Vikings To Sign WR Kendall Wright
The Vikings are signing wide receiver Kendall Wright, sources tell Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Wright visited with Minnesota earlier this week and a deal quickly materialized. 
[RELATED: Vikings Re-Sign CB/PR Marcus Sherels]
Wright had 59 catches for 614 yards and a touchdown with the Bears last year. Now, he’ll join up with their divisional rival as one of Kirk Cousins‘ receiving targets.
Wright will join Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and former first-round pick Laquon Treadwell on the wide receiver depth chart. With Michael Floyd out of the picture, Wright will have an opportunity to get involved in the passing game, though he may not match the 91 targets he saw in 2017. The Vikings also have Stacy Coley, Cayleb Jones and Brandon Zylstra at wide receiver.
The veteran also met with the Chiefs during free agency, but it’s not clear if he received an offer or how high their level of interest was.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Bell, Browns
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has threatened to hold out or even retire if he doesn’t get a contract extension, but his best bet would be to follow the path of his former college teammate Kirk Cousins, Michael David Smith of PFT argues. By signing the franchise tender, Bell would nearly guarantee that he can reach unrestricted free agency next year since a third consecutive tag would cost upwards of $20MM. On the open market, Bell could completely reset the market for running backs and score big bucks for both his rushing ability and pass-catching acumen.
Of course, there is a risk of Bell suffering a serious injury in 2018 and hurting his future earnings, but even in a worst case scenario, the tender would pay him $14.56MM.
Here’s more from the AFC North:
- Browns coach Hue Jackson has dreamed about a defensive line bookended by former No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett and top prospect Bradley Chubb, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. “I do at nighttime when I’m by myself,” Jackson said this week. “You kind of play that scenario game with all these different guys. I wish I could have them all. There will be good scenarios as we come down to the end here.” The Browns, of course, are widely expected to select a quarterback at No. 1 overall, but their options are wide open with the No. 4 pick. The Giants and Jets are also likely to select QBs, but even the Giants abstain from choosing Eli Manning‘s successor, either Chubb or Penn State running back Saquon Barkley should be there for the taking. For all of the attention given to the top four QBs in this year’s class, many draft analysts consider Chubb and Barkley to be this year’s top overall talents.
- Running back is not the Ravens‘ top need, but they did meet with LSU running back Derrius Guice on a predraft visit, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes. It seems unlikely that Guice will be a fit for Baltimore for a few reasons. For starters, they currently pick at No. 16, which may be a reach for Guice. The Ravens also have a decent backfield group headlined by Alex Collins with Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon in support. There’s room for someone who could be a solid rusher as well as a dynamic pass-catcher in the mold of Bell, but Saquon Barkley fits that profile much more than Guice. At LSU, Guice had only 32 receptions in three seasons.
Chargers To Sign DB Jaylen Watkins
Former Eagles defensive back Jaylen Watkins is signing with the Chargers, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the versatile defender. 
Watkins has the ability to play both cornerback and safety, but he’s likely to play safety for the Bolts, JLC hears. He’ll be a bench piece for the Chargers, but it’s not clear who he’ll be backing up at free safety. Last year’s starter Tre Boston is floating in free agent limbo and it doesn’t sound like the Chargers have much interest in retaining him.
Watkins has been a regular contributor for Philadelphia over the last two years with 28 regular season games and 51 total tackles in that span. In 2017, he saw most of his playing time on special teams while playing on only 170 defensive snaps. He was not a star for the Eagles, but teammates recognized his value as a jack of all trades.
Browns To Sign WR Jeff Janis
The Browns have agreed to sign wide receiver Jeff Janis, Peter Schrager of NFL.com tweets. Janis spent the past four seasons with the Packers. 
At one point in time, there was some buzz about the former seventh-round pick becoming a popular target in Green Bay’s offense. At the 2014 combine, Janis impressed with a 4.42 second 40-yard-dash, a 37.5 inch vertical leap, 20 bench press reps, and a 6.64 second time in the three-cone drill. He became a special teams fixture, but never got much of a chance on offense. His highest level of involvement came in 2016 when he was targeted 19 times and came away with eleven catches for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Janis’ deal is a low-risk proposition for the Browns. At worst, he’s a potential special teams contributor on a cheap contract that can be easily terminated if he doesn’t make the final cut. The Browns could also give him an opportunity to work in the slot, instead of on the outside. Given Janis’ tools, that could be the best way to utilize him.
