Bears To Sign Eddie Royal
THURSDAY, 12:17pm: Royal’s three-year deal with the Bears is worth $15MM, with $10MM in fully guaranteed money, says Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).
WEDNESDAY, 11:35pm: It’s a three-year deal, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
9:25pm: Eddie Royal will apparently be teaming up with former teammate Jay Cutler, as Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reports (via Twitter) that the former Chargers wideout will sign with the Bears.
Royal caught 62 balls for 778 receiving yards with the Chargers last season and both marks were his best since his rookie season with the Broncos in 2008. The 28-year-old (29 in May), put himself on the map with his tremendous rookie performance in 2008 and became a focal point of the Bolts’ offense over the last two seasons. While the stats have come and gone for Royal since 2013 (no wide receiver really sees consistent targets in Philip Rivers‘ offense), he has proven himself to be a reliable option.
Royal, who caught balls from Cutler in Denver earlier in his career, isn’t exactly an ideal candidate to replace Brandon Marshall, who was traded to the Jets earlier this week. However, the Bears are rebuilding a wide receiving corps that doesn’t feature a ton of talent behind Alshon Jeffery, so signing a slot receiver like Royal is a solid add for Chicago.
Bears, Mason Foster Discussing Deal
The Bears are discussing a three-year deal with linebacker Mason Foster, according to Jen Lada of CSNChicago.com (on Twitter). Foster, she adds, as been a free agent target for the Bears since the beginning of the process.
The Buccaneers free agent was also a target of the Dolphins, but it sounds like he’s Chicago-bound instead. For his part, Foster wanted to stay put in Tampa Bay if possible.
“I definitely want to stay in Tampa,’’ Foster said back in December. “Both my sons were born in Tampa. I’ve got a lot of ties down here, and I love Tampa. It would be great. It would be amazing to stay here. But football is a business so you know there’s a chance you won’t be here.’’
Foster, 26, appeared in ten games for the Bucs last season and started all of them. In that time, he recorded 62 total tackles and three pass deflections. Foster also impressed with 105 tackles in 2012 and 92 tackles with three interceptions and two sacks in 2013.
North Rumors: Blalock, Rolle, Ravens
Veteran offensive lineman Justin Blalock is paying a visit to the Lions today, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Yesterday, we learned that St. Louis and Detroit both have interest in the ex-Falcon, and that he planned to visit the Rams as well.
- A day after agreeing to sign with the Bears, Antrel Rolle tells SiriusXM NFL Radio that his decision came down to Chicago and Washington, and adds that he’s not sure why the Giants seemingly had no interest in bringing him back (Twitter links).
- The Ravens have preliminary interest in former Bills tight end Scott Chandler, league sources tell Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Chandler, 30 in July, was released by the Bills on Tuesday.
- The Ravens are looking to bring in a veteran to challenge quarterback Keith Wenning for the backup job, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. There’s not a whole lot of quality free agent quarterbacks remaining, however.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Bears Sign Antrel Rolle
Another safety is off the market, as Antrel Rolle will be joining the Bears, according to ProFootballTalk (on Twitter). The deal will be for three years and $11.25MM, with $5MM guaranteed.
The 32-year-old finished the 2014 season with 87 tackles and three interceptions. Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with the veteran’s performance, as they ranked him 81st among 87 safety candidates. However, Rolle isn’t far removed from a dynamic 2013 campaign, when he established career-highs in tackles (98), interceptions (six) and passes defended (12).
We learned earlier today that the Bears had the highest offer on the table, with the Colts and Giants lurking. Rolle ranked 46th in Luke Adams’ list of the top-50 free agents.
North Rumors: Bradford, Browns, Johnson
Earlier today, Eagles coach Chip Kelly told reporters that he got offered a first-round pick for newly-acquired quarterback Sam Bradford. Speculation immediately began to bubble that the Browns were that mystery team, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com isn’t so sure that Cleveland’s talks with the Rams went very far. One source with knowledge of the Browns’ offseason quarterback plans said St. Louis never felt Cleveland was serious about a Bradford trade. While there were few calls back and forth, there was never much of a push because the Browns weren’t overly aggressive. There was correspondence, but the Browns probably could have had Bradford if they were willing to part with at least one second-round pick for him. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC North..
