former Vikings standout. He’ll be able to collect an additional $2MM, too, if he hits certain incentives. Joseph will receive $9.5MM guaranteed, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who adds the veteran D-lineman declined a Vikings request for a pay cut (Twitter link).
Earlier this month, the Vikings dropped Joseph after seven seasons with the club. Between his release and the release of cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Vikes carved out $18MM in cap space. The Chargers, who created room by cutting linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane late last week, were happy to bring Joseph into the fold.
Joseph has often been one of the league’s best defensive tackles, and he made the Pro Bowl in back to back seasons from 2016-17. A second-round pick of the Giants way back in 2010, Joseph turned 31 in October and should have at least a couple more years left in the tank.
The East Carolina product should slide in as an immediate starter with Los Angeles, and the Chargers now quietly have one of the most talented defensive fronts in the league. With Joseph in the middle and stud edge rushers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa on either side of him, the Chargers will be very hard to block.
49ers To Re-Sign Ben Garland
The 49ers are set to re-sign Ben Garland, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’ll return on a one-year deal worth $2.25MM.
Garland joined the Niners last year after three seasons with the Falcons. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan overlapped with him in that first Atlanta season, making it a natural fit.
Garland entered the NFL as a defensive lineman but later found his footing as a protector. He’s never been a full-time starter, but he’s been well-regarded by coaches and advanced metrics alike for his work in recent years.