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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions Sign Tyrunn Walker

March 12th, 2015 at 8:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have agreed to a one-year contract with defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker, confirms Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. The deal is for $1.75MM, and comes with a a $750K signing bonus, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1, with a hat tip to NFL agent Sean Kiernan (via Twitter).

Walker, who turns 25 next Wednesday, played in all 16 games for the Saints in 2014, recording 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Although Walker went non-tendered by New Orleans, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the amount of interest the young lineman received from “smart personnel people” around the league this was was “staggering.”

In Detroit, Walker will be tasked with helping to fill the void on the line left by departing defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley.

Rob DiRe contributed to this post.

Contract Details: Maxwell, Murray, McPhee

March 12th, 2015 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are some key details on some of the notable contracts agreed to or signed around the NFL this week:

NFC deals:

  • Byron Maxwell, CB (Eagles): Six years, $63MM base value. $25MM fully guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of USA Today and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun).
  • DeMarco Murray, RB (Eagles): Five years, $40MM base value. $42MM max value. $18MM fully guaranteed (Twitter link via Albert Breer of the NFL Network).
  • Pernell McPhee, OLB (Bears): Five years, $38.75MM base value. $8.675MM fully guaranteed (Twitter link via Pelissero).
  • Antrel Rolle, S (Bears): Three years, $11.25MM base value. $4.9MM guaranteed. $3.9MM roster bonus in 2015 (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Tom Johnson, DT (Vikings): Three years, $7MM base value. $2.75MM guaranteed. $1.5MM roster bonus in 2015 (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Matt Prater, K (Lions): Two years, $4.55MM base value. Third-year team option for 2017 (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).

AFC deals:

North Rumors: Blalock, Rolle, Ravens

March 12th, 2015 at 10:42am CST by Zachary Links

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.

North Rumors: Bradford, Browns, Johnson

March 11th, 2015 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

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.

Rams Rumors: Blalock, Fairley, Williams

March 11th, 2015 at 2:19pm CST by Zachary Links

A quick look at the Rams..

  • Free agent guard Justin Blalock plans on visiting the Rams but the Lions are also in the mix for him, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets. The Lions and Blalock haven’t finalized their plans for a meeting, but there have been discussions, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Rams have reached out to Lions free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley but no visit has been scheduled yet, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Earlier today, we learned that the Lions will not be re-signing Fairley.
  • Giants free agent linebacker Jacquian Williams (on Twitter) says that his agent recently spoke with the Rams. Earlier this week, Williams told his Twitter followers that he has interest from five teams in total.

Lions Acquire Haloti Ngata

March 11th, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

WEDNESDAY, 1:49pm: Ngata has passed his physical and is officially a Lion, says Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 3:36pm: Detroit will receive Ngata and a seventh-round pick while sending a fourth- and fifth-round pick to Baltimore, per Schefter (Twitter link).

2:55pm: The Lions have acquired defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Ravens, Baltimore announced via Twitter. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun was the first to report the news (Twitter link). Detroit is expected to send a fourth- or fifth- round pick to the Ravens, tweets Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

Baltimore has expressed optimism that it would be able to retain the 31-year-old Ngata via some sort of contract restructure involving either an extension or a pay reduction. He had been scheduled to carry a $16MM cap charge for 2015. Now that they’ve traded him, the Ravens will only be responsible for his prorated bonus money, which comes to $7.5MM.

In landing Ngata, the Lions have found their replacement for departed free agent Ndamukong Suh, who agreed to terms with the Dolphins over the weekend. Ngata is also reuniting with Teryl Austin, Detroit’s defensive coordinator, who previously coached in Baltimore. The Lions will assume Ngata’s base salary of $8.5MM for the upcoming season. The nine-year veteran has started 133 games in his career, accruing 25.5 sacks.

Former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley is now a free agent, and it will interesting to see if Detroit’s move for Ngata will impact their pursuit of him.

