Bills Sign CB Phillip Gaines
The Bills announced that they have signed cornerback Phillip Gaines. Terms of the deal are not yet known. 
Gaines spent the past three seasons with the Chiefs, operating primarily as a reserve. He did start three games in 2017, however, as Steven Nelson missed the start of the year with a core muscle injury. All in all, Gaines had 30 tackles and three pass breakups last season.
The former third-round pick was in the Chiefs’ rotation throughout the year, but he did not grade out well according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. Gaines was the league’s second-worst qualified CB, per PFF, and has not earned a positive grade since his rookie season in 2014.
With the Bills, Gaines will provide depth behind starters Vontae Davis and Tre’Davious White. It seems as though he’ll take over for Leonard Johnson, who appeared in 15 games last year for Buffalo as a nickel corner but remains unsigned.
Seahawks Meet With CB Kenneth Acker
The Seahawks are still looking to add to their revamped secondary. On Wednesday, they hosted former Chiefs cornerback Kenneth Acker for a free agent visit, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Acker, 26, spent the first two years of his career with the Niners before being traded to the Chiefs in 2016. Although he was a starter in ’15 with San Francisco, he has not been a first string player since. Acker appeared in just nine games with KC in 2016 but saw time in each of the Chiefs’ 16 regular season games in 2017, as well as their Wild Card round loss to the Titans.
Last year, Acker recorded 19 total tackles and one interception. His 210 snaps were not enough to qualify for Pro Football Focus’ rankings, but with a larger sample size, he would have ranked 91st in the NFL. Needless to say, Acker would not be in the mix for a starting job in Seattle, but he could offer help off of the bench.
As of this writing, the Seahawks’ top corners are Justin Coleman (who will likely remain with the team following a second-round tender) and Shaquil Griffin. Free agent Byron Maxwell, who quietly had a solid season in seven games with Seattle, remains unsigned.
13 Teams Watched Johnny Manziel At USD Pro Day
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel threw passes at Thursday’s University of San Diego pro day, and 14 NFL clubs were on hand to watch him perform, reports Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Bears, Browns, Chargers, Giants, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Raiders, Titans, Lions, Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers, were all present at today’s workout, per Williams. Of course, those clubs weren’t necessarily in town just to see Manziel, as USD had its own prospects on the field.
Manziel was thought to be interested in working out a deal to play in the Canadian Football League during the 2018 campaign, and was in fact offered a contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January. However, Manziel and his team reportedly weren’t pleased with the terms of the pact, and he’s now scheduled to play in the upcoming Spring League. The former first-round pick is reportedly amenable to a minimum salary or a practice squad slot.
Manziel is still only 25 years old, but he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2015 campaign. In eight career starts for the Browns, the former Heisman trophy winner completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Chiefs To Sign RB Damien Williams
The Chiefs are signing running back Damien Williams, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal for $1.5MM. Williams recently had shoulder surgery and will miss most of the offseason, but the team hopes that he’ll be available for training camp, according to Rapoport. 
The Chiefs will start Kareem Hunt at running back and they hope to have Spencer Ware as the No. 2 RB behind him. But, Williams himself is coming off of preseason surgery to repair a torn PCL and a damaged LCL. Williams will serve as insurance for Ware, but the possibility exists that neither player will be at full strength to start the year.
Williams has spent the last four seasons in the league with the Dolphins, where he was used predominantly as a pass catcher, Williams has 85 receptions for 733 yards and six touchdowns to his credit with just 133 carries for 477 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Chiefs Meet With WR Kendall Wright
Wide receiver Kendall Wright will visit with the Chiefs on Thursday, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. Wright spent last season with the Bears. 
Wright could help the Chiefs replace slot receiver Albert Wilson, who departed in free agency to sign a three-year, $24MM deal with the Dolphins. Wilson is three years Wright’s junior and may have more potential, but Wright is coming off of a stronger season, at least, in terms of stats. Wright caught 59 passes for 614 yards and one touchdown, giving him his strongest stat line since 2014.
We ranked Wright as the 15th best available wide receiver heading into free agency, but his market has been slow to develop. Now that the bigger names are off of the board, Wright may find a home.
The Chiefs lost Wilson, but they upgraded their WR group by signing Sammy Watkins to a hefty multi-year deal. They’ll also return with Tyreek Hill, who racked up nearly 1,200 receiving yards in 2017 en route to a second Pro Bowl appearance.
