RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at second-round level:
- Falcons: G Ben Garland (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (via John Oehser of Jaguars.com, on Twitter)
- Redskins: T Ty Nsekhe (via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
- Titans: G Quinton Spain (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky)
- Vikings: G/C Nick Easton (per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bears: CB Bryce Callahan, WR Cameron Meredith, WR Josh Bellamy (via Rich Campbell and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, all Twitter links)
Non-Tendered:
- Broncos: WR Bennie Fowler (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter)
- Packers: P Jake Schum (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- 49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (per Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler, on Twitter)
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, WR Jordan Taylor, LB Zaire Anderson, T Elijah Wilkinson, LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams, LB Joseph Jones (Jhabvala reports, Twitter links)
- Giants: G Jon Halapio (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, on Twitter)
- Jaguars: TE Ben Koyack, OL William Poehls (Twitter links, via Oehser)
- Packers: WR Michael Clark, OL Justin McCray, CB Donatello Brown (all Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com and Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Raiders: K Giorgio Tavecchio, LB Shilique Calhoun (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com)
- Rams: RB Malcolm Brown, CB Troy Hill (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-Tendered:
- Bears: LS Patrick Scales (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter)
- Cardinals: TE Ifeanyi Momah (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic)
Packers Interested In Jimmy Graham
The Packers have reached out to the representatives for tight end Jimmy Graham, according to Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Graham is one of the best tight ends available in this year’s free agent crop and is PFR’s No. 2 ranked player at the position.
The Packers tried to upgrade at tight end last offseason by signing Martellus Bennett to a free agent contract. That deal quickly went sideways, but the Packers remain determined to find a quality red zone threat for Aaron Rodgers at tight end.
Graham was the league’s highest-paid tight end over the last four years with average annual salary of $10MM. He’s not quite the same player that he was in New Orleans, but he’ll also cost a lot less for any team that signs him.
The Saints are said to have interest in a reunion with Graham, but the Packers also profile as a contender and should be of interest to the veteran.
Packers Monitoring CB Market
- The Bears placing their transition tag on Kyle Fuller may not dissuade teams from inquiring about the corner. JLC hears from multiple execs the fifth-year cornerback could be in line to see an offer sheet. However, Chicago holds $50MM in cap space and would seemingly be an obvious threat to match an offer that comes Fuller’s way. La Canfora reports the Packers, Titans, Buccaneers and Texans are doing extensive work researching the cornerback market. With Fuller tagged, Trumaine Johnson and Malcolm Butler are the prizes currently unattached.
- Muhammad Wilkerson will make his fourth visit on Monday, meeting with the Redskins, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). One of the top defensive UFAs available, the eighth-year defensive lineman has already visited the Packers, Saints and Chiefs.
49ers To Meet With Richard Sherman
Could Richard Sherman be joining another NFC West team? It sounds like he’s at least considering the idea, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the veteran cornerback is set to meet with 49ers officials today.
San Francisco wants to confirm that Sherman is recovering from his Achilles injuries, and if everything goes well, the two sides will “try to get a contract done.” In another tweet, Schefter says there’s a good chance that this is Sherman’s only visit. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says (via Twitter) Sherman’s apparent interest in the 49ers makes sense. The cornerback has “a strong affinity for the West Coast,” and he’s already familiar with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh‘s scheme.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports (via Twitter) that Sherman has received “preliminary interest” from a list of additional teams: the Lions, Titans, Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers, and Packers.
Sherman’s seven-year tenure with the Seahawks came to an end yesterday, as the team released the defensive back with a failed physical designation. The veteran is still rehabbing from surgery to fix a torn Achilles and remove a bone spur, but he expects to be ready by June. The three-time First-Team All-Pro was relatively productive in nine games last season, compiling 35 tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defended.
Reaction To Browns Trades
In a span of less than two hours on Friday, the Browns completely retooled their offense and added a piece to their secondary by acquiring Jarvis Landry, Tyrod Taylor and Damarious Randall from the Dolphins, Bills and Packers respectively.
