Latest On Dont’a Hightower, Patriots
We haven’t heard much on the Dont’a Hightower front over the past couple of days, but that shouldn’t be a cause for concern for Patriots fans. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the organization is still interested in re-signing the linebacker, noting that they’re keeping “close tabs” on the situation. This essentially echoes the various reports we’ve heard throughout the week.
Hightower was listed as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings, and Zach Links predicted that he’d earn the fourth-highest contract this offseason. Despite the hype, there haven’t been many rumors surrounding the former first-rounder, with the Patriots being the lone team connected to him.
The Patriots have already made a number of moves this offseason, but they’re still armed with plenty of money, so they shouldn’t have any issues fitting Hightower into the cap. None of the team’s current linebacker options, including Rob Ninkovich, Shea McClellin, Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, and Jonathan Freeny, provide the free agent’s production.
Hightower was named to his first Pro Bowl this season. The linebacker finished the campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. During his five-year career, the 26-year-old has missed a total of 13 regular season games.
Lawrence Guy Finishes Visit With Patriots
Defensive lineman Lawrence Guy has completed his visit with the Patriots and will continue taking meetings with other clubs, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The Ravens, meanwhile, would still like to re-sign Guy, but their overall level of interest is unclear. PFR ranked Guy as the No. 12 interior defender heading into the free agent period.
Latest On Patriots’ Forfeited Fourth-Rounder
Under the terms of their Deflategate punishment, the Patriots are required to forfeit their earliest fourth-round draft choice, leading us at PFR to wonder (Twitter link) if New England would be forced to give up the pick (No. 118) it just acquired as part of the Brandin Cooks trade. A NFL spokesman has confirmed that is indeed the case, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), meaning the Patriots will now get pick No. 132 (acquired from the Seahawks) back.
The Patriots, at one point or another, have owned three separate fourth-round picks: their own No. 137 which was dealt to the Colts in the Dwayne Allen trade; the Seahawks’ No. 132 which was acquired in a 2016 draft-day swap; and No. 118, picked up in the Cooks deal. New England will have to sacrifice that No. 118 pick but will be returned No. 132, so the New Orleans trade essentially boils to Cooks and No. 132 in exchange for No. 32 and No. 103.
To account for this bookkeeping change, we’ve altered our Complete 2017 NFL Draft Order page. As it currently stands, the Patriots won’t make a selection until Round 3 (pick no. 72).
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Contract Details: Bennett, Bouye, Branch
Let’s take a look at the details of some recently-signed free agent contracts:
- Martellus Bennett, TE (Packers): Three years, $20.25MM. $6.3MM guaranteed. Base salaries of $900K, $3.6MM, $5.65MM. $2MM roster bonus due on first day of 2018 league year. $600K in annual per-game roster bonuses. $$250K annual workout bonus (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
- A.J. Bouye, CB (Jaguars): Five years, $65MM. $26MM guaranteed. $10MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $3MM, $13MM, $13MM, $13MM, $13MM. $500K annual workout bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Alan Branch, DT (Patriots): Two years, $8.45MM. $3MM guaranteed. $2MM signing bonus. Annual $400K workout and weight bonus of $400K each. $3.55MM available via not-likely-to-be-earned incentives (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).
- Ted Ginn, WR (Saints): Three years, $11MM. $3MM guaranteed. $3MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $2MM, $3MM, $2.5MM. 2018 $500K roster bonus. $500,000 aviailve vie playtime, catches incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Tanner Purdum, LS (Jets): One year, $980K. $400K guaranteed (Twitter link via Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press).
- Brandon Williams, DT (Ravens): Five years, $52.5MM. $27.5MM guaranteed. $12.5MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun).
- Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB (Falcons): One year, $775K (minimum salary) (Twitter link via Wilson).
AFC Contract Details: Gilmore, Kirkpatrick
The latest contract details from the AFC (all Twitter links):
- Cornerback Stephon Gilmore‘s five-year, $65MM accord with the Patriots includes an $18MM signing bonus, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The arrangement comes with a fully guaranteed $31MM through 2018 and $9MM guaranteed for injury only in 2019. It contains up to $500K in per-game roster bonuses each year, as well (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
- Fellow corner Dre Kirkpatrick‘s Bengals deal, worth $52.5MM over a five years, includes $15MM in 2017, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The contract features another $2.5MM in incentives. It’s essentially a pay-as-you agreement after 2018, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who adds that Kirkpatrick got $7MM to sign, $12MM in guarantees, and will make $23.2MM during the first two years of the contract.
- Guard Ronald Leary‘s pact with the Broncos is worth $36MM over four years and will receive $18.75MM guaranteed, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Leary will collect a $3.5MM signing bonus.
- Newly re-upped Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills landed a $7MM signing bonus, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
- Fullback Patrick DiMarco‘s four-year deal with the Bills features $4.8MM in guarantees, more than the originally reported $4MM, per Wilson. It also comes with a $2MM bonus and an annual workout bonus worth $59K.
