Panthers Cancel Bashaud Breeland Deal
Cornerback Bashaud Breeland won’t be joining the Panthers after all. The team announced that Breeland failed his physical and will not be signing with the club. 
Breeland was set to sign a three-year, $24M deal with Carolina. Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that a “non-football incident” is to blame for the scuttled agreement. Breeland cut his foot and it got infected, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears, adding that Breeland “is now a few months away from being able to pass a physical.”
Breeland was on the Browns’ radar, but it’s not clear if they still have interest after signing T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell. The team thinks very highly of the other cornerbacks on the roster as well. When GM John Dorsey announced Jason McCourty‘s departure, he said that he was uncertain about whether the veteran would make the Browns’ final cut.
Breeland, 26, appeared in all but one of the Redskins’ games last season, so his non-football injury must have occurred in the offseason. He tallied 47 tackles and one interception, which was returned 96 yards for a touchdown against the Chargers.
The Panthers will continue their search for a cornerback, but many of this year’s top free agents are already off the board. Some of the best available options include Bills free agent E.J Gaines, Colts free agent Rashaan Melvin, and former Giants corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. There’s also Kyle Fuller of the Bears, though Chicago can match any offer thanks to the transition tag.
This marks the second notable free agent to have his deal ripped up over a bad physical this week. The Ravens backed out of their four-year deal worth $29MM deal with former Redskins wide receiver Ryan Grant when an issue with his ankle drew a red flag.
Colts Interested In OL Justin Pugh
Giants free agent offensive lineman Justin Pugh is weighing an offer from the Cardinals, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). At the same time, the Colts are working on flying him in for a visit. 
Pugh has experience at four different offensive line positions and stands as one of the best free agents left on the board. He missed half of 2017 due to injuries but he was recently cleared to resume football activities, so it seems likely that he’ll sign soon.
Last year, the Colts ranked dead last in adjusted sack rate and 18th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders, so they’re looking to improve the O-Line.
The Colts have a swing tackle of their own to re-sign in Jack Mewhort, but it’s unclear if the Colts have serious interest in bringing him back.
Saints, Thomas Morstead Agree To Extension
The Saints have signed punter Thomas Morstead to a new five-year contract (Twitter link via Omar Ruiz of NFL.com). Morstead was heading into final year of his old contract, but the new pact will keep him under contract through 2022.
The deal is worth $20MM with roughly $9MM guaranteed. As Ruiz notes, Morstead acted as his own agent in the negotiations, not unlike new 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman.
Last year, Morstead averaged 47.0 yards per punt, good for eighth-highest in the league. His net average of 42.2 yards per attempt placed him sixth amongst all punters, behind Brett Kern, Johnny Hekker, Marquette King, Rigoberto Sanchez, and Michael Palardy.
Lions, Saints In On LB Jonathan Freeny
Free agent linebacker Jonathan Freeny will meet with the Lions on Friday, according to Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune (on Twitter). Meanwhile, a return to the Saints could still be in the cards. 
Freeny joined the Saints in December and worked his way into the linebacker rotation. He appeared in two regular season games as well as both of New Orleans’ playoff contests. In the postseason, he tallied five tackles and one sack (pictured).
In other Lions news, the team re-signed running back Zach Zenner on Friday and has a meeting scheduled with running back Mike Davis.
Seahawks Meet With WR Markus Wheaton
Former Steelers and Bears wide receiver Markus Wheaton is visiting the Seahawks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Seahawks are on the lookout for pass catchers after losing tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Paul Richardson in free agency.
Last March, Wheaton inked a two-year contract with the Bears worth$11MM with $5MM guaranteed. That deal turned out to be a bust and Chicago released him earlier this week along with quarterback Mike Glennon and cornerback Marcus Cooper, two other free agent signings from 2017 that did not pan out.
Wheaton, 27, has registered just 51 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons. However, he had more than 40 receptions for the Steelers in both 2014 and 2015.
Wheaton could be a low-risk, high-reward pickup for Seattle, and that’s exactly the kind of signing they need as they are working with limited cap space. At the moment, the Seahawks have Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, and the newly acquired Marcus Johnson as their top three receivers, as shown on Roster Resource. Seattle has also shown interest in Cardinals free agent receiver Jaron Brown.
Titans Release DL Karl Klug
The Titans announced that they have released defensive lineman Karl Klug. Klug, one of the longest tenured players on the Titans’ roster, had been with the team since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in 2011. 
