Texans, LB Denzel Perryman Agree To Deal
MARCH 23: Wilson tweets that Perryman’s deal is one year in length, and has a value of $3.5MM. He, along with Littleton, will provide short-term experience at the second level of the Texans’ new-look defense while aiming to boost his value ahead of next offseason.
MARCH 22: The Texans’ visit with Denzel Perryman will end up producing an agreement. Even after adding Cory Littleton, the Texans will bring in Perryman, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.
Drawing interest from the Texans and Titans, Perryman will follow Littleton to Houston. A former Chargers second-round pick, Perryman spent the past two seasons as a Raiders regular. The 30-year-old defender agreed to a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He will reunite with his 2021 Raiders teammate, Littleton, in DeMeco Ryans‘ defense.
GM Nick Caserio has continued to go to the midlevel veteran well, handing out a slew of short-term contracts to experienced players during his Houston stay. At linebacker alone, Perryman will join Littleton, Christian Kirksey and Blake Cashman among the veteran options alongside 2022 third-round pick Christian Harris.
Perryman’s Texans visit lasted two days, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes, and he has been a target since free agency’s outset. More rumors connected Perryman to Houston compared to Littleton, despite the latter having signed sooner. The Texans ranked last in run defense in 2022. While teams have questioned Perryman’s coverage chops, he is one of the better run-defending linebackers. He finished with a career-high 154 tackles in 2021 and posted a career-best 14 tackles for loss last season.
Some mutual interest existed between Perryman and the Raiders, but the team brought him in via trade (from the Panthers) during Jon Gruden‘s final season in charge. Ex-Chargers DC Gus Bradley put Perryman to work in 2021, using him on 83% of the Raiders’ defensive snaps. That number dropped to 70% under DC Patrick Graham last season, but considering Perryman’s usage rate had dipped well below 50% during his final two Bolts seasons, his Raiders run certainly qualifies as a bounce-back stretch.
Pro Football Focus concurred, slotting Perryman as a top-30 linebacker in each of the past two years. PFF ranked him 19th in 2022, despite the Raiders’ defense regressing. The ex-Miami Hurricane will attempt to help a Houston defense bounce back after four consecutive seasons ranking in the bottom five in yards yielded.
Giants To Add WR Jamison Crowder
As if the Giants did not have enough slot receivers already, they are further bolstering this particular area. The team agreed to a deal with Jamison Crowder on Thursday, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets.
This will mark a return to the NFC East for Crowder, a Washington draftee who has since spent time with the Jets and Bills. Crowder will join a crowded stable of Giants slot receivers. While the Giants will still be connected to more receiver augmentations in the draft — likely in the early rounds — they are using free agency to ensure they will not be shorthanded at the position again.
The Giants have brought back Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton and have now signed Crowder and Parris Campbell. They also have Wan’Dale Robinson returning from an ACL tear. Of this contingent, all but Slayton can be classified as a slot receiver. Crowder, Campbell and Shepard have also been prone to injuries. Quantity here will serve as some semblance of protection for the Giants, who also return waiver pickup Isaiah Hodgins. But they have added a few players with similar skillsets and similar injury histories.
The Bills gave Crowder a one-year, $2MM deal in 2022 but were not able to deploy the former fourth-round pick often. Crowder played in just four games with Buffalo. A fractured ankle sidetracked Crowder’s Bills season. He caught just six passes for 60 yards. Although Buffalo designated the veteran slot player for return in the postseason, no activation commenced. Crowder finished his season on IR.
Formerly the inside complement in Sean McVay-led Washington attacks featuring Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, Crowder outlasted each in D.C. He has compiled four seasons with at least 690 receiving yards, and although the Jets struggled during each of his three years in the Big Apple, the 5-foot-9 target became Sam Darnold‘s top target during the 2019 and ’20 campaigns. Playing on a three-year deal worth $28.5MM, Crowder led the Jets in receiving (with 833 and 699 yards, respectively) in those seasons and combined for 12 touchdown catches during that span. The Jets added Corey Davis and Elijah Moore in 2021 and cut Crowder’s pay that year; Crowder totaled 447 yards during his Jets finale.