The flurry of moves drastically improves the teams offense and provides a veteran stopgap quarterback — assuming no longterm deal is made — that can bridge to the signal-caller the team is presumably going to tab with one of its two first-round picks.
Leaving Cleveland was 2017 second-round pick DeShone Kizer, who was sent to Green Bay in the Randall deal. The teams also agreed to swap fourth- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft. For Landry, the Browns only parted with a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 123) and 2019 seventh-round selection. In the Taylor deal, Cleveland sent one of its third-round picks (No. 65) in exchange for the turnover-averse passer.
These deals can not be officially completed until Wednesday, the first day of the 2018 season.
Here’s more on Cleveland’s busy day:
- The Browns do not have a long-term deal in place for Landry at the moment but both sides are interested, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets. Jackson also notes (Twitter link) that Landry likes the situation in Cleveland and is excited to work with new offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
- Sticking with Landry, the Ravens, Titans and Jets were all involved in talks for the receiver late this week before the Browns landed him, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. The Ravens were widely reported as suitors for the dynamic slot receiver, but both the Jets and Titans flew under the radar.
- ESPN’s Pat McManamon believes the trade of Kizer and the acquisition of Taylor emphasizes the Browns believe in one of the quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. He writes the plan is for Taylor to hold the spot in 2018 and let the drafted passer take the role in 2019.
- Several other teams were interested in adding Taylor, including the Cardinals and Broncos, the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci reports (Twitter link). Both teams were not willing to meet the Browns’ offer of a third-round pick. Kent Somers of AZ Central Sports, however, hears that the Cardinals were not involved in talks for the quarterback (Twitter link).
- Heavily linked with Cleveland due to his ties with head coach Hue Jackson, A.J. McCarron will have to find a new suitor. ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link) noted the obvious candidates — Arizona, Denver and now Buffalo — as potential landing spots for the former Alabama signal-caller.
Browns Deal Kizer For Damarious Randall
In the deal that sent 2015 first-round cornerback Damarious Randall to the Browns, the Packers received in return quarterback DeShone Kizer, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network tweets. 
In addition to Randall and Kizer, the teams agreed to swap picks in the fourth and fifth rounds, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
A second-round selection in 2017, Kizer started 15 games with Browns as a rookie and did not win a game, posting just 11 touchdowns with a league-leading 22 interceptions. The writing appeared on the wall that the Notre Dame product was not in the Browns’ future plans after the team swung a deal for Tyrod Taylor on Friday. Just moments later, the team was able to find Kizer a new home in the Randall deal.
Boasting prototypical size and a cannon for an arm, Kizer entered the 2017 NFL Draft as a potential franchise signal-caller who could go in the first round. With the move to Green Bay, he will be able to learn the ropes from one of the best in the business in Aaron Rodgers while battling Brett Hundley, who has one year remaining on his rookie deal, for backup duties.
With the deal, the Packers cleared $1.4 MM in cap space. The Browns will have a fifth-year option on the cornerback they will have to declare by May 3, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein reports (Twitter link).
A first-round selection (No. 30 overall) in 2015, Randall has appeared in 39 games with 30 starts in Green Bay and has made 10 interceptions. In 2017, the cornerback registered four interceptions and returned one for a touchdown in 12 starts.
The trade can be made official as early as Wednesday.
[RELATED: Browns Depth Chart]
Browns Trade For Packers CB Damarious Randall
Before the dust is settled from one deal, the Browns move on to the next. Just minutes after executing a trade for Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the team was at it again by striking a deal for Packers cornerback Damarious Randall, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
Details of what the Browns were sending back to the Packers were not immediately available. With the deal, the Packers cleared $1.4 MM in cap space. The Browns will have a fifth-year option on the cornerback they will have to declare by May 3, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein reports (Twitter link).
A first-round selection (No. 30 overall) in 2015, Randall has appeared in 39 games with 30 starts in Green Bay and has made 10 interceptions. In 2017, the cornerback registered four interceptions and returned one for a touchdown in 12 starts.
