Jets To Sign DB Lamarcus Joyner
Lamarcus Joyner is heading to New York. The veteran safety is signing with the Jets, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The reporter adds that it’s a one-year deal worth $4.5MM.
The Jets have been searching for some reinforcement at safety over the past week. Outside of Marcus Maye and Ashtyn Davis, the Jets had no depth at the position, so Joyner will certainly contribute with his new team. As Rapoport notes, Joyner seemingly made it a priority to find a team that would let him play safety. The veteran spent the 2020 campaign playing nickel with the Raiders.
Joyner ultimately spent two seasons with the Raider, starting 16 of his 28 games. He finished the 2020 season 66 tackles and five passes defended in 14 games (six starts). He appeared in 62 percent of his team’s defensive snaps last season.
The 2014 second-round pick spent the first five seasons of his career with the Rams organization, hauling in four interceptions in 27 starts between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Giants To Sign LB Reggie Ragland
Reggie Ragland will be entering his fifth NFL season in 2021, and he’ll be in uniform for his fourth NFL team. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the free agent linebacker is signing with the Giants. It’s a one-year deal for the 27-year-old.
The 2016 second-round pick out of Alabama missed his entire rookie campaign due to a torn ACL, and he found himself buried on the Bills depth chart during the 2017 preseason. He was ultimately traded to the Chiefs for a fourth-round pick, and the linebacker proceeded to start 10 games for his new team. Ragland started 22 more games for Kansas City in 2018 and 2019, and he earned a ring after appearing in three playoff games (one start) with the Chiefs during his final season with the organization.
He signed with the Lions last offseason and saw inconsistent playing time throughout the 2020 campaign. He ended up starting six of his 16 games, collecting 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three QB hits. However, he only finished with a single sack in 562 defensive snaps.
The Giants’ interest in free agent linebackers isn’t anything new. We learned earlier today that the team was set to host free agent linebacker Brandon Copeland.
Allen Robinson Signs Franchise Tender
Allen Robinson is under contract again with the Bears. Chicago’s No. 1 wide receiver signed his $18MM franchise tender on Thursday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Bears applied a higher-value franchise tag on Robinson, due to his 2020 salary, at the deadline earlier this month. While Robinson has expressed frustration about his situation in Chicago, he is now locked in to that $18MM salary for the 2021 season.
The sides have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term extension, though they were considerably off on terms when they discussed a deal last year. Chicago now has a new starting quarterback, with Andy Dalton‘s deal official. The former Bengals and Cowboys quarterback said Thursday that the Bears’ pledge he will be their starter influenced him to sign with the team.
Kenny Golladay also visited the Bears on Wednesday night, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes this helped influence Robinson to sign his tag. Golladay perhaps could have been a Robinson replacement at a lower rate, and the Bears could have rescinded Robinson’s tag to send him to what has thus far been an underwhelming market for receivers.
Robinson is going into his age-28 season. He is coming off his third 1,000-yard campaign, recording two such seasons in Chicago and one in Jacksonville. The Jaguars did not use the tag on him in 2018, leading him to Chicago. The Bears gave Robinson a $14MM-per-year pact — a higher-value price at the time — despite his 2017 ACL tear. Robinson has since established himself as one of the NFL’s better receivers. It will be interesting to see if the Bears move forward on an extension or if this merely becomes a rental season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/21
We’ll keep tabs on today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Darius Clark
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LS Patrick Scales
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Greg Senat
- Waived: T Drake Dorbeck
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: WR Mike Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: TE Blake Bell, RB Elijah McGuire
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: TE Johnny Mundt
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Trent Sherfield
Washington QB Kyle Allen Signs ERFA Tender
The top of Washington’s quarterbacks depth chart will look different in 2021, but it sounds like the team will be rolling with the same backups. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that quarterback Kyle Allen has signed his ERFA tender.
After getting 12 starts for the Panthers in 2019, Allen ended up following his former head coach, Ron Rivera, to Washington after he was traded for a a fifth-rounder. Allen ultimately got four starts for Washington, completing 69-percent of his passes for 610 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
However, Allen suffered a dislocated/fractured ankle in early November, and the subsequent surgery ended his season early. That injury paved the way for Alex Smith to take over the full-time starting gig, and the veteran ended up going 5-1 en route the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
In 2021, Allen will be backing up a different veteran, as the organization moved on from Smith and replaced him with Ryan Fitzpatrick. The team is also still rostering Taylor Heinicke.
Cowboys To Sign LB Tarell Basham
It sounds like Tarell Basham is heading to Dallas. Agent Aaron Henderson tweets that the free agent edge defender is signing with the Cowboys (Twitter link). It’s a two-year deal worth up to $6.5MM, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).