- A source close to defensive end Michael Johnson said it’s early in the process but there’s a good chance the Vikings will be in the running him, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “Mike Zimmer’s his guy,’’ said the source, referring to the Vikings coach. “He almost went (to Minnesota) last year.’’ Johnson was waived by the Bucs on Wednesday afternoon.
- New Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata says he’s open to an extension, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. “Definitely. We’re open to anything,” Ngata said. The Ravens were talking with the veteran for some time about an extension but weren’t able to get far.
- Bears GM Ryan Pace made it clear that he is looking at safeties and wide receivers in free agency, but he refused to name names, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
- The Lions are hosting quarterback Alex Carder on a visit today, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Carder was signed as a UDFA in 2013 by Detroit and has bounced around a bit in other football leagues ever since. He recently spent some time with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.
Titans Sign Da’Norris Searcy
WEDNESDAY, 3:10pm: The Titans have officially announced the signing of Searcy (via Twitter). Per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the four-year deal has a base value of $23.75MM with $10.5MM guaranteed, including a $4.5MM signing bonus.
TUESDAY, 3:50pm: A Titans source confirmed to ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter) that the deal is done. Searcy will get $24MM over four years with $10.5MM guaranteed, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
1:06pm: A source tells Anderson (Twitter link) that Searcy’s camp remains in talks with the Chiefs and Bears, in addition to the Titans.
12:48pm: A source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Searcy’s camp is still fielding calls from other teams. Since the NFL expressed its displeasure with teams reaching agreements prior to the official start of free agency, there has been plenty of push-back whenever an agreement is reported, and I’d expect that’s the case here too — I think the Titans and Searcy will ultimately finalize a deal, but it’s not official yet.
12:28pm: The deal is expected to be $24MM over four years with $10.5MM guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
11:09am: The Titans are “poised to land” Bills safety Da’Norris Searcy, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennesssean (via Twitter). While Wyatt doesn’t say that an agreement in place, it sounds like Tennessee is a good bet to officially lock up Searcy when he becomes a free agent later today.
Searcy, 26, started a career-high 13 games for the Bills in 2014, racking up 65 tackles for the club to go along with three interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The former fourth-round pick has shown a knack for coming up with big plays over the last couple years — in 2013, he scored touchdowns on an interception return and a fumble return.
Having also been linked to the Giants, Bears, Colts, Texans, Raiders and Dolphins, Searcy had no shortage of suitors over the last few days. Assuming he finalizes an agreement with the Titans, he’d replace Bernard Pollard, who was released last month.
Bears Expect Jay Cutler To Be 2015 QB
WEDNESDAY, 2:16pm: Speaking to reporters today, Pace confirmed that the team is “moving forward” with Cutler as its starting quarterback (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 6:56am: The Bears fully expect Cutler to be their quarterback for the 2015 season, and are preparing for that outcome, reports Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. A source tells Mortensen that while the Bears have been willing to listen to any inquiries involving Cutler, the team isn’t actively shopping its signal-caller.
New head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace didn’t exactly throw their full support behind Cutler at the combine, but given the quarterback’s lack of trade value at this point, it makes sense that the club would give him a vote of confidence at some point, since there simply aren’t better alternatives out there.
MONDAY, 2:22pm: The Bears are actively shopping Jay Cutler would move him for a “reasonable return,” sources tell Dan Bernstein of WSCR (via Twitter). To this point, however, Chicago has been underwhelmed by offers.
Albert Breer of NFL.com recently reported that in the aftermath of the Brandon Marshall trade, the Bears were likely to hang on to their quarterback. The Bears, he noted, have a “Cutler-friendly staff” with new offensive coordinator Adam Gase and quarterbacks coach Dowell Logains in the fold. Right now, however, Chicago sounds pretty open to moving on from Cutler.
After a season in which the 31-year-old Cutler rated as the league’s No. 32 QB per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), it was assumed by many that the club was ready to move on. Even if the Bears want to part ways with Cutler, however, his seven-year, $126.7MM extension could get in the way.
Cutler’s deal contains a fully guaranteed $38MM, which includes his 2015 salary of $15.5MM. That figure, along with the prorated portions of his signing bonus, would leave Chicago with $19.5MM in dead money if it chose to release its quarterback — keeping Cutler on the roster, however, would cost just $16.5MM. If the Bears trade him, it would reduce his 2015 dead money to just $4MM, saving Chicago $12.5MM in ’15 cap space. PFR’s Dallas Robinson recently looked at the Bears’ quarterback situation as a part of our Offseason Outlook series.
