Panthers Expected To Sign TE Hayden Hurst
Post-D.J. Moore, the Panthers are in need of multiple pass catchers. They are planning to visit with Adam Thielen later on Wednesday, but they are also addressing their tight end spot. Hayden Hurst is expected to sign with Carolina, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
A former first-round pick, Hurst spent last season with the Bengals. He joined Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki as the top available tight ends on this year’s market. Hurst is signing a three-year deal with the Panthers, Insidethebirds.com’s Adam Caplan tweets. The contract will check in at $21.75MM with $13MM guaranteed at signing, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Not bad for the South Carolina product, who signed for just $2MM guaranteed last year.
The ex-minor league baseball player will join his second NFC South team and fourth overall. Toggling between the AFC North and NFC South, Hurst spent two seasons in Baltimore and two in Atlanta prior to his Cincinnati one-off. Going into his age-30 season, Hurst will join a Panthers team that has not gotten much from its tight end spot since Greg Olsen‘s foot injuries began to pile up.
Stepping in for free agency defection C.J. Uzomah, Hurst caught 52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns last season. He added 13 more grabs and another score in the playoffs, but the Bengals will continue to make changes at tight end after allowing another starter to leave in free agency.
Ian Thomas led Panthers tight ends in receiving yards in each of the past three seasons, but the offense did not feature much of a threat at this position. None of Thomas’ past three yardage totals eclipsed 200. Olsen, who racked up 597 yards in 2019, is the most recent Panther tight end to clear 200 in a season. The team signed Dan Arnold in 2021 but included him in a trade for C.J. Henderson in 2021. Hurst’s career-high mark came in 2020 — 571 — before the Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts fourth overall.
Hurst’s baseball past makes him a bit older than his NFL draft class; he is heading into his age-30 season. But the Panthers will make the former Pitts mentor and Ravens first-rounder a key part of their first Frank Reich-directed passing game. They still have work to do at receiver, and it is not known which quarterback will be Charlotte-bound via the No. 1 overall pick. But said rookie (and Andy Dalton, most likely) will be targeting Hurst in 2023.
Steelers To Sign LB Cole Holcomb
In on the Leighton Vander Esch market, the Steelers will instead end up with another linebacker who spent his rookie-contract years in the NFC East. They are signing former Commanders linebacker Cole Holcomb, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The Commanders wanted to bring back the former fifth-round pick, John Keim of ESPN.com adds (on Twitter), but the sides were too far apart on value. Holcomb, 26, is heading to Pittsburgh on a three-year deal. Holcomb’s contract is worth $18MM, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Although Holcomb is coming off an injury-abbreviated contract year, he started throughout his four-year Washington tenure. He finished the 2021 season with 142 tackles, two interceptions — one of them a pick-six — and seven pass deflections, and Pro Football Focus graded the ex-North Carolina Tar Heel as a top-25 off-ball linebacker that year. He will join a Steelers team that ultimately did not see enough from former first-round pick Devin Bush, who is now a free agent.
Last year, Holcomb suffered a foot injury that ultimately required surgery. He underwent the procedure in December, but that did not impede a multiyear contract. The Commanders have already agreed to terms with ex-Seahawks linebacker Cody Barton, though Keim notes the team is still aiming to add another piece at that position.
Many ILBs have come off the board already, though a few options remain. Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner may be eyeing roles with surefire Super Bowl contenders, but Bush, Deion Jones, Zach Cunningham, Denzel Perryman and Rashaan Evans are available heading into the 2023 league year.
Pittsburgh still rosters 2022 free agency pickup Myles Jack, who is going into the second season of his two-year deal, but lost Robert Spillane to the Raiders on Tuesday. Spillane started 15 games over the past three seasons with Pittsburgh, which did not pick up Bush’s fifth-year option in 2022.
Raiders To Trade Darren Waller To Giants
In need of a few pass catchers, the Giants have struck a deal to land a former Pro Bowler. The Raiders are sending Waller to New York, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The Giants are sending the No. 100 overall pick to the Raiders for the veteran tight end, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This is the third-round compensatory pick the Giants obtained in the Kadarius Toney trade with the Chiefs. The Giants had been eyeing tight ends, per the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, and they will make their move via trade.