Basham spent the past two-plus seasons with the Jets, starting 12 games for the organization. He had a career year in 2020, finishing with 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 16 games (nine starts).
The 2017 third-round pick out of Ohio spent the first year-plus of his career with the Colts. In total, he’s appeared in 58 career games, collecting 7.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 23 QB hits.
The Cowboys have been busy adding to their defensive line today, inking a pair of free agents in Brent Urban and Carlos Watkins.
Raiders To Sign C Nick Martin
After trading their center of the past six years, the Raiders appear to have settled on a replacement. They are signing former Texans snapper Nick Martin, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Martin’s work will not remind most of Rodney Hudson‘s, with the since-traded center being a three-time Pro Bowler. Still, the Raiders figure to save substantially by replacing Hudson with Martin.
Transitioning to their Nick Caserio regime, the Texans cut Martin after he spent the past four seasons as their starting center. While he did not fare as well as Hudson did in this span, Martin did receive an $11MM-per-year extension from the previous Texans regime. Martin will attempt to rebound in Las Vegas.
The Raiders have made some interesting decisions this week. Their three highest-paid O-linemen — Hudson, right tackle Trent Brown and longtime right guard Gabe Jackson — are gone. The team has since re-signed Richie Incognito after cutting him, and brought back the player who replaced Incognito post-injury last season, Denzelle Good. Las Vegas appears to still have a hole at right tackle, but the other four spots along its offensive line may be set.
However, third-year blocker Andre James may factor into the equation at center. This should be considered James’ job to lose, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets. While Martin has a massive experience edge (62 starts to one), he might not be a lock to start in Vegas.
Seahawks To Re-Sign OL Ethan Pocic
The Seahawks reached an agreement to retain their starting center. Ethan Pocic will stay in Seattle on a one-year deal worth $3MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
A former second-round pick, Pocic has seen action at both guard and center as a pro. He opened the 2019 season as a Seattle starter but saw a back injury derail his season. The veteran blocker bounced back in 2020 and now has a deal to return in 2021.
Pocic started 14 games at center for the Seahawks last season. This re-signing is bringing Seattle’s 2021 O-line picture into focus. They have acquired experienced guard Gabe Jackson via trade from the Raiders and now have Pocic back. Tackles Duane Brown and Brandon Shell are under contract for 2021, and Jackson guard mate Damien Lewis is entrenched as a starter after a solid rookie season.
Pocic’s return, after a season in which Pro Football Focus graded him 26th overall among centers, may not move the needle for Russell Wilson. But it remains to be seen if the quarterback, who let it be known he wanted the Seahawks to do better to bolster their O-line, will be satisfied with Jackson being added to the mix.
Bills Re-Sign Taiwan Jones
The Bills are locking up a key special teamer. Buffalo has re-signed running back Taiwan Jones to a one-year deal, the team announced on Twitter.
It’s fair to assume that the contract is for pretty close to the league minimum. Jones played only four total snaps on offense last year, but played around 40 percent of the total special teams snaps. Jones will turn 33 in July, and the veteran has done a nice job of sticking around in the league for what will be his 11th pro season in the fall.
He entered the league as a fourth-round pick all the way back in 2011, and managed to carve out a career despite never carrying the ball more than 16 times in a season. He also was the Raiders’ kick returner for a couple of years, and had 829 return yards in 2015, which was the most in the AFC.
After his first six seasons with the Raiders he was with the Bills from 2017-18, then spent a year with the Texans, before returning to Buffalo last season.
Titans To Sign CB Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson is heading back to the AFC South. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran cornerback will be signing a one-year deal with the Titans.
The 16th-overall pick of the 2015 draft spent the first four seasons of his career in Houston. After starting 10 games as a rookie, Johnson settled into more of a backup role during his final three seasons with the team. He also struggled to stay on the field following that 16-game rookie campaign; he missed 10 games in 2016 with a broken foot, four games in 2017 with a sprained MCL, and 15 games in 2018 with a concussion suffered during Week 1.
Following that 2018 season, Johnson was released by the Texans, who had previously picked up his fifth-year option. He caught on with the Bills and proceeded to appear in all 16 games. That performance earned him another one-year deal last offseason, this time with the Browns. He finished the 2020 campaign having appeared in 13 games (six starts), compiling 35 tackles, one forced fumble, and three passes defended. He also started Cleveland’s playoff loss to the Chiefs.
The Titans have worked on revamping their cornerbacks corps this offseason. The team already added Janoris Jenkins, with 2020 second-round pick Kristian Fulton being one of the lone holdovers from last year’s squad.