Ricky Jean-Francois To Visit Packers
Free agent defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois‘ next meeting will be with the Packers, as Jean-Francois himself tweets. The visit will take place on Wednesday, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Jean-Francois, 30, played in 32 games (eight starts) with the Redskins over the past two seasons. Last year, he saw action on roughly 40% of the club’s defensive snaps, racking up 32 tackles and 1.5 sacks in that span.
The Packers have expressed interest in Jean-Francois in the past, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). RJF would help Green Bay account for the loss of Datone Jones, who signed with the division rival Vikings, and Letroy Guion, who is suspended for the first four games of the 2017 campaign.
Jean-Francois ranks as PFR’s No. 5 free agent interior defender still on the board. Since being released by Washington, Jean-Francois has visited the Seahawks and Bears.
Packers Give Kendricks Two-Year Deal
The Packers made a rare foray into the non-street free agent portion of the offseason waters by signing Martellus Bennett. That move figures to pay off, in the eyes of some anonymous NFL personnel men.
- Lance Kendricks‘ two-year Packers accord will be worth $4MM, with $1.2MM guaranteed, per McGinn. This could prove to be a value-re-establishing pact for Kendricks, who saw the Rams get out of a four-year, $18.5MM deal by cutting him.
Davon House Contract Details
- New Packers cornerback Davon House agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.8MM, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. House, now in his second go-round with Green Bay, will earn $850K guaranteed (all signing bonus) and has a base salary of $1.5MM. Meanwhile, another $350K in per-game roster bonuses and $150K in workout bonuses are also available.
Packers Re-Sign Jordan Tripp, Joe Kerridge
- After originally non-tendering him as a restricted free agent, the Packers have re-signed linebacker Jordan Tripp, reports Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com (Twitter link). Green Bay picked up Tripp, 25, last December after he was waived by Seattle, and he ultimately appeared in the final two games of the season for the club. The lowest restricted free agent tender is worth $1.797MM, so Tripp presumably re-signed for a figure cheaper than that total.
- The Packers have also re-signed exclusive rights free agent fullback Joe Kerridge, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Kerridge, 24, appeared in eight games last season, but was most a special teams player, as he only rushed a single time.
Packers Re-Sign Jayrone Elliott
- After originally non-tendering him as a restricted free agent, the Packers have re-signed linebacker Jayrone Elliott to a one-year, $1.6MM deal, according to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link) and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The original round tender is worth $1.797MM, so Green Bay will retain Elliott — who played on 40% of the club’s special teams snaps in 2016 — at a slightly cheaper rate. Before re-signing with the Packers, Elliott took free agent visits with the Bills and Steelers.
Packers To Sign CB Davon House
Cornerback Davon House has agreed to one-year deal with the Packers, according to a source who spoke with Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The deal brings House back home to where his NFL career started. 
The timing of the House agreement might not be coincidental. Minutes ago, the Packers lost running back Eddie Lacy to the Seahawks. A reunion with House may take some of the sting out of the Lacy defection for some Packers fans (other Packers fans, meanwhile, are rolling their eyes as they read this).
The 27-year-old (28 in July) shined in a reserve role while with the Packers. When he first joined Jacksonville, he ascended to a larger role and started in all 16 games. Then, in 2016, he was demoted to the bench as Jalen Ramsey and Prince Amukamara held down the top spots.
After finishing near the bottom in passing yards allowed last season, House could give the Packers secondary some badly-needed reinforcements.
NFC West Rumors: Lang, Ware, 49ers, Rams
T.J. Lang saw the Lions change his mind at the last minute and possibly changing the fortunes of the team that beat Detroit in the wild-card round. The ninth-year guard was “99 percent” sure he was going to sign with the Seahawks after the sides’ Saturday summit. But the Lions improved their offer and ended up signing the Michigan native to a three-year, $28.5MM deal.
“I didn’t know Detroit was coming back with a counter-offer,” Lang said in an interview with 97.1-FM (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “When I left Seattle I was about 99 percent sure I was flying back there to sign a contract and Detroit stepped up and things changed pretty quick.”
Lang’s former team did not offer him as much as the Lions did. The Packers proposed a three-year deal worth $21.5MM. While the Lions pact includes $19MM in guarantees, the Packers’ offer housed just $6.5MM guaranteed. Opining on the Packers’ usual free agency-phobic tendencies, Lang said Green Bay’s offer made this decision easier.
“I think just throughout the years they were able to get some guys back in town because they used the whole, we’re good, we’re competitive, we compete for championships every year. Do you want to play with the best quarterback in the NFL-type thing, you’re going to have to take a little less money, and I think it just kind of wore some guys out the last couple years and watching guys leave,” Lang said during the radio interview.
Here’s more from the NFC West.
- DeMarcus Ware‘s Rams visit did include discussions with Wade Phillips and new HC Sean McVay, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. But he adds the sides did not get into serious talks about the now-retired pass-rusher joining the Rams.