Latest On Ron Parker
Chiefs free agent safety Ron Parker is visiting with the Bears today, according to a source that spoke with Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are still in play for him, but Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter) hears that at least three other teams are also in the mix for him.
The market for safeties is really strong, Cummings adds (Twitter link), with lots of teams willing to overpay. That also might help to explain why the Bucs have held on to Dashon Goldson this offseason, despite turning in one of the worst performances of any safety in football last season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). By those same metrics, of course, Parker was only the 73rd ranked safety out of 87 qualified players.
Parker spent most of his time at strong safety last year for Kansas City, but he’s capable of moving around to different positions, including free safety.
Bears Sign Pernell McPhee
WEDNESDAY, 11:36am: The Bears have officially announced their five-year deal with McPhee (via Twitter).
MONDAY, 8:22am: A year after adding veteran defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen in free agency, the Bears are making another big splash on the open market in the hopes of improving their pass rush. According to Aaron Leming of BearReport.com (via Twitter), the team is in agreement on a five-year contract with Pernell McPhee that will be worth just under $40MM. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun has since confirmed the deal, adding that it includes nearly $16MM in guaranteed money.
McPhee, 26, has seen his stock rise since he was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round back in 2011. Although he only started six total regular season contests in Baltimore over the course of his rookie contract, McPhee developed into one of the league’s most dangerous pass rushers.
According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), the Mississippi State product racked up an impressive 64 total quarterback pressures – including 21 QB hits – in just 540 defensive snaps last season. PFF ranked McPhee second among all 3-4 outside linebackers, behind only NFL sack leader Justin Houston.
When I identified my top 50 free agents over the weekend, I listed McPhee eighth overall, suggesting that he could be this year’s Everson Griffen, who inked a five-year, $42.5MM deal last March as he made the transition from being a part-time contributor to his team’s primary pass rusher. McPhee’s deal looks like it’ll be in the same neighborhood as Griffen’s, and I’d expect the Bears intend to use him in a much larger role than the Ravens did.
The Colts had been viewed as a possible suitor for McPhee, given the Chuck Pagano connection and the team’s need for a pass rusher. Wilson tweets that Washington was also among the several teams that had interest in the four-year veteran. However, according to Wilson (via Twitter), McPhee was interested in playing for new Bears head coach John Fox, and was impressed by the Bears’ plans for him as a pass rusher.
With Vic Fangio taking over as defensive coordinator on Fox’s staff in Chicago, the Bears are transitioning from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 scheme, so McPhee should fit comfortably. Players like Houston and Allen make far more sense as 4-3 defensive ends than 3-4 outside linebackers, so the position was one the Bears needed to address this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see what other moves the team makes to accommodate Fangio’s system, and how the carryover players adjust to the new defense.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Washington Signs Stephen Paea
WEDNESDAY, 11:16am: The deal is official, according to Washington’s official Twitter.
TUESDAY, 3:27pm: It’s a done deal between Washington and Paea, a source tells Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Paea chose Washington over the Cowboys, Lions, and Bucs, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
MONDAY, 12:52pm: Paea has told people that he’ll be signing with Washington, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). It’s not clear if the two sides have agreed to terms, but it looks like they’ll finalize a deal when free agency officially opens tomorrow.
12:09pm: After releasing Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen last month, Washington has been hard at work restocking its defensive line, signing Ricky Jean-Francois and pursuing Ndamukong Suh. While the team missed out on Suh, Jen Lada of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link) is hearing that Washington is closing in on a four-year deal with another noteworthy defensive tackle, Stephen Paea.
When I ranked Paea 44th on my list of this year’s top 50 free agents, I called him an underrated presence in the middle of the Bears’ defensive line, and a solid target for teams hoping to generate an interior pass rush. Only Suh and Kyle Williams had more quarterback pressures from the defensive tackle position in 2014 than Paea’s 47, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required).
If he were to finalize a deal with Washington, Paea would likely make the transition from a 4-3 defensive tackle to a 3-4 defensive end. The Cowboys and Cardinals were also mentioned earlier this week as potential suitors with interest in the 26-year-old.