Packers CB Demetri Goodson Will Not Be UFA
The contract for Packers cornerback Demetri Goodson has tolled, meaning he will not be an unrestricted free agent in 2018, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Michael Cohen tweets.
As Cohen notes, a contract tolls when a player in the last year of his deal is on the physically unable to perform list past the sixth game of the season. The contract is pushed back a year, giving the team an extra year of control.
The 2014 sixth-round selection missed the entire 2017 season recovering from tearing both his ACL and MCL vs. the Redskins in 2016. Goodson returned to practice in November but did not see the field.
Before the injury, Goodson made three starts in six games in 2016. During his career, the Baylor product has appeared in 26 and registered 25 tackles.
Muhammad Wilkerson To Visit Saints, Chiefs
Muhammad Wilkerson wrapped up his visit with the Packers and intends to see what other teams have to offer.
While the Packers are not believed to be out of the running, Wilkerson will now head south and meet with the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
And Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets the Chiefs will be next on the defensive end’s itinerary, adding that Wilkerson is not yet in the negotiating stage of his process yet.
Wilkerson’s Packers two-day summit went “very well,” according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The veteran defensive lineman’s agent told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky the plan all along was to gauge interest from multiple teams. Part of the Packers’ intentions during Wilkerson’s Wisconsin trek was determining if he’d be comfortable in the league’s smallest market, Silverstein tweets, adding the Packers are now expected to move to the financial component of this process.
The Saints would make for an interesting fit. Wilkerson has played as a 3-4 defensive end throughout his career, and New Orleans saw an improvement last season while lining up in a 4-3 scheme. However, with nickel packages having replaced base sets as the new predominant look, it might not represent that much of a change for the eighth-year player.
Kansas City, though, does use a 3-4 scheme and has a need for front-seven assistance. The team has emerging dynamo Chris Jones at one defensive end spot and possible cap casualty Allen Bailey at the other. Wilkerson would likely represent an upgrade on Bailey but would almost certainly cost more as well — especially if this is now a race involving several teams. Like the Packers, who just hired Mike Pettine as DC, the Chiefs have a former Jets assistant in that role in Bob Sutton. The sixth-year K.C. DC was a senior defensive assistant during Wilkerson’s first two years.
Saints DC Dennis Allen doesn’t have a Jets tie, but the improving team has defensive-front space available alongside Cameron Jordan and Sheldon Rankins.
None of these three early contenders are projected to be among the league’s top cap-space franchises this year, so there doesn’t appear to be a distinct advantage in this pursuit compared to competitions for other high-profile free agents.
Wilkerson was one of the best defenders in football over a stretch during the early and middle part of this decade, but after breaking his leg in Week 17 of the 2015 season, he hasn’t been quite the same. Trouble with Jets coaches followed, and Gang Green had to abandon another big Mike Maccagnan-era contract.
Packers To Meet With Muhammad Wilkerson
Muhammad Wilkerson will take his first free agent with the Packers on Wednesday, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter) hears. Wilkerson was formally released by the Jets on Monday, freeing him up to meet with interested clubs.
Wilkerson was once one of the league’s most imposing defensive ends before he imploded in New York. Green Bay apparently believes that new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine – who overlapped with Wilkerson in New York in 2011 and 2012 – can help get him back on track.
Before signing an ill-fated five-year, $86MM extension with Gang Green, Wilkerson enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2015, racking up a career-high 12 sacks and forcing three fumbles, to go along with 64 tackles. Wilkerson’s work ethic dropped off significantly after he cashed in and he was late to team functions on a number of occasions, but the Temple product still harbors serious talent.
The Packers and other teams will be drawn to Wilkerson due to his ability and the dearth of quality defensive linemen on this year’s market. There’s also another major plus to Wilkerson for Green Bay – because he is being released by the Jets, he would not count against the Packers’ compensatory pick formula.