FA Rumors: Sanders, Tillman, Britt, Osgood
Emmanuel Sanders is a hot commodity and he has a full docket for the first week of free agency. After his visit with the Jaguars, he’s headed over to Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Here are the latest free agent rumors..
- Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that Charles Tillman is unlikely to sign with the Buccaneers. There has been a great deal of talk over the last 24 hours about Tampa Bay pairing the former Bears corner with new acquisition Alterraun Verner.
- Four or five teams have interest in free agent wide receiver Kenny Britt, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Redskins have been linked to the troubled athlete and Florio speculates that the Patriots could be interested as well.
- The 49ers want to bring back wide receiver Kassim Osgood, but they might not do so until they sign a cornerback and determine how much cap space they have left, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
- Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst is visiting the Titans on Thursday and there’s a real scenario where he could be team’s No. 2 quarterback this fall, Jim Wyatt of The Tennesseean tweets.
- Cornerback Walter Thurmond completed his visit with the Jaguars and he’s now spending time with Seahawks officials. His next stops will be Washington to visit the Redskins and Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com.
- Agent Eugene Parker tells Roy Cummings of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) that Bears free agent return man Devin Hester doesn’t have any visits scheduled yet.
AFC Rumors: Chiefs, Jordan, Raiders
The Chiefs aren’t one of the four teams that have reached out to free agent center Alex Mack, but teams are getting creative with their proposals to the Browns free agent, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Here’s a look at the latest out of the AFC..
- Donte Whitner told reporters today, including Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), that he has encouraged the Browns to look into signing Ted Ginn Jr., who would like to come to Cleveland. The Bucs are hosting the speedy return man today.
- The Patriots and Vince Wilfork have discussed an extension this offseason, but an agreement isn’t close, tweets Albert Breer of NFL Network. Talks aren’t active at the moment, but could pick up again as the Pats need additional room (link). Adrian Wilson could also potentially be cut for cap savings.
- Linebacker Dekoda Watson says he had interest from nine-ten other teams before he signed with the Jaguars, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. The Bills, Patriots, 49ers, and Browns were among the interested clubs.
- Chiefs free agent linebacker Akeem Jordan is scheduled to visit the Titans on Monday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). We heard earlier this week that Jordan has interest from half a dozen teams.
- The Falcons and Raiders had interest in Linval Joseph before he signed with the Vikings, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN. Ultimately, neither club came close to Minnesota’s offer.
- Chris Clemons‘ first visit will be to the Jaguars, tweets Terry Blount of ESPN. The Seahawks recently released the veteran defensive end.
Jaguars Sign Toby Gerhart
WEDNESDAY, 3:51pm: The Jaguars have officially signed Gerhart, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.
TUESDAY, 8:28pm: The Jaguars have agreed to sign running back Toby Gerhart, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union. Gerhart received a three-year deal worth $10.5MM with $4.5MM in guaranteed money, reports Ian Rapaport of NFL.com in a tweet.
It was expected for Gerhart to leave in free agency, but it may be a surprise that he was worth so much on the open market. It is reminiscent of the contract Shonn Greene signed a year ago to become Chris Johnson‘s backup, money that looks too big in retrospect, and seemed large at the time. The Jaguars had a lot of cap space to work with, but they must plan to give Gerhart a chance to carry the ball at those figures.
WR Rumors: Sanders, Edelman, Tate
Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and defensive lineman Ziggy Hood are in town visiting the Jaguars, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union. However, Sanders has other visits scheduled this week, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter) and Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) adds that the Jets are still a possibility.
- Sanders is set to visit with the Buccaneers following his visit with the Jaguars today, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
- The Ravens remain quite interested in free agent wide receiver Julian Edelman, tweets La Canfora. Meanwhile, the Patriots want him back and other teams are also in the mix.
- Golden Tate said the Jaguars, Jets, and the incumbent Seahawks were also interested in his services, tweets Mike Rothstein of ESPN. The former Seattle receiver landed with the Lions earlier today.
Contract Details: Verner, Griffen, Mitchell
As part of the 4-year, $26.5MM contract Alterraun Verner will sign with the Buccaneers, $1MM of the total value comes as a Pro Bowl incentive, tweets Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. Here are the latest contract details from around the NFL..
