Giants To Sign Danny Shelton
We heard that Danny Shelton was visiting with the Giants on Monday, and that visit apparently went well. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to terms on a deal with New York, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Financial terms weren’t immediately available, but it’s a one-year contract. Shelton had signed a two-year, $8MM pact with the Lions last offseason but made it only halfway through that before he was released. This will already be the fourth NFL team for the 12th overall pick of the 2015 draft. He was drafted by Cleveland, traded to New England, signed with Detroit, and is now on his way to New York.
He’s still only 27, and although he never unlocked the potential you’d hope for as a 12th overall pick, he’s been a solid clogger of running lanes in the middle. In 12 games for the Lions in 2020, all starts, he had 37 tackles as a sack.
He had three sacks in 2019 with the Patriots, showing at least a tiny bit of pass-rush upside. After losing Dalvin Tomlinson to a big deal from the Vikings in free agency, the Giants will be counting on Shelton to help replace him as a cheaper option in the middle of the defensive front.
Steelers To Sign Rashaad Coward
The Steelers’ offensive line group continues to shuffle. Pittsburgh is expected to sign free agent lineman Rashaad Coward, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Coward was a restricted free agent who was not tendered by the Bears, leaving him free to sign with any team. Coward is an interesting player, since when he entered the league as an UDFA out of Old Dominion in 2017 he was a defensive end. He was on defense during his rookie year with Chicago (mostly on the practice squad), and then made the switch to offensive line the following year.
In 2019 he was thrust into starting action despite still being very new to the position after Kyle Long went down with an injury. He started ten games at guard that year. This past season he appeared in all 16 games and started five at left guard, playing just over 30 percent of the offensive snaps.
Since he’s still only 26 and only just recently started playing guard, it’s an intriguing low-risk signing for the Steelers with some upside. Considering they’ve already lost significant pieces of their offensive line like Maurkice Pouncey and Matt Feiler this offseason, it can’t hurt to start throwing darts.
Cardinals To Sign Shawn Williams
The Cardinals are adding another piece to their defense. Arizona has agreed to terms with veteran free agent safety Shawn Williams, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Financial terms weren’t immediately available, although Pelissero reports it’s a one-year pact. Williams, a 2013 third-round pick, has spent all eight seasons of his NFL career with the Bengals so far. There’s some familiarity here, as Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was Williams’ defensive backs coach in Cincinnati for a couple of seasons.
It’s the second addition to the secondary in recent days, as Arizona also just signed cornerback Malcolm Butler on Thursday. Williams played sparingly his first couple of years in the league, but then blossomed into a full-time starter. From 2016-19, he started 57 of the 58 games he appeared in.
In 2018 he had an impressive five interceptions, and in 2019 he had 114 tackles. This past season he suddenly fell into the coaching staff’s doghouse, and mostly only played on special teams. He was suspended for a game back in December for stepping on an opponent. The Georgia product will turn 30 in May.
Colts To Sign Julien Davenport
The Colts have agreed to sign Julien Davenport to a one-year contract, according to a source who spoke with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Specific terms of the ex-Dolphins tackle’s deal are not yet known.
Davenport spent the first two seasons of his career with the Texans, including the 2018 season in which he started 15 games. He was then traded to the Dolphins as part of the 2019 Laremy Tunsil trade. Between ’19 and ’20, he saw his role in the Dolphins’ offense dip. After starting eight games for Miami in 2019, Davenport appeared in just 5% of the offensive snaps last year, despite dressing for every game.
The 2017 fourth-round pick out of Bucknell will now join up with the Colts, who need support at left tackle. But, of course, Davenport is no Anthony Castonzo. In that aforementioned ’18 season with the Texans, Davenport allowed a league-high 67 total pressures. The Colts’ next starter may come early in the April draft, where the Colts own the No. 21 overall pick.
Saints To Sign Tanoh Kpassagnon
The Saints have agreed to a two-year deal with defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon. Financial terms of the deal are not yet known, but this is likely a low-cost — and potentially high-reward — signing for the Saints
Kpassagnon was a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2017. Selected in between Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt, the edge rusher has yet to live up his draft billing. Midway through his tenure at Villanova, Kpassagnon switched from tight end to defensive end and put himself on the NFL radar. After notching 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in 2015, he turned in an even stronger senior season – 21.5 TFL and eleven sacks, en route to first-team All-America honors.
The 6’7″, 289-pound athlete has spent much of the last four years as a deep reserve, but he started in 15 games for the Chiefs last year. And, in 2019, he notched a career-high four sacks. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are set to move forward with Jarran Reed and Frank Clark on the edges.