This comes less than a year after Waller agreed to an extension with the Raiders. That $17MM-per-year contract will now be the Giants’ responsibility. Hours after their Jakobi Meyers acquisition, the AFC West team is shipping out one of its veteran playmakers. For a bit, the Raiders had five skill-position players tied to eight-figure-per-year contracts or a franchise tag (Waller, Meyers, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Josh Jacobs). That number will drop back to four.
The Packers made an offer for Waller at last year’s deadline, but the Raiders stood pat. And, as of two weeks ago, they were not viewed as eager to move on from Waller. That said, a report last season indicated some in the organization were frustrated with his slow-progressing return from a hamstring injury.
Although the Giants effectively opted not to replace Evan Engram last season, they are acting on that front now. Fewer than 10 tight ends in NFL history have strung together back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons; Waller is among them. Even with Jeremy Shockey excelling in the 2000s, no Giants tight end has ever reached the 1,100-yard plateau in a season. That achievement occurred from 2019-20; Waller has battled some injuries in the seasons since.
The Raiders had given Waller three contracts, including two extensions, as he became their No. 1 option in the wake of the Antonio Brown deal combusting before he played a game in Oakland. A former Ravens wide receiver who nearly flamed out of the league due to substance-abuse issues, Waller launched a comeback with the Raiders. The Jon Gruden-era pickup led the team in receiving in 2019 and ’20, earning Pro Bowl acclaim for his work in the latter slate.
Engram also earned Pro Bowl honors during 2020, when the game not being played led to no alternates distorting the accomplishment, but Waller’s numbers dwarfed the ex-Giants first-rounder’s production. The Giants let Engram walk in free agency last year, tiring of the receiving tight end’s inconsistency. They will now make Waller a centerpiece player in their passing attack, one that still needs more pieces despite Sterling Shepard agreeing to come back. Waller and Saquon Barkley will represent the initial cornerstones of Daniel Jones‘ fifth Giants attack.
This year’s wide receiver market does not house many impact players, and while the Giants have been connected to receiver pursuits, they will take on Waller’s $11MM 2023 base salary. He is signed through 2026 at a reasonable rate — salaries of $10.5MM, $11.5MM and $13.5MM are also on the deal — despite the $17MM AAV breaking George Kittle‘s tight end record last year. The Giants will determine Waller’s fit in Brian Daboll’s offense; the $8.25MM guaranteed this year represent the last of Waller’s locked-in money.
Josh McDaniels has now shipped out the Raiders’ passing-game pillars from the Gruden period, cutting Derek Carr and now unloading Waller’s deal. The Raiders now have a need at tight end, with Foster Moreau also a free agent. The 2023 draft class is believed to be deep at the position, so the Raiders should be considered candidates to nab one of the top prospects. This trade also will not tag Las Vegas for dead money much. They will save $11.38MM as a result of the move.
Jets Finalizing Allen Lazard Deal
Allen Lazard is on the cusp of being a well-paid Jets wideout. The team is signing Lazard to a four-year, $44MM deal, per The Score’s Jordan Schultz (on Twitter). The parties are finalizing the agreement, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.
With Aaron Rodgers placing Lazard on his Jets free agency wish list, it should be assumed the AFC East team is acting accordingly. Lazard will also reunite with ex-Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett. The Jets spent much of Tuesday working on adding Lazard, undoubtedly eyeing the bigger prize likely attached to this deal.
This figure being accurate will mean two wide receivers in this free agent class received eight-figure AAVs, and Schultz adds the Jets are preparing to guarantee $22MM of Lazard’s contract. That is in step with Jakobi Meyers‘ deal, which includes $21MM in total guarantees. The Raiders are guaranteeing Meyers $16MM on a three-year pact; it is not yet known how much of Lazard’s contract will be guaranteed at signing.
