LB Zach Brown To Visit Raiders
The Raiders are getting a visit from Bills free agent linebacker Zach Brown, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Oakland is looking to improve its linebacker group after underwhelming overall production in 2016. 
Last week, Brown seemed to hint on Twitter that he won’t be returning to Buffalo. At the same time, the market for Brown has been slow to develop. The Oakland trip, as far as we know, is Brown’s first free agent visit. He was linked to the Dolphins last week, but they have since added Lawrence Timmons on a two-year deal.
The Raiders currently project to start Bruce Irvin, Cory James, and Shilique Calhoun at their three linebacker spots. Starter Malcolm Smith left the Raiders for the Niners this offseason and Perry Riley remains in free agent limbo. Brown would make a lot of sense for Oakland and, at minimum, the Raiders could use him to pressure Riley into staying on a more team-friendly deal. At last check, the Raiders were working on a new deal with Riley.
PFR named Brown as the second-best free agent linebacker in terms of ability and I predicted he’d earn the 25th-largest contract of any free agent this offseason. Brown still has time to prove me right, but given his soft market thus far, I’m skeptical that he’ll place that high.
Travaris Cadet Deciding Between Jets, Saints
Travaris Cadet is down to two teams. The running back is weighing offers from the Jets and Saints, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). The Bills were once in the mix for Cadet, but it sounds like they’re now out of the running. 
Cadet’s relationship with Jets offensive coordinator John Morton is a key factor in his decision, Wilson hears. The Jets are also offering more money than the Saints, so they could win out here.
Cadet bounced around a bit in 2015, but he has played the majority of his five-year career with the Saints. Last year, he caught 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns with New Orleans. Meanwhile, he had just four carries for 19 yards. That’s roughly been the way Cadet has been used over the years – he’s a pass-catching specialist who also has some experience on kick returns.
Travaris Cadet Has Three Offers In Hand
Free agent running back Travaris Cadet is deciding between offers from the Saints, Jets, and Bills, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Cadet, 28, has spent the majority of his career with the Saints, though he did have short stints with the 49ers and Patriots in 2015. Last year, Cadet settled back into his familiar passing down role, as he caught 41 balls from Drew Brees, managing 281 yards and four touchdowns in the process. Cadet wasn’t asked to carry the ball much, as he posted just four rushes for 19 yards.
Cadet has also spent a good deal of his career returning kicks, and that’s the role he’d likely play with the Bills and Jets, the latter of whom Cadet visited last week. Buffalo and New York both have established starting and backup running backs, Cadet wouldn’t seem to have much of a niche on offense in either city.
Percy Harvin To Retire
Wide receiver Percy Harvin is retiring from the NFL and won’t be coming back this time around, a representative tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Harvin previously announced his retirement in April 2016 only to re-sign with the Bills last November.
Shortly after signing with Buffalo, Harvin indicated he’d like to continue playing in 2017, as well. But chronic migraine issues forced the Bills to shut Harvin down after he’d spent less than a month with the club. Harvin, 28, dealt with those same migraine issues throughout his throughout his career, and missed time due to the ailment with the Vikings.
Harvin, a former first-round pick, battled various other injuries throughout his career, but still managed to produce as an effective offensive weapon, especially while playing for Minnesota. His best season came in 2011, when he posted 87 receptions for 967 yards and six touchdowns, while adding another 345 yards and two scores on the ground.
Traded to the Seahawks prior to the 2013 season, Harvin ultimately played in only six contests for Seattle before being dealt once again, this time to the Jets. Harvin struggled through a half-season with Gang Green before finishing his career in Buffalo, where he never truly got off the ground.
PFR wishes Harvin all the best in in his post-NFL career.
Bengals To Sign Andre Smith
The Bengals will reunite with Andre Smith, as they’ve agreed to sign the free agent tackle, according to Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith will ink a one-year deal, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.
Smith, 30, spent the first seven seasons of his career with Cincinnati after being selected sixth overall in the 2009 draft. While he didn’t become a full-time player until his third year in the league, Smith ultimately started 73 games for the Bengals at right tackle. After inking a one-year pact with the Vikings last offseason, Smith played in only four contests before being placed on injured reserve.
The Bengals’ offensive line is in flux after the club saw both Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler leave the club in free agency. With Cedric Ogbuehi projected to take over for Whitworth at left tackle, Smith could theoretically slide in at right tackle, allowing Jake Fisher to shift to guard to replace Zeitler. Instead, initial indications are Smith will play right guard, a position he’s never played at the NFL level, as Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com writes.
The Bills also made a “hard run” at Smith, per Darlington (Twitter link), but Smith preferred to head back to Cincinnati.
Rams Sign Bills C Ryan Groy To Offer Sheet
The Rams made a move late tonight to potentially add a starting center, signing Bills RFA Ryan Groy to an offer sheet, Mike Rodak and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com report. It’s a two-year offer sheet worth $5MM with $3.5MM guaranteed on March 21st, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Groy inked the deal, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The ball is now in Buffalo’s court.
The Bills gave Groy and original-round tender and would not be entitled to draft compensation if they elect not to match since Groy was undrafted. Buffalo has five days to match the offer sheet. Groy was drawing interest as an RFA last week from teams who believe he could start at center or guard for them.