East Rumors: Revis, Mariota, Washington

March 11th, 2015 at 11:51am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets had a significantly higher offer on the table for cornerback Darrelle Revis than the Patriots did, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. Howe isn’t exactly sure of what the gap was, but the Pats apparently didn’t approach the five-year, $70MM pact that includes $39MM in guaranteed cash. Howe (link) was also told that the Patriots did not give Revis permission to explore his value from the competition before the official opening of free agency on Tuesday like they did with Browner. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..

  • John Clayton of ESPN.com (on Twitter) is convinced that Washington will take quarterback Marcus Mariota if he falls to No. 5 overall.
  • Sal Paolantonio of ESPN said on 97.5 The Fanatic that relative of Nick Foles relative said the quarterback is ecstatic to no longer be a member of the Eagles, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. “I just talked to a member of Nick Foles’ family. He is absolutely pumped, overjoyed he’s out of Philly,” Paolantonio said. Foles is now a member of the Rams following Tuesday’s trade.
  • New Washington defensive lineman Stephen Paea says the Lions, Broncos, and Buccaneers were also in the mix for his services, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes.
  • When asked if the Bills ever considered cutting running back Fred Jackson, GM Doug Whaley flatly said “no,” Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Whaley also said that he does not have a framework of a deal with fullback Jerome Felton, Joe Buscaglia of WGR tweets.
  • Earlier today, we rounded up the latest on Cowboys free agent running back DeMarco Murray.

Lions Won’t Re-Sign Nick Fairley

March 11th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions appear ready to move on from Nick Fairley after telling at least two agents that they are out of the running for the defensive tackle, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. That message has been received by Fairley, who is no longer considering a return to Detroit, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Fairley is visiting the Bengals today and had interest from about six teams before free agency opened up on Tuesday afternoon, Birkett writes. Fairley was in talks with Detroit for part of Tuesday, but the two sides could not come to an agreement on terms. Birkett notes that the Lions were able to rekindle things with linebacker Stephen Tulloch in 2011 when talks were shut down in a similar fashion, but as of right now it looks like the former first round pick will be headed elsewhere.

In four seasons with the Lions, Fairley racked up 13.5 sacks. After posting a top-20 season for defensive tackles, per PFF (subscription required), he should see a healthy payday no matter where he goes.

Lions To Re-Sign Isa Abdul-Quddus

March 10th, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

7:49pm: Abdul-Quddus confirmed that he’s returning to Detroit, tweeting that he’s “very excited to be back” with the Lions.

6:53pm: After striking a deal to bring in defensive line reinforcements earlier in the day, the Lions plan to bring back a member of their secondary, as they’re finalizing a one-year deal with safety Isa Abdul-Quddus, per Paul Schrager of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Dave Birkett of Lions.com confirms the news, saying that while isn’t done yet, it’s close (Twitter link).

Abdul-Quddus isn’t a big-name player, but as Birkett notes, he’s a valuable backup and a key player on special teams, where he racked up five tackles. He did end up starting four games last season, and posted 22 total tackles on the year. The Lions originally claimed the 25-year-old off waivers from the Saints last February.

While he earned a base salary of $645K in 2014, Abdul-Quddus will probably see a slight bump through his new deal, and could perhaps approach $1MM.

North Notes: Revis, Ngata, Steelers, Packers

March 10th, 2015 at 4:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers looked into signing Darrelle Revis, but it doesn’t look like it’s possible, per Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link), who says that it’s down to the Jets and Patriots for the star corner. Revis was asking for more money than Pittsburgh could afford, tweets Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network.

Meanwhile, the Packers have emerged as a suitor for Revis, adds Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter), who lists the Jets, Pats, Packers, and a mystery team as the finalists for Revis.

Here’s more from the North divisions:

  • The Lions are expected to approach the recently-acquired Haloti Ngata about an extension, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Ngata is entering the final year of his contract.
  • The Packers had a “few discussions” with free agent defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link), but a deal isn’t likely. Green Bay has had discussions about retaining Letroy Guion and B.J. Raji, but the club could wait out the DT market.
  • Looking to retain one of the core special teams players, the Bears have interest in re-signing cornerback Sherrick McManis, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, though nothing is yet in the works.
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