Panthers To Sign C Matt Paradis
Former Broncos center Matt Paradis agreed to terms with the Panthers on a three-year deal worth $27.03MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Panthers were not previously believed to be in the running for Paradis, but the free agent season is full of surprises.
The Panthers will guarantee Paradis $13.5MM, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). It’s a top-10 center pact.
Paradis drew interest from the Bills on Monday, but they preferred Mitch Morse, who is now the NFL’s highest-paid center. The Jets were also in on Paradis, and the Broncos had re-engaged in talks with their well-regarded starter Monday night.
But the Panthers came out of nowhere and will install the former sixth-round pick as Ryan Kalil‘s replacement. Kalil recently retired after 12 NFL seasons. Paradis is only four years younger than Kalil, despite coming into the league seven season later. He will turn 30 this year. But the older-than-usual first-time UFA was consistently viewed as one of the NFL’s best centers for the past three seasons.
Paradis had not missed a game until his fibula break ended his 2018 season in November. The Broncos authorized a right tackle-record contract for Ja’Wuan James on Monday night, so their ability to keep Paradis on a near-top-market deal became more difficult. The Panthers are getting Paradis for more than $2MM less than the Bills’ Morse deal, and with the veteran snapper moving along in his rehab, Carolina may not miss much of a beat from Kalil to Paradis.
The Broncos may now turn to Connor McGovern as their center. A guard to open last season, McGovern moved to the snapping role following Paradis’ injury.
Falcons To Sign G James Carpenter
Former Jets left guard James Carpenter will sign a four-year deal with the Falcons, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Carpenter will celebrate his 30th birthday later this month, so the four-year pact could take him through the end of his career. 
Carpenter first entered the league as a first-round pick of the Seahawks in 2011. After finishing out his original four-year rookie deal, he hooked on wiht the Jets, where he spent the last four years. Carpenter stayed healthy between 2013-2017, but his 58-game starting streak ended in November when he underwent shoulder surgery.
Carpenter’s anchored the Jets’ offensive line following the departures of stalwarts D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. With Atlanta, he’ll help open up running lates for Devonta Freeman and protect quarterback Matt Ryan, who just restructured his deal to free up cap space for the team.
Titans To Sign Rodger Saffold
Former Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold will sign a four-year, $44MM deal with the Titans, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The deal will include $22.5MM guaranteed. 
Earlier today, the Rams hinted that Saffold would likely be heading elsewhere. In fact, he’ll be heading to the opposite side of the country on a lucrative new deal.
A 2010 St. Louis Rams second-round pick, Saffold has played his entire career with the Rams. The Rams ideally would have liked to keep him, but they were unable to match his outside offers in a so-so market for free agent guards. For Saffold, this is a phenomenal payday as he enters his age-31 season.
Saffold indicated he wanted to stay with the Rams, but this offer is certainly much bigger than his previous organization was willing to make. Saffold was the Rams’ longest-tenured player.
He started 111 games and was one of the anchors in Sean McVay‘s cutting-edge system, one that featured back-to-back Todd Gurley first-team All-Pro showings.
The Rams will now pivot to at least two new offensive line starters, with Saffold defecting and the team not picking up John Sullivan‘s option. Andrew Whitworth said he will return, and the Rams still have Austin Blythe and Rob Havenstein under contract. Third-round tackle Joseph Noteboom could move inside and replace Saffold, per Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic (subscription required).
Giants To Sign Antoine Bethea
The Giants are signing veteran safety Antoine Bethea, according to former teammate Reggie Wayne (on Twitter). The news has been confirmed by Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (Twitter link). 
Bethea, entering his 14th NFL season, will be 35 by the time Giants training camp begins. He profiles as a cheap replacement for Landon Collins, whom New York declined to use its franchise tag on then watched defect to Washington.
Despite his age, Bethea was a full-time Cards starter in 2018. After starting for the 2006 Super Bowl champion Colts as a rookie, the former sixth-round pick has previously played for the Colts, 49ers, and, most recently, the Cardinals. Over the course of his career, he’s made three Pro Bowls, with the most recent one coming in 2014 with SF.
While Bethea is nearing the end of a nice career, he has produced in recent years. In 2017, his first year in Arizona, Bethea intercepted a career-high five passes. Last season, he registered a career-best three sacks. Bethea will trek to the Giants with 24 career interceptions.
The safety market was absolutely flooded this year, leading many to believe that Bethea would have to wait things out before finding a home. That wasn’t the case, as Bethea quickly found a landing spot with the G-Men. This move helps patch up a spot, but the Giants will need more help in their secondary given the current personnel.
Texans To Sign CB Bradley Roby
The Texans have agreed to sign former Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby, according to James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal worth $10MM, a source tells Palmer.
This marks a key investment for the defending AFC South champions, who saw two key members of their 2018 secondary defect. Kareem Jackson is likely set to take Roby’s place as the Broncos’ No. 2 cornerback. Roby’s deal illustrates both the cornerback market and his uneven contract year.
Denver’s nickel man for four seasons behind Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, Roby struggled as a full-time player in 2018. He played a key role for the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl defense and an elite pass coverage crew a year later, but the former first-round pick probably could have secured a long-term deal with a better contract year.
Houston does not have much in the way of long-term pieces at corner, having Roby on a one-year deal and Johnathan Joseph going into his age-35 season. The Texans never received a quality return on their Kevin Johnson investment and is now without Jackson, who was the longest-tenured Texan on last year’s team. Houston also benched Aaron Colvin last season, so more moves may be coming for the Texans at this position — either through free agency or the draft.