The Giants will see what Crowder, 29, has left. The team accumulating options at receiver makes sense after last season. Shepard and Robinson were lost to season-ending injuries, with Shepard’s latest malady leaving his NFL future foggier compared to the other wideouts the Giants inked this offseason. New York traded Kadarius Toney and received next to nothing from free agency megabust Kenny Golladay. Slayton and Hodgins led Big Blue’s receiving corps during the team’s playoff push. They will have some help this year, and even though injuries have been factors for most of the Giants’ signings, the volume here could protect the team in the event more maladies surface at the position. Then again, odds are not all of these signings or re-signings are likely to make the 53-man roster.
Bills Sign G David Edwards
The Bills have now added two guards since free agency opened. After signing Connor McGovern, the team reached an agreement with David Edwards.
The former Rams starter is joining the Bills on a one-year deal, according to the AFC East franchise. Edwards has 49 career starts on his resume and profiles as an interesting pickup at this juncture of free agency. He will rejoin ex-Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who is now the Bills’ O-line coach. Kromer coached Edwards from 2019-20.
Prior to being shut down with a concussion during a lost Rams season, Edwards worked as a regular starter for Sean McVay‘s team throughout his career. The Rams selected Edwards in the 2019 fifth round, and he later joined Austin Corbett as the team’s Super Bowl LVI starters at guard.
Last season’s concussion obviously concerns, but Edwards had displayed durability over his first three seasons. The Wisconsin product did not miss a game from 2019-21, starting five playoff contests during that span. The Rams have now lost Corbett and Edwards in consecutive offseasons, seeing the former sign with the Panthers in 2022.
Pro Football Focus graded Edwards as a top-30 guard in 2020 and 2021, slotting him 17th overall in 2020. Edwards was among the Rams O-linemen to miss extensive time in 2022, with this domino helping lead Los Angeles to a 5-12 finish and hit an offseason crossroads of sorts. It will be interesting to learn the terms here, given Edwards’ experience and performance level. He will join a Bills O-line that needed assistance after a one-sided playoff loss to the Bengals. PFF ranked Buffalo’s O-line 23rd last season.
Edwards, who turned 26 earlier this week, landed in concussion protocol ahead of the Rams’ Week 4 game last season. While Edwards returned in Week 5, the Rams placed him on IR. As L.A.’s IR contingent expanded, it did not activate Edwards, whose IR-return period expired after three weeks of practice. Edwards ended up missing the season’s final three months.
The Bills gave Rodger Saffold a one-year deal in 2022; the ex-Rams and Titans starter remains unsigned. Saffold will be 35 next season. McGovern, who is coming off a contract year as a Cowboys starter, and Edwards join a Bills team that figures to fire up some offseason competitions up front. The team has re-signed Ike Boettger and has Ryan Bates and Greg Mancz under contract as well. McGovern has center experience, giving the team more options. Mitch Morse also remains under contract.
Los Angeles drafted Logan Bruss in the third round last year but lost the Wisconsin alum to ACL and MCL tears during the preseason. The Rams made re-signing center Brian Allen and left tackle Joe Noteboom priorities over Corbett and Edwards. Coleman Shelton and Alaric Jackson, who each became starters last season, remain under Rams control.
Raiders Sign CB Duke Shelley
Similar to their defensive line strategy in 2022, the Raiders look to be buying in bulk at cornerback. They have now added a third corner with starting experience this offseason.
Duke Shelley agreed to terms with the Silver and Black on Thursday, the team announced. Shelley has spent his career in the NFC North, suiting up for the Bears and Vikings over the past four years. While Shelley has seen special teams action, he has been a regular on defense in both Chicago and Minnesota over the past two years.
The Vikings turned to Shelley as a starter on five occasions last season; the former sixth-round pick became the primary replacement for Cameron Dantzler during his IR stay. The Vikings also lost second-round pick Andrew Booth to what turned out to be a season-ending injury, further opening the door for Shelley. The Kansas State product played in 11 games for the Vikes in 2022, despite spending time on their practice squad, and logged a 52% snap rate during those contests.
This qualifies as an interesting flier. Although Shelley played just 397 snaps on defense with the Vikings, Pro Football Focus rated the 5-foot-9 defender as its No. 4 overall cornerback. Shelley allowed just a 45.7% completion rate — on 46 targets — and limited quarterbacks to a collective 55.2 passer rating as the closest defender in coverage. The Raiders will bring him aboard to see if the career backup’s 2022 work was a fluke.
