Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Claimed off waivers (from Cowboys): OT William Sweet
Chicago Bears
- Signed: G/C Adam Redmond
- Waived: G Gage Cervenka
New England Patriots
- Signed: LS Wes Farnsworth
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: K Jake Verity
- Waived: LS Brian Khoury
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Julian Stanford
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: OL William Sweet
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed (from Vikings): WR Austin Proehl
New England Patriots
- Waived: OL Najee Toran
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Alex Hoffman
- Re-signed: S Eric Burrell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OT Casey Tucker
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Cardinals): S Chris Miller
The Patriots are re-signing a familiar face. New England is signing veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Jim McBride of the Boston Globe was first with the news (on Twitter).
Hoyer has had three stints with the Patriots throughout his 12-year career, earning a Super Bowl ring as Tom Brady‘s backup in 2018. Following a one-year stint with the Colts in 2019, Hoyer re-joined the Patriots last offseason following Brady’s defection to Tampa Bay. Hoyer ended up starting a single game for New England, completing 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 130 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a fumble. The veteran didn’t end up seeing the field again following that Week 4 loss to the Chiefs.
This offseason, Hoyer was briefly mentioned as a potential option for the Jets as a backup, but he’ll instead be heading back to New England. The team’s depth chart looks a bit different in 2021. The team used the 15th-overall pick on Mac Jones, and the rookie is expected to compete with 2020 starter Cam Newton for the starting gig. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets, Newton could serve as Jones’ competition while Hoyer could serve an important role as Jones’ mentor.
This signing is probably bad news for Jarrett Stidham. Following Brady’s decision to join Tampa Bay last offseason, there were some whispers that the 2019 fourth-round pick could end up inheriting the starting job. Instead, Stidham started a whopping zero games, although he did complete 50-percent of his passes for 256 yards, two scores, and three interceptions in limited snaps.
Four years ago today, the Eagles made a signing that ended up having a huge impact on their Super Bowl LII victory. On May 17, 2017, Philly added veteran LeGarrette Blount to their running back corps.
Blount was actually coming off a 2016 campaign where he led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns. However, he finished with only 3.9 yards per attempt, and during the Patriots run to a championship, the veteran ceded carries to pass-catching backs like Dion Lewis and James White. With the veteran eyeing his age-31 season, Blount remained unsigned through the 2017 draft.
Predictably, the Patriots saw this as an opportunity to pull off some transaction tomfoolery. By this point of the 2017 offseason, free agent signings no longer impacted the compensatory pick formula. However, New England slapped Blount with the rare May 9 Tender; the tender was worth 110% of his total pay in 2016, it gave the Patriots exclusive negotiating rights starting in late July, and (most importantly) Blount’s signing would still could toward the compensatory pick formula. This move surely deterred some suitors from making a move for Blount, as signing Blount would negatively impact their chances at an extra draft pick.
This wasn’t a concern to the Eagles. On May 17th, 2017, the Eagles inked Blount to a one-year deal worth up to $2.8MM. While Philly never fully committed to Blount as their starting running back throughout the regular season, the veteran still led the squad with 766 rushing yards (his 816 yards from scrimmage also ranked second on the team behind Zach Ertz). Blount really showed his worth during the postseason; the running back found the end zone in each of the Eagles’ three wins, and he had 90 yards on only 14 carries in a Super Bowl win over the Patriots.
Even though Blount didn’t end up sticking around Philadelphia, the move was still a clear win for the Eagles. While the Patriots lost the big game against their former player, there was some silver lining; New England ultimately got their compensatory pick, a selection that was ultimately included in a trade for offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.
Four years ago today, this move was probably seen as a standard post-draft veteran signing. Instead, it was a move that had a major influence on that year’s championship.
The Patriots are set to sign guard Alex Redmond (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). In addition, the Pats have also re-signed center James Ferentz, as ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss tweets. 
Redmond worked out for the Patriots last week, alongside fellow ex-Bengal Dre Kirkpatrick. The cornerback remains a free agent, but Redmond is now in the fold to provide depth on the offensive line. Redmond, 26, first joined Cincy as a UDFA in 2016. In 2018, he found his way to the starting lineup and was first-string for 15 games. Over the last two seasons, he’s made nine starts. Barring an injury, he’ll likely act as a reserve in New England behind Shaq Mason and Michael Onwenu.
Ferentz is the son of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, a friend of Bill Belichick‘s. Still, the younger Ferentz has earned his playing time, seeing 24 games over the last three years. Previous to that, Ferentz spent time with the Texans and Broncos.
- James White ended up back with the Patriots on a one-year, $2.5MM deal after testing the free agent waters, and it sounds like he was anticipating a bit more. After hearing White talk to the media this week, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes that it “seems fair to say free agency didn’t unfold the way he might have envisioned.” In describing his “soft market,” Reiss says White highlighted the league’s salary cap crunch as a result of COVID-19. He adds it “sounded like that was the best offer,” the pass-catching specialist received, so he didn’t take any discount to play for Bill Belichick again.