Chiefs, TE Benjamin Watson Discussing Deal
The Chiefs are working on a deal with veteran tight end Benjamin Watson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Watson was said to be considering retirement as recently as last week, but he is apparently ready to come back for another season. 
Watson missed the entire 2016 season due to a torn Achilles, but bounced back in 2017 as he had 61 receptions for 522 yards and four touchdowns. The 37-year-old probably can’t be relied upon as a No.1 tight end at this stage of his career, but he’s make a fine backup to Travis Kelce and give defenses a lot to think about in a two tight end set.
In other Chiefs news, Kansas City has landed former Cardinals defensive lineman Xavier Williams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/18
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: LB Ramon Humber
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LB John Timu
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Josh Keyes
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: DT Stefan Charles
Xavier Williams To Sign With Chiefs
Xavier Williams is changing teams. The Cardinals have declined to match the offer sheet on the defensive lineman, clearing the way for him to sign with the Chiefs, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. 
Williams, 26, attended Grandview High School, which is roughly 30 minutes outside of Kansas City. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent, but he eventually became a regular sub for the Cardinals. Last season, he was in the rotation as he played on about 24% of the team’s snaps. The advanced metrics indicate that he could be capable of more as he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 42 interior defender out of 122 qualified players.
The Chiefs have a pair of defensive tackles – Bennie Logan and Stefan Charles – in unrestricted free agency, so there’s a chance for Williams to compete for the top job at nose tackle. Jarvis Jenkins, who was re-signed earlier this month, figures to have the edge on that gig, however. Restricted free agent Rakeem Nunez-Roches also figures to factor into the equation after being tendered at the original-round level.
AFC Contract Details: Crabtree, Williamson
Here are figures on some of the recent contracts signed around the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless noted otherwise.
- Michael Crabtree, WR (Ravens): Three years, $21MM. $11MM guaranteed, $8MM guaranteed in 2018. $7MM signing bonus, $2.5MM performance-based incentives. $2MM roster bonus due in March 2019 (via Pelissero and NFL reporter Howard Balzer).
- Avery Williamson, LB (Jets): Three years, $22.5MM. $16MM fully guaranteed, $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $4MM, $6MM, $6.25MM, with the 2018, ’19 amounts being fully guaranteed. Cap charges: $6MM (2018), $8MM (’19), $8.5MM in 2020 (per Balzer and ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini).
- Matt Barkley, QB (Bengals): Two years, $3.35MM (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
- Preston Brown, LB (Bengals): One year, $4MM. $2MM signing bonus, $1MM workout bonus (via Rapoport and Balzer).
- Tyler Eifert, TE (Bengals): One year, $5.5MM (via Rapoport).
- Donte Moncrief, WR (Jaguars): One-year, $9.6MM. Fully guaranteed plus $2MM in incentives (via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).
- Caleb Sturgis, K (Chargers): Two years, $4.45MM. $1MM signing bonus (via Rapoport and Balzer).
- Johnson Bademosi, CB (Texans): Two years, $6.25MM. $3.25MM guaranteed, $1MM roster bonus. Fully guaranteed $1.25MM base salary in 2018, non-guaranteed $2.25M base in 2019, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Jarvis Jenkins, DL (Chiefs): One year, $880K. $500K guaranteed, $90K signing bonus (per Balzer).
- Travaris Cadet, RB (Bills): One year, $880K. $45K signing bonus, $790K base salary (via Wilson).
- Andrew DePaola, LS (Raiders): Four years, $4.27MM. $875K guaranteed, $580K roster bonus (per Balzer).
Damien Williams To Visit Chiefs
After meeting with Thomas Rawls this weekend, the Chiefs will continue to look at running backs this coming week by visiting with former Dolphins backup Damien Williams, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
The starter in K.C. is unquestionably Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie in 2017. Williams could serve as insurance in the case that Spencer Ware has not recovered from preseason surgery to repair a torn PCL and a damaged LCL.
Undrafted in 2014 coming out of Oklahoma, Williams has spent his first four seasons in the league with Miami, appearing in 58 games. Used more as a pass catcher out of the backfield than as a runner, Williams has logged 85 grabs for 733 yards and six touchdowns, compared to 133 carries for 477 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
After the Dolphins dealt Jay Ajayi to the Eagles at the trade deadline, Williams made four starts and logged 149 yards on 34 carries during the stretch. In Week 12 against the Patriots, he dislocated his shoulder and was sidelined the remainder of the season.