The Bears used Shelley on 61% of their defensive plays in 2021 but waived him shortly after roster-cutdown day last year. He worked as a slot corner that year in Chicago but played on the boundary last season in Minnesota, as Chandon Sullivan manned the slot. The change provided intriguing results.
Shelley, 26, joins Brandon Facyson and David Long as corners to have signed with the Raiders since free agency’s outset. The team still has Nate Hobbs and Amik Robertson on its roster. The holdovers’ presences alongside the depth signings notwithstanding, this should still be considered a need area for the team. But Josh McDaniels‘ club is collecting some low-cost options this offseason.
DT Greg Gaines Signing With Buccaneers
MARCH 23: Gaines agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The veteran defensive tackle’s contract can max out at $4MM.
MARCH 18: The Buccaneers have found a player that they can attempt to use to replace the lost production of Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who signed with the Giants earlier this week. According to Tom Pelissero, Tampa Bay has agreed to terms with former Rams defensive tackle Greg Gaines. 
A former 2019 fourth-round pick out of Washington, Gaines spent his first two years in Los Angeles as a reserve behind Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Sebastian Joseph-Day. When Brockers was traded to the Lions, that opened the door for Gaines to step up.
Gaines spent the next two years as a starter next to Donald. Gaines was impressive in increased time. Over his two years as a starter, Gaines totaled 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 19 quarterback hits.
In addition to Nunez-Roches, the Buccaneers are set to lose Deadrin Senat this offseason, as well. They return Vita Vea and Logan Hall as their top options on the interior defensive line. Adding Gaines provides them with a new starter next to Vea, allowing Hall, last year’s second-round pick, to continue to develop as a rotation piece.
Tony Pollard Signs Franchise Tender
Tony Pollard became the first of this year’s lot of franchise tag recipients to sign his Cowboys franchise tender, with Todd Archer of ESPN.com indicating (via Twitter) Pollard put pen to paper Thursday morning.
Pollard’s $10.1MM salary is now fully guaranteed. The Cowboys and their breakout running back have until July 17 to work out an extension, but if they sides cannot come to terms, Pollard’s early decision to lock in that money shows he did not strongly consider staying away from the team absent a deal.
In between tagging Pollard and the fifth-year back signing his tag, the Cowboys released Ezekiel Elliott. The seven-year starter had said he was amenable to taking a pay cut, but no numbers surfaced about how much of a trim the former rushing champion would accept. Instead, Elliott is a free agent. Pollard now leads a backfield that houses Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle and former Buccaneers starter Ronald Jones.
Pollard, who will turn 26 in April, is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which both he and Elliott scored 12 touchdowns. Pollard, however, topped Zeke with 1,378 scrimmage yards to power the Cowboys. His fractured fibula and high ankle sprain in the divisional round wounded the Cowboys’ upset effort in San Francisco, but the former fourth-round pick is expected to make a full recovery.
By signing the tender, Pollard can be fined for missing Cowboys minicamp or training camp. Having this matter out of the way so early showed the Memphis product was not planning to do so. Pollard should be expected to participate — in some capacity, at least — in Dallas’ training camp. No reports have surfaced indicating Pollard’s Week 1 availability is in question.
It would not surprise if the Cowboys added a backup-caliber back in the draft, as Elliott coming back currently resides as a long-odds scenario. But the team let Dalton Schultz walk to tag Pollard. The Cowboys have used the tag in each of the past six years. They were unable to sign Schultz, Dak Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence to extensions that year. Each played on the tag, though the Cowboys were able to lock in Prescott and Lawrence to extensions the following spring. Schultz signed with the Texans earlier this week.
The Cowboys did lock in Dez Bryant to an extension agreement after a 2015 tag, and they did so as the Broncos were negotiating with tagged wideout Demaryius Thomas. Similar circumstances exist at Pollard’s position, with the Giants (Saquon Barkley) and Raiders (Josh Jacobs) having tagged their top running backs. Will the Cowboys complete an extension with Pollard by the July deadline?