For Roby, this is a chance to re-establish his value. While a $10MM accord is a solid payday, it’s a fraction of what the soon-to-be 27-year-old defender could earn if he bounces back next season.
Lions To Re-Sign RB Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner is back. On Tuesday, the running back agreed to a new deal with the Lions, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. It’s a one-year agreement, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
Zenner enjoyed the best season of his career in 2016 when he ran for 334 yards and four touchdowns off of 88 carries. He also added 18 catches for 196 yards. All of those numbers stand as career highs for the former UDFA out of South Dakota State.
Last year, Zenner played a much smaller role with 55 carries for 265 yards and three touchdowns. However, his yards per carry average of 4.8 yards per tote was strong and represents a career high (albeit, one with a limited sample size).
Before re-upping with Detroit, the Vikings expressed interest in the Eagan, Minn., native, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). Zenner could have replaced Latavius Murray after he left for the Saints, but they’ll have to go in another direction.
Latest On Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr.
An AFC North team is engaged in conversations with the Giants regarding Odell Beckham Jr., according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Beckham, she hears, remains available, despite the Giants’ previous denials.
Dave Gettleman‘s consistent insistence Beckham is not available has not stopped trade buzz, which has swirled around the superstar Giant for two offseasons.
If an AFC North team is in the running, one jumps out more than the others. The Browns are the most willing of these franchises to make big-splash outside additions, with the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers being more conservative regarding outside hires. Cleveland also has its rivals outflanked in cap space, and despite Jarvis Landry‘s 2018 deal, the Browns could seemingly make Beckham’s $18MM-per-year contract work.
However, the Steelers just lost arguably the best wide receiver in franchise history and only received third- and fifth-round picks for him. Beckham would be a fascinating replacement for Antonio Brown, though it would be interesting to see the Steelers abandon the Brown drama for a mercurial talent like Beckham. Although, Beckham is generally well-liked and respected in the Giants’ locker room.
Baltimore could use receiving help, and with Lamar Jackson in the fold, the Ravens may have to draft or trade for it — given free agent pass-catchers’ potential reluctance to sign with a run-based team. But Baltimore also may not want to allocate immense resources to the receiver spot, due to the nature of its new-look offense. The Bengals have A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd and John Ross under contract, refuting a report the latter was on the trade block.
Beckham, 26, has five years remaining on his extension — one signed barely six months ago. Previous reports have indicated the Giants will only deal him if they are blown away by an offer.
Giants Re-Sign FB Eli Penny
The Giants have been very quiet in free agency so far, but they’re bringing back one of their own. The Giants have re-signed fullback Eli Penny, according to a team announcement. Penny was signed off the Cardinals’ practice squad in September and appeared in the team’s final 14 games of the season.
Penny was an undrafted rookie out of Idaho back in 2016. He spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, then made the 53-man roster as a sophomore. He played a meaningful role in the offense that year, rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
In his time with the Giants last season, Penny racked up 25 yards on seven carries and added eight receptions for 50 yards. All told, he played around 12 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Assuming New York decides to carry a fullback on the final 53-man roster, Penny will be back to help block for Saquon Barkley next year.
Raiders Haven’t Ruled Out Le’Veon Bell
The Raiders have already made big splashes by trading for Antonio Brown and signing Trent Brown. However, a pursuit of Le’Veon Bell should not be ruled out just yet, Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal tweets. 
On Tuesday morning, we heard that there were five teams still in on Bell – the Jets, Ravens, Packers, Texans, and Bills. The Raiders were conspicuously absent from that list, but we can add them back into the mix. Bell now appears to have six leading suitors and a decision could be just around the corner.
Anthony Barr‘s decision to spurn the Jets and return to the Vikings prompted the former to make a stronger push, possibly a take-it-or-leave-it proposal, for Bell. But nothing concrete about terms for any of these teams’ offers have emerged.
The Raiders have a barren running back depth chart, with both Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin residing as free agents. Oakland placed a second-round tender on Jalen Richard. While some of Richard’s game overlaps with Bell’s, he is not nearly as well-rounded as the two-time All-Pro.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Raiders still hold more than $42MM in cap space. Their skill-position situation remains somewhat thin, with Jared Cook also a free agent. A Bell addition would stand to give this corps a significant upgrade. Although Bell has more tread on his tires than most marquee running back free agents have over the past several years, with 1,541 career regular-season touches, he avoided further punishment by making the rare decision to sit out an entire season. He figures to have some prime years remaining, though it can’t be certain how many are left.
Bills To Sign WR Cole Beasley
The Bills aren’t done making upgrades at wide receiver. Shortly after inking John Brown to a free agent deal, the Bills struck an agreement with Cole Beasley, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The pact will pay Beasley $29MM over four years, Garafolo adds. 
We previously heard estimates that Beasley could get up to $10MM/year, so the $7.25MM average annual value on this deal isn’t too pricey for Buffalo by comparison. Still, it’s a big chunk of change for a player who had just 672 yards off of 65 catches last year for the Cowboys. Beasley also added three touchdowns, bringing his career total to 23.
Beasley has never been much of a deep threat with a career average of 10.3 yards per reception, but he offers speed in the short game as well as special teams acumen.
Statistically, Beasley’s best season came in 2016 when he posted a 75/833/5 line. He also averaged 11.1 yards per grab that year, which nearly matched his career best of 11.4 ypc in 2014.