The Browns now boast one of the league’s best slot weapons in Jarvis Landry and he’ll pair with Josh Gordon at the top of the wide receiver depth chart. Janis will fight for a role in a group that also includes former first-round pick Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis, Rashard Higgins, and Kasen Williams.
Giants Notes: OBJ, Pats, Harrison
The Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, Browns, and Colts would all be logical suitors for Giants star Odell Beckham Jr., in the estimation of CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora. Meanwhile, JLC argues that teams like the Jets, Dolphins, Patriots, Titans, Packers, Chargers, Saints, and Bills cannot be ruled out.
The Rams’ interest has been well documented in recent days, but we haven’t heard much about which other teams could have interest. Naturally, every team in the NFL would love to add OBJ at the right price, but the current ask is reportedly two first round picks. Other teams believe the Giants may have to settle for two second-round picks if they want to move on from Beckham and if that’s what the Giants truly want to do, then the field of potential trade partners will expand quickly.
For now, the Giants say that they intend to keep OBJ, but they have made it clear that they are willing to listen.
Here’s more on the G-Men:
- Could the Patriots get involved in the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes? It’s pretty unlikely, Doug Kyed of NESN.com writes. The Pats would be unlikely to meet the asking price of two first round picks, but they could theoretically offer up a deal involving tight end Rob Gronkowski or wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Kyed isn’t sure that would be worthwhile for New England, given that OBJ is entering the final year of his deal and wants a brand new contract that will put him at the top of the WR market.
- Dalvin Tomlinson has been referred to as an interior lineman by head coach Pat Shurmur, and if that’s how he is viewed, he could be left without a starting role in defensive coordinator James Bettcher‘s 3-4 scheme. It seems like an inefficient use of resources to have him simply backing up run stuffer Damon Harrison, NJ.com’s Ryan Dunleavy writes, leading him to wonder if the Giants could explore trading Harrison this offseason. It seems unlikely that the Giants would move on from the former First-Team All-Pro, but the Jason Pierre-Paul trade also seemed unlikely until GM Dave Gettleman pulled the trigger earlier this month.
Four Teams Interested In Tre Boston
The safety market has moved at a snail’s pace this year and Tre Boston has taken notice. The Chargers free agent says that he is frustrated by the way things unfolded, though tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. Meanwhile, things have stalled with the Bolts because they are looking to pay him more as a “strong safety type of player.” 
“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”
Signing a player like Boston could impact a team’s compensatory pick formula and clubs with safety needs could be waiting until the draft to score top prospects like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, Florida State’s Derwin James, or Stanford’s Justin Reid. The Seahawks are also open to trading Earl Thomas (for a hefty asking price) and that’s probably holding things up for this year’s available veteran safeties. Boston isn’t the only one in a holding pattern – Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are also without NFL homes as we look ahead to April.
“It’s a marginal group,” one executive said of this year’s free agent safety class, noting the lack of top-end speed in the bunch. “You really don’t have one cover safety in the group. You have some decent box types like Vaccaro and Reid, but it’s primarily backup types left.”
Last year, Boston had to settle for a one-year deal. For now, he’s still holding out hope of landing a multi-year pact, but he acknowledges that he may have to do another one-year contract before trying his luck in the open market next year.
Bengals Won’t Re-Do Andy Dalton’s Deal
Andy Dalton is set to carry a $16.3MM cap number in the coming year, which is on the low end for a starting quarterback. Don’t look for them to renegotiate his deal, however. 