Jets Trade WR Elijah Moore To Browns
Shortly after agreeing to terms with Mecole Hardman, the Jets have a trade in place involving one of their holdovers. They are sending Elijah Moore to the Browns, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
A former second-round pick, Moore will head to Cleveland in a deal involving a Day 2 pick swap. The Browns will send their No. 42 overall pick for Moore and the Jets’ No. 74 overall choice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Two years remain on Moore’s contract; he is going into his age-23 season.
As the Jets’ wide receiver room became crowded, the Browns were connected to wideout interest. The team was looking into Jerry Jeudy, but the Broncos have continued to set a high price for teams regarding their top pass catcher. Instead, Cleveland will add Moore to its receiving corps as a slot piece to pair with Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
This will be a nice vault up the draft board for the Jets as well. Moving up 32 spots, the Jets now hold the Nos. 42 and 43 overall picks. Although the Packers have been seeking a first-round pick and change for Aaron Rodgers, the Jets now having two mid-second-round choices figures to come up in the Joe Douglas–Brian Gutekunst trade talks involving the superstar quarterback.
Moore voiced frustration about his role last season and asked the Jets to trade him. The 2021 second-rounder, who was sent home after a heated argument with then-OC Mike LaFleur ahead of a midseason hiatus, did not match his rookie-year numbers in 2022. But Zach Wilson‘s presence hindered Jets receivers, hence the all-out Rodgers pursuit. In reaffirming the team’s desire to retain Moore, Douglas issued strong support for the disgruntled wideout in November. Four months later, Moore has a new team.
As a rookie, Moore showed immediate promise coming out of Ole Miss. The 5-foot-10 target caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns, reaching these numbers despite Wilson’s inconsistency and despite missing six games. The Browns will bet on Moore’s upside with Deshaun Watson targeting him, and the team will move out of another early draft slot to do so. The Watson trade cost the Browns their first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Cleveland’s first 2023 draft choice will now arrive at No. 74.
Moore, who clocked a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at his pro day two years ago, is due base salaries of just $1.5MM and $1.9MM this season and next. This bet on potential notwithstanding, it does invite some risk for the Browns. Cleveland has now traded out of the first and second rounds of the draft, and the Watson swap also will send the Browns’ 2023 third-rounder (No. 73) to the Texans. Cleveland does have a compensatory third-rounder — No. 98, acquired from the NFL for the Vikings hiring ex-Browns exec Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as GM — but sliding down from No. 42 to No. 74 will make for a long wait on draft night.
The Jets targeted Moore on just 13% of his routes run last season, per ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter, who adds that was a league-low number for players who ran at least 400 routes. Paired with Cooper and Peoples-Jones, Moore should have a clear-cut opportunity in Cleveland. His exit will also free up space in a Jets receiver room that has seen both Hardman and Allen Lazard added since free agency started.
Gang Green’s receiver cadre now includes Hardman, Lazard, Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Denzel Mims. While Mims is an obvious candidate not to be part of a Rodgers-led receiver room, it will be interesting to see if the Moore trade allows for Davis to avoid cap-casualty status — the Jets can save $10.5MM by cutting him — or enables the team to pursue Odell Beckham Jr. and/or Randall Cobb. Rodgers is believed to have encouraged the Jets to sign both players, and they have begun doing so. Hardman’s arrival throws a wrench in both OBJ and Cobb coming to the Big Apple, but the Jets still have some space to add another weapon soon.
Lions Sign LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is headed back to the 313. After spending the first five years of his career in Detroit, Reeves-Maybin will return to the Lions after a one-year stint in Houston, according to his agent Brian McLaughlin’s Twitter account. 
When the 28-year-old was last in Detroit, he left an up-and-down tenure with the team as a starter. He failed to continue that role in Houston, as he was mainly relegated to special teams duty with the Texans. Reeves-Maybin found himself playing fewer defensive snaps than starters Christian Kirksey and Christian Harris. After that, linebackers Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jake Hansen, Blake Cashman, and Garret Wallow all finished with more defensive playing time than Reeves-Maybin.
Reeves-Maybin was released to little surprise. The two-year, $7.5MM contract that he earned after his strong year with the Lions became much too cumbersome to the Texans for a special teamer. Reeves-Maybin was due for a $4.25MM cap hit in 2023, and Houston was willing to eat $2MM in dead money for the $2.25MM in cap savings it got from cutting him.