May 16: No deals are imminent with either player, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The tryouts just appeared to be a matter of due diligence, and Redmond has another visit lined up with a different club later this week.
May 13: Bill Belichick could be making a significant addition to his secondary. The Patriots are hosting free agent cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick on a visit today, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). New England also worked out guard Alex Redmond on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.
This is the first known interest we’ve heard of in Kirkpatrick this offseason, which is somewhat surprising considering he’s been a full-time starter the past handful of years. The Alabama product was originally drafted 17th overall by the Bengals back in 2012. He proceeded to spend the first eight years of his career in Cincinnati before signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals last offseason.
Kirkpatrick appeared in 14 games with Arizona last year, making 11 starts. He finished with 56 tackles, seven passes defended, and three interceptions. The Pats don’t currently have a ton at cornerback beyond Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, and Jonathan Jones. There were trade rumors about Gilmore earlier this offseason, and if he got dealt then they’d certainly need an experienced corner like Kirkpatrick.
Redmond is another ex-Bengal, an UDFA who signed with Cincy in 2016. He started 15 games for the Bengals in 2018, and then nine over the past two seasons. The UCLA product turned 26 in January and would be decent interior line depth behind guards Shaq Mason and Michael Onwenu.
We’ll keep track of today’s lower round signings here:
Baltimore Ravens
- WR Tylan Wallace (fourth round; Oklahoma State)
Detroit Lions
- RB Jermar Jefferson (seventh round; Oregon State)
New England Patriots
- LB Cameron McGrone (fifth round, Michigan)
Seattle Seahawks
- OT Stone Forsythe (sixth round, Florida)
Today’s late round signings:
Buffalo Bills
- G Jack Anderson (seventh-round; Texas Tech), OL Tommy Doyle (fifth-round; Miami Ohio), WR Marquez Stevenson (sixth-round; Houston), CB Rachad Wildgoose (sixth-round; Wisconsin)
Carolina Panthers
- DT Daviyon Nixon (fifth-round; Iowa), CB Keith Taylor (fifth-round; Washington), OL Deonte Brown (sixth-round; Alabama), Thomas Fletcher (sixth-round; Alabama), WR Shi Smith (sixth-round; South Carolina), DT Phil Hoskins (seventh-round; Kentucky)
Cleveland Browns
- RB Demetric Felton (sixth round; UCLA), LB Tony Fields II (fifth-round; West Virginia), S Richard LeCounte (fifth round; Georgia)
Dallas Cowboys
- DT Quinton Bohanna (sixth round; Kentucky) WR Simi Fehoko (fifth round; Stanford), OL Matt Farniok (seventh-round; Nebraska), DB Israel Mukuamu (sixth-round; South Carolina)
Denver Broncos
- S Jamar Johnson (fifth round; Indiana), DL Marquiss Spencer (seventh round; Mississippi State)
Detroit Lions
- DT Alim McNeill (third round; North Carolina State)
Green Bay Packers
- OL Cole Van Lanen (sixth-round; Wisconsin), RB Kylin Hill (seventh-round; Mississippi State)
Kansas City Chiefs
- DE Joshua Kaindoh (fourth-round; Florida State), WR Cornell Powell (fifth-round; Clemson), TE Noah Gray (fifth-round; Duke), OL Trey Smith (sixth-round; Tennessee)
Los Angeles Chargers
- OL Brenden Jaimes (fifth-round; Nebraska)
Miami Dolphins
- OL Larnel Coleman (seventh-round; UMass), RB Gerrid Doaks (seventh-round; Cincinnati)
Minnesota Vikings
- WR/KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette (fifth-round; Iowa), DL Jaylen Twyman (sixth-round; Pittsburgh), TE Zach Davidson (fifth-round; Central Missouri
New England Patriots
- S Joshuah Bledsoe (sixth-round; Missouri)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Jaylon Moore (fifth-round; Western Michigan), CB Deommodore Lenoir (fifth-round; Oregon), S Talanoa Hufanga (fifth-round; USC), RB Elijah Mitchell (sixth-round; Louisiana)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LB K.J. Britt (fifth-round; Auburn), CB Chris Wilcox (seventh-round; BYU), LB Grant Stuard (seventh-round; Houston)
Washington Football Team
- CB Benjamin St-Juste (third-round; Minnesota), S Darrick Forrest (fifth-round; Cincinnati), DE Shaka Toney (seventh-round; Penn State)
We’ll keep track of today’s late-round signings here:
Denver Broncos
- S Caden Sterns (fifth round; Texas)
New England Patriots
- OL William Sherman (sixth round; Colorado)
- WR Tre Nixon (seventh round; Central Florida)