“I really appreciate all that Karl gave to this team in his seven seasons with the Titans. He is a tireless worker, and his passion for football showed in how he prepared for and played the game. I know all of us who worked with him here wish him and his family the best moving forward,” Titans GM Jon Robinson said in a press release.
Klug’s NFL career started strong with seven sacks in his rookie campaign. The production didn’t stay at that level, however, and his role on the team has fluctuated over the years. In the last four seasons, Klug has started just two games.
This year, Klug was slated to count for $2.484MM against the Titans’ cap. None of that money was guaranteed, however, so there will be no dead money for Tennessee. Klug will turn 30 on Mar. 31.
This week, the Titans re-signed a pair of their own defensive linemen in DaQuan Jones and David King. They’re also interested in signing Ndamukong Suh.
Raiders Sign LS Andrew DePaola
Former Bears long snapper Andrew DePaola signed with the Raiders, agent Sean Stellato tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal worth $4.27MM with $875K guaranteed. 
DePaola, 31 in July, spent three seasons with the Buccaneers before hooking on with the Bears last season. The signing leaves the Bears without a long snapper for the moment, but Patrick Scales, who was non-tendered, could be brought back to fill that hole.
DePaola’s deal is uncharacteristically high for a long snapper, but coach Jon Gruden isn’t afraid to go against the grain. Gruden has vowed to “‘throw the game back to 1998” and he took a step in that direction this week by signing fullback Keith Smith to a two-year, $4.2MM deal.
Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict Facing Suspension
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict is facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Drug policy, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). He’ll presumably appeal, though no hearing date has been set as of this writing. 
Burfict is no stranger to suspensions, but this marks his first potential ban for PEDs. In the past, Burfict has been sidelined for violations of league safety rules.
In the 2016 playoffs, Burfict was penalized for an illegal hit to the head on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, which led to a suspension to start the 2016 season. In 2017, he was handed a five-game ban for a hit made on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman in the preseason. That suspension was later reduced to three games.
Between injuries and suspensions, Burfict has missed 28 regular season games over the past four years. Still, he is among the very best at his position. Last year, Burfict managed 69 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his partial season.
If Burfict loses his appeal, the guarantees in his three-year, $33MM contract will void, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes. If that $11.3MM guarantee is wiped out, the Bengals will have the ability to move on from Burfict – if they want to – without fiscal penalty.
Latest On Eric Reid
Many of this year’s top free agents have come off the board, but there has been nary a word of interest in safety Eric Reid. The former 49er believes that teams are staying away from him due to his social activism and decision to knee during the national anthem. 
“The notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap, not because of my skill set, but because I’ve protested systemic oppression, is ludicrous. If you think is, then your mindset is part of the problem too,” Reid tweeted.
Before the start of free agency, I ranked Reid as the 23rd best player available on our top 50 list with the caveat that Reid’s anthem protest participation could hurt him. That’s likely the case, as lesser free agents at his position have already found NFL homes for 2018. For his part, Reid believes that football evaluators are interested in signing him, but owners of teams are standing in the way of a deal.
“GMs aren’t the hold up, broski,” Reid wrote in response to someone on Twitter. “It’s ownership. People who know football know who can play. People who know me, know my character.”
Reid graded out as the No. 30 ranked safety in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus, and did so while playing a number of snaps out of position at linebacker. At just 26 years old, he profiles as a candidate for a substantial multi-year deal in terms of football ability.
In recent days, safeties Kurt Coleman, Tavon Wilson, Cody Davis, Nate Ebner Rafael Bush, and Keith Tandy inked multi-year deals with clubs. All of those players are older than Reid and ranked substantially lower in PFF’s advanced metrics last year. At the same time, the safety market has moved slower than other position groups, so Reid could have better luck once bigger names such as Tyrann Mathieu, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro ink deals.
Chiefs Meet With RB Thomas Rawls
Running back Thomas Rawls will meet with the Chiefs on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rawls was non-tendered by the Seahawks this month, making him an unrestricted free agent. 
The Chiefs have Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware, and Charcandrick West under contract (along with others), so there’s not a clear spot for Rawls in Kansas City. But, after two down years in Seattle, Rawls will probably have to fight for his roster spot anywhere he goes.
Rawls joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and electrified in his rookie year. He ran for 830 yards off of 147 carries, good for an eye-popping 5.6 yards per attempt. He also had four rushing touchdowns and a receiving TD in that season. Things haven’t been the same since, however. Rawls has averaged just three yards per carry over the last two seasons.