On the surface, these look like great terms for Lazard, who exited the 2021 season as Green Bay’s No. 3 wideout. In 2022, however, the Packers placed him at the center of a bold plan that involved trading Davante Adams and letting Marquez Valdes-Scantling join the Chiefs in free agency. A year later, all three are gone. The Packers look to have found a promising player in second-round pick Christian Watson, and fourth-round rookie Romeo Doubs showed early signs of being a long-term contributor. But the team is losing Lazard on the heels of his best season.
Lazard’s capabilities aside, the Iowa State alum’s involvement here checks in a bit lower for interest compared to his longtime quarterback’s status. No, Rodgers still has not committed to playing for the Jets — or for anyone — in 2023. That is believed to be the final domino here, though it would be an interesting chapter in the superstar quarterback’s increasingly odd NFL journey were he to insist on the Jets signing each of the players on his free agency wish list before confirming he would join the team.
Fellow ex-Packers Randall Cobb and Marcedes Lewis are also believed to be on this list. Adding those two should not be a problem for the Jets, but the other player included here — Odell Beckham Jr. — brings more complications. Lazard also could bring changes for Gang Green’s receiving corps.
Lazard, 27, is coming off career-high numbers in receptions (60), receiving yards (788) and targets (100 — a cool 40 more than he received in 2021). The 6-foot-5 target is known as a high-end run-blocking wideout. That and his 14 touchdown catches over the past two years move the needle, though it is obviously worth wondering if Lazard would be on the Jets’ radar were Rodgers not in the picture. Setting aside Garrett Wilson, who is not going anywhere, the Jets still have Corey Davis, Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims under contract. The team released Braxton Berrios last week, and while Mims has somehow remained on New York’s roster despite years of trade rumors, Davis’ contract may be worth inspecting in light of Lazard’s agreement.
It remains to be seen what Rodgers’ deal will look like; unchanged, the Jets would have him at barely $15MM on their 2023 cap. Rodgers has said he would need to adjust his deal, to enable the Packers to trade him without historic dead money coming, but he will still bring a lofty contract to a Jets team accustomed to rookie-QB salaries. Davis, who signed ahead of Zach Wilson‘s rookie year, can be cut nearly free of charge. The Jets could save $10.5MM by releasing Davis, who would likely find a new home quickly on this receiver market.
Steelers To Re-Sign S Damontae Kazee
Damontae Kazee is staying in Pittsburgh. The free agent safety is re-signing with the Steelers, according to Matt Lombardo of Heavy (via Twitter).
Kazee joined the Steelers last offseason on a one-year deal. A broken forearm (coupled with a three-game suspension) delayed his start to the season, but he still managed to get in nine games for his new squad. When all was said and done, the safety finished his first season in Pittsburgh with two interceptions and two passes defended.
The former fifth-round pick led the NFL with seven interceptions during the 2018 season. He was limited to only four games during his final season with the Falcons before joining the Cowboys in 2021. He started 15 of his 17 games for Dallas that season but still had to settle for a one-year deal from Pittsburgh last offseason.
Kazee will provide Pittsburgh’s secondary with some consistency in 2023. With Cameron Sutton gone, the team will be counting on free agent acquisition Patrick Peterson to fill a major void.
Bears To Sign RB Travis Homer
Shortly after losing their starting running back, the Bears have added at the position. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Chicago has agreed to a deal with running back Travis Homer. Homer got a two-year deal worth a maximum of $4.5MM, per Schefter.
[RELATED: Lions To Sign RB David Montgomery]
David Montgomery started 43 games for the Bears over the past three years, including 16 starts in 2022. However, the former third-round pick left for the Lions earlier this evening, opening up a significant spot on the depth chart.
Homer shouldn’t be expected to carry the load in Chicago, but he’ll provide the coaching staff with some dependable depth at the position. The former sixth-round pick has seen time in 49 games for Seattle over the past four seasons. He had his best season in 2021, finishing with 338 yards from scrimmage. He followed that up with a 2022 campaign that saw him compile 231 offensive yards and one touchdown.
The Bears probably aren’t done adding at the position, but it’s noteworthy that they didn’t look to immediately replace Montgomery with another big name. This bodes well for Khalil Herbert‘s ability to earn the starting gig in 2023. The former sixth-round pick has been productive in his three starts over the past two years, topping 100 yards from scrimmage in each of those contests.