Chiefs Re-Sign Daniel Sorensen
The Chiefs have re-signed safety Daniel Sorensen, per a club announcement. The two sides were said to be closing in on a one-year deal last week. On Monday morning, they made it all official. 
Sorensen, one of the longest-tenured members of the team, was a key piece of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl runs. Since joining the team as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, the BYU product has appeared in 94 games with 32 starts. All in all, he has ten interceptions, 25 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, and 3.5 sacks to his credit.
Sorensen spent four years as a reserve before cracking the starting lineup in 2017. This past year, he saw time in 15 games with eleven starts, racking up 91 tackles, five passes defended, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions (including one pick six). And, for the second straight year, the 31-year-old played on 100% of the snaps in the Super Bowl.
In other Chiefs news, Andy Reid & Co. inked ex-Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed over the weekend.
Chiefs To Sign Jarran Reed
The Chiefs continue to bolster their trenches. They’ve made significant changes to their offensive line this offseason, and now they’re adding to the defensive line by signing defensive tackle Jarran Reed.
Kansas City is expected to add Reed, a source first told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The signing was soon confirmed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who reported that it’s a one-year deal (Twitter link). The short-term pact is worth up to $7MM for the 2021 season with $5MM being guaranteed, Rapoport noted in a follow-up tweet.
As many were quick to point out, this will reunite Reed with former Seahawks teammate Frank Clark, who Reed had a career year next to in 2018. Reed was cut by Seattle on Friday, and it didn’t take him very long to find a new team. Reed had signed a two-year, $23MM extension with the Seahawks around this time last year, but made it just one season into that pact.
The 28-year-old was drafted in the second round by Seattle back in 2016. The Alabama product started all 16 games last season, finishing with 38 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. In that aforementioned career year in 2018, he had a whopping 10.5 sacks as an interior lineman.
With Reed, Clark, and Chris Jones, the Chiefs will now have a very talented defensive front. They already had all the skill position talent you could ask for, and GM Brett Veach has been very aggressive at adding the big boys up front this offseason.
Bengals Re-Sign Jordan Evans
The Bengals have re-signed linebacker Jordan Evans to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. 
[RELATED: Bengals Tried To Sign Joe Thuney]
Evans, a 2017 sixth-round pick, has appeared in 60 games over the last four years. In 2019 and 2020, the Bengals used him mostly on special teams. This year, he may have an opportunity to get back into the defensive rotation, especially if linebacker Josh Bynes isn’t re-signed.
Now set to enter his fifth pro season, Evans will look to build on his 105 tackles, 3.5 sacks, seven pass defenses, and two interceptions. Even if he doesn’t see an uptick in snaps, he figures to continue in his key role on special teams. Last year, Pro Football Focus assigned him a special teams grade of 77.6, good for No. 3 on the team. Meanwhile, Cethan Carter, Cincy’s top-ranked ST player, is out of the picture after joining the Dolphins.
Kyle Love Retires From NFL
Defensive tackle Kyle Love announced his retirement on Sunday (via Instagram). Love, 34, did not play in 2020 and he will not seek NFL employment for 2021. 
Love entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games before being diagnosed with diabetes and waived with a non-football illness designation. He appeared in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he eventually reestablished his career with Carolina. From 2017-2019, Love appeared in at least 37% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps. Last year, after six years with the Panthers, he agreed to join the rival Buccaneers.
Love was set to serve as a rotational piece behind of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh, but he was released before the final cut in September. We here at PFR wish Love the best in retirement.
Tyson Alualu Nixes Jaguars Deal, Re-Joins Steelers
After agreeing to join Jaguars, Tyson Alualu had a change of heart. The veteran defensive end has instead re-signed with the Steelers on a two-year deal, according to sources who spoke with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). 
The Jaguars verbally agreed to a two-year, $6MM deal with Alualu on March 16. The 33-year-old (34 in May) planned to make it all official on a trip to Jacksonville, but a positive test for COVID-19 forced him to postpone the trip. While quarantining in his Pittsburgh home for ten days, the veteran edge rusher reconsidered his decision.
Alualu was the 10th overall pick of the Jags way back in 2010, and although he’s been a solid player, he never really lived up to his draft status. He has had a bit of a late career resurgence in Pittsburgh, including some quality work with the Steelers last year. He played on ~44% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps in 2020 and finished with 38 tackles, two sacks, and five passes defended. He received very strong marks from Pro Football Focus for his work as a run defender.
Now, the big fella will return to one of the league’s best defenses. Meanwhile, Urban Meyer will have to look elsewhere for interior line help.