Reeves-Maybin should be excited about the move back up north, as should his new and former head coach Dan Campbell, who had this to say about Reeves-Maybin following his initial departure from Detroit, “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays. He’s a football player, and that doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Both parties should be happy as they’re both receiving some benefit out of the reunion. Campbell was able to retain his top linebacker from 2022, Alex Anzalone, under a new three-year deal and returns rookie starter Malcolm Rodriguez, as well, but the team lost Chris Board in free agency to New England. Board played a similar role in Detroit to what Reeves-Maybin did in Houston, playing sparingly on defense but contributing largely on special teams. With Reeves-Maybin, Campbell has the hard-working, reliable linebacker on special teams that he lost in Board.
Reeves-Maybin benefits by moving back to the last team and head coach who gave him an extended starting opportunity. If Campbell’s last impression of Reeves-Maybin still holds true, Reeves-Maybin may find himself solidifying the third linebacker position behind Anzalone and Rodriguez.
Cowboys Re-Sign DE Takk McKinley, Add LS Trent Sieg
After announcing the return of pass rusher Dante Fowler earlier today, the Cowboys announced the re-signing of Fowler’s former teammate and fellow former first-round pick Takkarist McKinley, according to Michael Gehlken of Dallas Morning News. McKinley signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad late last year after getting cut from the Rams. 
The 27-year-old has had quite the fall from grace since his rookie and sophomore seasons that saw him tally six and seven sacks, respectively. He followed that up in 2019 with a 13-start season that returned a disappointing 3.5 sacks. After that, trade rumors began to circle as the Falcons declined McKinley’s fifth-year option. This eventually lead to Atlanta waiving their former first-round pick midseason.
McKinley bounced around several times due to initial interest followed by health questions. The Bengals and 49ers both claimed the young pass rusher, waiving him shortly after when he failed his physicals. He finally landed with the Raiders but was put on injured reserve before he could see the field. He would finally see the field again with the Browns who signed him to a one-year deal after the expiration of his rookie contract. His season came to an end early, though, after a torn Achilles tendon.
After failing to find a new team in the offseason, McKinley signed to the Titans’ practice squad before the Rams signed him away from Tennessee and onto their active roster. After four games with the Rams, McKinley was released again, leading him to sign with the Cowboys. The Cowboys will give him a new chance to make the roster this summer after he failed to do so in his ten weeks on their practice squad last year.
Dallas also signed a new long snapper, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. After the departure of Jake McQuaide to Detroit, the Cowboys have opted to replace him with former Raiders long snapper Trent Sieg. Archer further reports that Sieg’s contract is a one-year, $1.23MM deal including a $152,500 signing bonus and a base salary of $1.08MM, $250,000 of which is guaranteed. He’ll count for $940,000 against the 2023 salary cap, since his deal is a veteran salary benefit contract.
Foster Moreau Stepping Away From Football
Former Raiders tight end Foster Moreau has made the decision to step away from the game of football for the time being, according to the 25-year-old’s Twitter account. As a free agent, Moreau has been visiting NFL franchises in search of his next home, meeting with the Bengals last week. 
During Moreau’s most recent visit in New Orleans, the Saints medical staff discovered that Moreau currently has Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of blood and immune system cancer. The Saints have now twice uncovered serious medical issues in routine physicals, the first dating back to 2017 when the team uncovered an aortic aneurysm in long snapper Jon Dorenbos.
Since 2018, we’ve seen players like Andre Hal, James Conner, and Eric Berry suffer from the same ailment. Hal was able to return to the field in the same year as his diagnosis, but he retired at the young age of 26. Berry and Conner both returned to have extended careers in the NFL after overcoming the cancer, with Conner still playing football to this day.
The Raiders drafted Moreau in the 2019 fourth round, and he played a sidekick role to Darren Waller during much of his career. Over the past two seasons, as Waller’s injuries piled up, Moreau became a regular pass-catching presence for the team. During the 2021 Raiders squad’s late-season run to the playoffs, Moreau hit or topped 50 receiving yards in three of the team’s final four games to help secure the unexpected postseason berth. He established new career-high marks in receptions (33) and yards (420), as he filled in for Waller in 2022.
Moreau’s free agency will be put on hold for now. The four-year veteran has the best wishes of PFR and our staff.