In Seattle, the Seahawks will be eyeing a slightly different RB depth chart in 2023 with Homer gone and Rashaad Penny joining the Eagles. The Seahawks will surely be looking for some additional depth behind Kenneth Walker and DeeJay Dallas.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/23
Today’s tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: CB Dane Jackson
- Patriots: DB Myles Bryant
- Seahawks: S Ryan Neal
- Vikings: DE Kenny Willekes
Non-tendered:
- Jets: WR Jeff Smith
- Panthers: DB Myles Hartsfield
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: K Cameron Dicker, OT Foster Sarell
- Chiefs: TE Jody Fortson
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/14/23
Today’s minor transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: RB Corey Clement
Baltimore Ravens
- Claimed off waivers (from Raiders): CB Trayvon Mullen
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: LB Tyrel Dodson
Denver Broncos
- Signed: FB Michael Burton
- Waived: WR Victor Bolden, WR Freddie Swain
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: OL Matt Nelson
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: DE Derek Rivers
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Robert Spillane
- Re-signed: FB Jakob Johnson
New England Patriots
- Signed: OT Calvin Anderson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: G Aaron Stinnie
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Luke Gifford
Titans To Sign DL Arden Key
Arden Key has parlayed a one-year, prove-it deal into a multiyear contract. The defensive lineman is signing with the Titans, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).
Key is inking a three-year deal worth $21MM, per Garafolo. The contract has the potential to hit $24MM in value and includes $13MM in guaranteed money.
The former third-round pick showed hints of his talent during his time with the Raiders, but he truly showed his stuff with the 49ers in 2021. Key got into all 17 games that season, finishing with 6.5 sacks and 17 QB hits. Considering his limited track record, Key was only able to get a one-year deal from the Jaguars last offseason.
He continued building off that 2021 campaign. In 17 games (three starts) with Jacksonville this past year, Key compiled a career-high 27 tackles to go along with 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and 15 QB hits. He finished the campaign as Pro Football Focus’ 28th edge defender (among 119 qualifying players), the second-straight season he’s finished as a top-40 edge.
In Tennessee, Key will be expected to provide some pass-rushing prowess on the defensive line. New Titans GM Ran Carthon was the 49ers’ director of pro personnel when Key had his breakout season, so he’s certainly familiar with the player’s potential.
Vikings To Sign CB Byron Murphy
The Vikings have found their replacement for Patrick Peterson. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Vikings are finalizing a deal with cornerback Byron Murphy.
[RELATED: Steelers To Sign CB Patrick Peterson]
Murphy is inking a two-year deal, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). Minnesota will pick up Arizona’s No. 1 corner of the past two seasons on just a two-year, $17.5MM deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.
Going into his age-25 season, the fifth-year defender will see $12.5MM guaranteed. The deal includes $2MM in playing time and Pro Bowl incentives. Of Murphy’s 2024 salary, $4.5MM is already guaranteed for injury. That shifts to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2024 league year, per Wilson, giving the Vikings some options.
The former second-round pick emerged as one of Arizona’s most dependable defenders in recent years. The defensive back started only half of his games during his sophomore campaign but rebounded nicely in 2021, starting all 16 of his appearances and finishing the season with a team-leading four interceptions and 12 passes defended.
Murphy had a firm hold on the starting gig heading into the 2022 campaign. He started the first nine games for the Cardinals, compiling 36 tackles and four passes defended. A back injury forced him off the field for the second half of the season, and he was ultimately placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Despite the injury, Murphy still showed more than enough to establish himself as one of the top CBs available in free agency. While Pro Football Focus has generally graded Murphy as a slightly above-average cornerback, the site has always been fond of his run-stopping ability.
Murphy will fill in the void left by Peterson, who ended up signing with the Steelers. Peterson expressed an interest in re-signing with Minnesota, but it’s uncertain if the interest was reciprocated. With Peterson entering his age-33 season, it’s feasible that the organization preferred the 25-year-old Murphy.