- UFA tackle Byron Bell visited the 49ers this weekend, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. He did not play during the 2016 after dislocating his ankle on the first day of Titans OTAs last summer. Bell proved versatile for the 2015 Titans, however, starting 16 games but at three different spots — eight at right tackle, seven at left guard and one at left tackle. The 28-year-old Bell has been a career-long starter, serving as the Panthers’ primary left tackle from 2011-14.
- Kyle Juszczyk received an even better offer than the fullback-record deal (four years, $21MM) he signed with the 49ers, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports. The fifth-year fullback’s agent told King one team would have paid Juszczyk more than what the 49ers offered. The Bills, Browns, Eagles and Jets were also in on this competition.
- The Seahawks‘ Jared Cook visit will create questions regarding Jimmy Graham‘s long-term spot with the team, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Graham is already 30, having turned 25 during his rookie year. However, Cook is less than six months younger. Graham will be a UFA in 2018, and the Seahawks have potential third contracts for Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor to consider. Both have observed other safeties surpass their second Seattle contracts in terms of value in recent years. Pete Carroll said at the Combine there is no reason to doubt Graham’s status on the 2017 Seahawks. He will count $10MM against Seattle’s cap this year.
- Jarvis Jones‘ Rams visit will occur Tuesday, per Gonzalez. The Rams signed their most recent visitor, cornerback Kayvon Webster, on Monday night.
Packers Notes: Lacy, Lang, Spriggs
Although Eddie Lacy said last month the Packers were pushing to re-sign him, they’re reportedly not offering him much money, tweets Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who notes Green Bay will likely stand by its initial proposal. Lacy, 26, is scheduled to to take free agent visits with both the Vikings and Seahawks. The running back market as a whole has been incredibly slow to develop, as only one back on PFR’s top 10 list of free agent RBs has signed (Danny Woodhead).
- If Lacy expects the Packers to change their tune, he may want to look at the example of right guard T.J. Lang, who today signed a three-year deal to join the division-rival Lions. Green Bay didn’t make a competitive offer, as their final proposal was $21.5MM over three years with $6.5MM guaranteed, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Instead, Lang will earn $28.5MM and $19MM in guarantees over the same three-year term with Detroit. Lang would have re-signed with the Packers if the offer was close, reports Demovsky.
- The Packers may not have an obvious internal candidate to replace Lang, as Demovsky details. 2016 second-round pick Jason Spriggs slid inside to guard for a few games last season, but he’s more likely to stay at tackle long-term, leaving Don Barclay, Lucas Patrick, and Kyle Murphy as other option to take over for Lang. While Green Bay could look to add a veteran on the cheap, the club will most likely use the draft to find a new interior lineman, per Demovsky.
T.J. Lang Down To Packers, Lions, Seahawks
Appearing on WXYZ-TV in Detroit today, free agent guard T.J. Lang said he’s narrowed his potential landing spots to the Packers, Lions, and Seahawks, tweets Brad Galli of WXYZ. Lang added he hopes to make a final decision by today.
The best guard remaining on the market, Lang may be in a position to garner as much as $10MM per year, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports recently reported. Green Bay has interest in retaining Lang, while the 29-year-old has already completed visits with Detroit and Seattle. The Seahawks fielded one of the worst (and cheapest) offensive lines in the league in 2016, and have added only Luke Joeckel thus far, while the Lions are searching for a Larry Warford replacement,
Lang, a former fourth-round selection, has spent the past eight seasons in Green Bay, having already agreed to one extension with the club back in 2012. A full-time starter since his third year in the league, Lang has appeared in 119 games (94 starts) during his Packers tenure. In 2016, Lang graded as the No. 8 guard in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Falcons also expressed interest in Lang at one point, but as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reported yesterday, Atlanta no longer believes it’s in the mix for Lang’s third contract. Additionally, Lang had a visit scheduled with the Broncos, but that did not end up materializing after Denver signed Ronald Leary to a four-year deal on the first day of free agency.
Packers To Sign Lance Kendricks
The Packers have agreed to sign free agent tight end Lance Kendricks, according to Adam Schefter and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Green Bay has now added two tight ends in two days, as the club inked Martellus Bennett to a three-year pact on Friday. Kendricks, 29, should slot in behind Bennett as the Packers’ No. 2 tight end, joining a position group that also includes Richard Rodgers. But don’t worry, Ted Thompson: Kendricks was released by the Rams this week, so he won’t count against the compensatory pick formula.
Kendricks was in the midst of a contract that was supposed to pay him $18.5MM over four years. Instead, the Rams got out of the deal two years early. Kendricks had a career-high 50 receptions last year for 499 yards and two scores in 2016, but the new regime didn’t feel he was worth keeping.
A Milwaukee native who played collegiately at Wisconsin, Kendricks is now experiencing something of a homecoming.