“We didn’t sign the Andy Dalton deal because we thought it was a good deal. At the time it was an expensive deal. It was a heavy lift,” Bengals vice president Troy Blackburn said (via the team website). “We did it because Andy was a winning starting quarterback in the National Football League, he had demonstrated that. We know statistically your best chance of success is by rewarding your own players and maintaining that quality core. That is what drove that. We are certainly aware quarterback deals have evolved since then. We know that at the right time we will have to evolve as well. We don’t think this is the time right now. What we are going to focus on right now is building the best team for 2018 we possibly can.”
The Bengals inked Dalton to a six-year deal in the summer of 2014 that made him the team’s all-time highest-paid player in terms of annual average value. The $16MM rate doesn’t look like much now, but at the time, it was a significant payout.
With Dalton under contract through 2020, the Bengals have little incentive to rework his contract at this time. His performance also hasn’t warranted a pay bump. Dalton earned Pro Bowl nods in 2014 and 2016 and quietly had a strong year in between, but last season he completed just 59.9% of his passes and threw for a career low 3,320 yards.
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Randy Gregory
Randy Gregory is laying the groundwork for his return to football, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not getting his hopes up. While Jones credited the defensive end for his work to get his life back on track, he says that he is not banking on the commissioner to let him back in for 2018. 
“I am not confident [in Gregory being reinstated], but I do see where his heart is,” Jones said (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “He is one the smartest people to have played this game. This is a tremendous step. He has had that same IQ since he has had these issues. That’s an issue. This is definitely a medical issue. There is no doubt in my mind about the medical. That is another campaign. It’s a pretty circuitous route. It has a lot of discretionary things to determine. There is a lot of subjectiveness. But he is doing very well. He’s got a lot to play for. He has a new baby. He has a lot going for him. He is very astute about knowing that. He has to do what a lot of us have had to do and that is to do better at 24 and 25 than when you were 20.”
Jones offered support for Gregory on a personal and professional level noting that he is “really a good person,” and “one helluva football player.” Still, Jones knows that the reinstatement process is somewhat subjective. His own personal relationship with Roger Goodell might not help matters either.
The Cowboys will start Demarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford at the bookends with Taco Charlton, Charles Tapper, and Datone Jones offering support from the bench. The Cowboys have said all along that they are hoping to get Gregory back in the fold, but they are also planning for life without him in 2018. That could mean some edge rushing reinforcements next month through the draft.
Bills Sign CB Phillip Gaines
The Bills announced that they have signed cornerback Phillip Gaines. Terms of the deal are not yet known. 
Gaines spent the past three seasons with the Chiefs, operating primarily as a reserve. He did start three games in 2017, however, as Steven Nelson missed the start of the year with a core muscle injury. All in all, Gaines had 30 tackles and three pass breakups last season.
The former third-round pick was in the Chiefs’ rotation throughout the year, but he did not grade out well according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. Gaines was the league’s second-worst qualified CB, per PFF, and has not earned a positive grade since his rookie season in 2014.
With the Bills, Gaines will provide depth behind starters Vontae Davis and Tre’Davious White. It seems as though he’ll take over for Leonard Johnson, who appeared in 15 games last year for Buffalo as a nickel corner but remains unsigned.
Raiders Sign CB Leon Hall
The Raiders have signed veteran cornerback Leon Hall. Agent Doug Hendrickson announced the agreement on Twitter and the team confirmed the news moments later via press release. 
The deal means that Hall will be staying put in the Bay Area after playing for the 49ers in 2017. Hall is 33 years old and will turn 34 in December, but new coach Jon Gruden has shown a predilection for signing older players this offseason. Previously this month, the Raiders signed aging vets such as wide receiver Jordy Nelson, running back Doug Martin, and safety Reggie Nelson.
The Raiders have shaken up the secondary in recent weeks as Sean Smith, David Amerson, and T.J. Carrie are out and free agents Rashaan Melvin and Shareece Wright are in to join 2017 first-round pick Gareon Conley at cornerback. Conley and Melvin project to start on the outside while Hall could factor in as a nickel back.
Hall spent the bulk of his career with the Bengals, but has bounced around since 2016. Last year, in nine games, Hall played on 34% of SF’s defensive snaps and 20% of the club’s special teams snaps. He amassed 15 tackles and one pass defensed.