- Everson Griffen‘s $19.8MM of guaranteed money in his new deal with the Vikings comes from a $6MM signing bonus and fully guaranteed $6.9MM base salaries in 2014 and 2015, tweets Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. Griffen has a $8.2MM cap number in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 and his cap number rises to $9.7MM in 2018, Corry tweets.If the Vikings cut Griffen after the 2015 season, they owe him nothing and take just a $3.6M cap hit, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
- Michael Mitchell‘s five-year, $25MM deal with the Steelers calls for him to earn $6MM in the first year followed by a $2MM roster bonus due on the fifth day of 2015 league year, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
- Toby Gerhart gets a $3MM roster bonus and $1MM base in the first year of his three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Jaguars, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. He also has a $500K roster bonus guaranteed for skill/injury in ’15.
- Tyson Jackson gets $9.5MM in first year of his five-year, $25MM pact from the Falcons, Pelissero tweets. He has another $1.5MM in 2015 guaranteed for injury only until next year. Jackson has $11MM guaranteed in total with an $8MM signing bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- Wilson (on Twitter) has the goods on Darrell Stuckey‘s deal with the Chargers. It’s a four year, $7.6MM deal with $1.735MM guaranteed and salaries of $730K, $1MM, $1.235MM, and $2.9MM.
- Earl Mitchell‘s deal with the Dolphins is as follows, according to Wilson (Twitter link): It’s a four-year, $19MM with $8MM guaranteed and a $2MM bonus. The salaries are $3MM, $4MM, $2.975MM, and $3.975MM .
- In the Chiefs‘ two-year deal for Husain Abdullah, he’ll get $2.27MM in total with a $750K signing bonus, Wilson tweets. His salaries are $725K in 2014 and $745K in 2015.
- Andre Roberts‘ four-year contract with the Redskins includes a $4MM signing bonus, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. He’ll count $2.25MM against the cap in 2014.
Contract Details: Whitner, Jenkins, Blackmon
The latest particulars from various contracts signed today..
- Donte Whitner‘s four-year, $28MM deal with the Browns includes $11MM fully guaranteed in 2014, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
- Malcolm Jenkins‘ three-year deal with the Eagles is worth $15.5MM, Pelissero tweets. He gets $6MM fully guaranteed in 2014, plus $2.5MM of the $4MM base in ’15 now guaranteed for injury.
- Will Blackmon‘s two-year, $1.725MM deal with the Jaguars included $500K guaranteed, Pelissero tweets. He earn up to $250K with playing time in ’14 and ’15.
- Zane Beadles‘ five-year, $30MM deal with the Jaguars has $12.5MM in guaranteed money, Pelissero tweets. He’s scheduled to get roster bonuses of $4.5MM in ’14 and $2MM in ’15 is guaranteed for skill/injury.
AFC North Rumors: Gerhart, Nwaneri, Sanders
Three teams are showing interest in free agent running back Toby Gerhart, including the Browns, a source tells Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Niners and Jaguars are also in the mix. The latest from the AFC North..
- Uche Nwaneri is visiting the Bengals this Thursday, reports Tania Ganguli os ESPN.com (via Twitter). Nwaneri was released by the Jaguars earlier this week.
- The Ravens really like Emmanuel Sanders, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). They have not reached out to him yet, but would love to steal him away from their division rivals if the price is right.
- The Steelers want to bring back Jerricho Cotchery, writes Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). The team has reached out to the veteran wide receiver, but no deal has been struck yet.
Rob DiRe contributed to this post.
Florida Rumors: Tillman, Watson, Young
The latest from the Sunshine State..
- Bears free agent cornerback Charles Tillman is visiting the Buccaneers, a source tells ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It’s possible that they could be eyeing Tillman as a Darrelle Revis replacement.
- Linebacker Dekoda Watson is on the Dolphins‘ radar, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Nothing is imminent, however.
- Seahawks free agent cornerback Walter Thurmond is visiting the Jaguars in the next 24 hours, Schefter tweets.
- Lions free agent Willie Young is also visiting the Jaguars, Schefter tweets.
- The Jaguars have a visit lined up with Watson, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Thurmond also has a visit lined up with the Buccaneers.
- If Watson doesn’t land with the Jaguars, he’ll visit the Bills, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. But, Jacksonville could be his first and last visit.
- The Buccaneers are active in free agency, and are meeting with linebacker Dane Fletcher tonight, says Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Tampa Bay is also meeting with center Evan Dietrich-Smith, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter).
Jaguars Re-Sign Will Blackmon
Will Blackmon signed a two-year deal to remain with the Jaguars in 2014, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Blackmon came to the Jaguars last season after playing sparingly in his first six seasons with the Packers and Giants. He started eight games for the Jaguars in 2013.
Jaguars To Sign Zane Beadles
The Jaguars have bolstered their offensive line by signing Zane Beadles to a five-year, $30MM deal, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Adam Schefter on Twitter). The deal gives Beadles $13MM guaranteed in total.