Groy would be expected to become the Rams’ starting center, a status he does not presently occupy with the Bills. Currently, the Rams house fourth-year player Demetrius Rhaney as their only pure center.
Eric Wood is the Bills’ starting center, although after a season-ending injury in November, Wood ceded his starting spot to Groy for the Bills’ final seven games last season. He’d previously started just three in his three-year career. Wood, though, is entering a contract year and will turn 31 on Saturday. Groy will turn 27 in September.
The Bills saw an RFA decision last year come back to bite them in allowing Chris Hogan to sign with the Patriots. Groy did grade out better than Wood in the opinion of Pro Football Focus last season, but Wood has started 104 games for the Bills since 2009 and made the Pro Bowl in 2015. So, it will be interesting to see how the Bills proceed here since Groy, too, is entering a contract year.
Terms Of Tyrod Taylor’s New Bills Deal
Tyrod Taylor‘s camp insisted that it was an all or nothing proposition: the Bills either had to pick up his five-year option with $30.5MM guaranteed or the quarterback would test the open market. Amidst rumblings that Bills brass wasn’t all that high on Taylor anyway, it seemed like a sure thing that the QB would reach free agency. Then, out of nowhere, the Bills and Taylor agreed to a restructured deal to keep him under center. Details were a bit sparse at the time, but we now have additional info on the revamped pact. 
Taylor’s restructured Bills deal is a two-year, $30.5MM pact, which is less than the $40.5MM he would have made under the terms of the option (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). However, Taylor benefits here because he will be eligible for free agency following the 2018 season. Under the old deal, he would have remained under Bills control through the 2021 campaign.
The structure of the new deal could lead the Bills to go through the same song and dance next year. Only $1MM of his $10MM salary in 2018 is guaranteed and he’ll be due a $6MM roster bonus early on in the 2018 league year. If Taylor is retained through 2018 and plays well, there will also be a decision to make on whether to use the franchise tag. In that scenario, Taylor would probably prefer to test the open market unencumbered since he’ll still only be entering his age-30 season.
Assuming the two sides see this new contract through until the end, he’ll have a $9.713MM cap number in 2017 and a $18.08MM cap number in 2018. In the original five-year option, Taylor’s 2018 cap number would have been $16.78MM. The deal will automatically void if he’s on the roster just after the Super Bowl in February 2019. Then, the Bills will carry $4.2MM for 2019 in dead money in 2019, representing the leftover portion of his $7MM signing bonus.
Bills To Sign WR Jeremy Butler
Former Chargers receiver Jeremy Butler is signing a one-year deal today with the Bills, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Financial terms of the deal are not yet known. 
Butler was non-tendered by Los Angeles last week. Butler appeared in four games last season for the Bolts and caught only two passes for eleven yards. In between his time with the Ravens and Chargers, he had a brief stint with the Jets.
The 25-year-old (26 in April) appeared in eight games in 2015, collecting 31 catches for 363 yards. Extrapolated to a full season, those are some pretty solid numbers. That’s likely the kind of playing time and production he’s shooting for in 2017 with Buffalo. The Bills now have a quality receiver to help support star Sammy Watkins. The rest of the WR depth chart isn’t exactly star studded. Philly Brown (newly signed), Dezmin Lewis, Walt Powell, and Kolby Listenbee are the team’s other receivers under contract.
Butler’s departure still leaves the Chargers with Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, and Travis Benjamin as their three best wide receivers. Butler would have slotted no higher than the team’s WR4 had he re-signed.
Contract Details: Jones, Gresham, Church
Let’s take a look at the details of some recently-signed contracts:
- Barry Church, S (Jaguars): Four years, $21.6MM. $12MM fully guaranteed. Will earn $7.5MM in 2017 (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com).
- Phil Dawson, K (Cardinals): Two years, $6MM. $1.5MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus. $100K Pro Bowl incentive (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Anthony Fasano, TE (Dolphins): One year, $2.75MM. $1.25MM guaranteed. $1.25MM signing bonus (Link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com).
- Marquise Goodwin, WR (49ers): Two years, $6MM. $4.45MM guaranteed. $2.5MM signing bonus (Link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
- Jermaine Gresham, TE (Cardinals): Four years, $28MM. $13MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
- Chandler Jones, LB (Cardinals): Five years, $82.5MM. $22MM guaranteed. $15MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
- Jordan Poyer, S (Bills): Four years, $13MM. $6MM guaranteed. $3.5MM signing bonus (Link via Rodak).
- J.J. Wilcox, S (Buccaneers): Two years, $6.5MM. $3.125MM guaranteed. $1MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Paul Worrilow, LB (Lions): One year, $3MM. $2.75MM guaranteed. $750K guaranteed. $1MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
Bills Host Elliott, Butler
- The Bills are holding free agent visits with former Green Bay linebacker Jayrone Elliott and former Bolts wide receiver Jeremy Butler, according to a team announcement. Both players were non-tendered by their respective former clubs. Butler appeared in four games last season and caught two passes for eleven yards. In eleven games with Green Bay last year, Elliott had one sack and 12 total tackles.