- Safety Nate Allen‘s contract with the Dolphins is for one year and $3.4MM, relays Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
- The Titans gave linebacker Nate Palmer $2.3MM over two years, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. He also received a signing bonus worth $850K.
- Tight end David Johnson‘s agreement with the Steelers is worth $2.05MM over two years, per Wilson. It includes a $235K signing bonus and a $915K roster bonus.
Patriots Acquire Brandin Cooks
The Patriots have acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick in 2017 from the Saints in exchange for first- and third-round picks this year, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN. New England will receive the 118th selection, while Nos. 32 and 103 will go to New Orleans.
The Titans were also involved in the Cooks sweepstakes, but he’ll join the reigning Super Bowl champions instead. New England will now assume responsibility for the $781,599 bonus Cooks is due Monday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
As of Thursday, the Patriots were reportedly considering sending cornerback Malcolm Butler to the Saints in exchange for Cooks. It’s still possible Butler will end up in New Orleans in a separate trade, according to Schefter, while Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes that Butler couldn’t be a part of this deal because the restricted free agent is without a contract at the moment (Twitter link).
Still only 23 years old, Cooks was eminently productive in New Orleans during the first three seasons of his career and will now team with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, among others, in a loaded group of targets for Pats quarterback Tom Brady. Cooks is coming off his second straight 16-game, 1,100-yard campaign. The 5-foot-10, 189-pounder also combined for 162 catches and seven touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Cooks will come with a modest $1.56MM price tag in 2017, but after a fifth-year option season at approximately $8.5MM, it’s possible he’ll enter eight-figure-per-year territory on his next contract. Barring an extension before then, the Patriots will have an opportunity to see how Cooks fares in their offense before deciding on his long-term future. New Orleans, meanwhile, still has a pair of high-end receivers in Willie Snead and Michael Thomas, thereby rendering Cooks expendable in the club’s estimation. The likelihood is the Saints will look to strengthen their defense with their newly acquired first-rounder.
Colts To Sign LB/DE Jabaal Sheard
The Colts are signing former Patriots linebacker Jabaal Sheard, sources tell Field Yates and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a three-year, $25.5MM deal with $12.75MM guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The Colts needed a front seven player like Sheard. Now, he’s projected to start at one bookend with Henry Anderson on the other side. Hassan Ridgeway, Arthur Jones, and Kristjan Sokoli are there in reserve, but one of those last two players could wind up displaced from the roster. The Colts finished with only 33 sacks last season, and the defensive line allowed 1,926 rushing yards (eighth-most in NFL).
The Dolphins were also linked to Sheard, but they probably lost interest after acquiring William Hayes in a trade with the Rams on Thursday. We didn’t hear much about a Patriots reunion for him. Towards the end of the season, the feeling was that Sheard would not be back in New England.
Despite getting benched midway through the season, the defensive end still had a productive year for the Patriots in 2016. The 27-year-old finished the campaign with 33 tackles and five sacks, adding on to the eight sacks he collected with New England in 2015.
Panthers Trade DE Kony Ealy To Patriots
The Panthers are trading defensive end Kony Ealy and a third-round pick (No. 72) to the Patriots in exchange for New England’s second-round pick (No. 64), reports ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
Ealy had played his entire three-year career with the Panthers since being selected in the second-round of the 2014 draft. The 25-year-old has only missed one regular season game during his career, and he’s started a combined 15 games over the past two years. The defensive end has compiled exactly 32 tackles and five sacks in each of the past two seasons, and he’s added another five forced fumbles during that time.
The Patriots could certainly use some help at defensive end as they search for a player to play opposite Trey Flowers. Ealy would presumably slide into the starting lineup over Geneo Grissom, or Rob Ninkovich could theoretically return to the position. New England could also bring back free agent Jabaal Sheard, but those slim chances have seemingly declined following this trade.
On the flip side, the Panthers have plenty of depth at the position after re-signing Charles Johnson. Mario Addison figures to start alongside Johnson, with Wes Horton, Ryan Delaire, and Larry Webster serving as backups.
Giants, Patriots Interested In OL D.J. Fluker
Free agent offensive lineman D.J. Fluker had scheduled a visit with the Giants, reports ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter). The reporter notes that the Patriots also have “strong interest” in the guard. The Chargers released the former first-round pick earlier this week.
Instead of comitting $8.82MM to the lineman, the Chargers decided to release the four-year veteran. Fluker only missed five games in four seasons with the organization, starting each of his 59 games. Pro Football Focus wasn’t fond of his 2016 performance, ranking him 54th out of 72 qualified guards.
The website had rated Fluker more favorably when he was a tackle, a position he played during the first two seasons of his career. The rumored teams may be enticed by the 25-year-old’s versatility.
Fluker was listed as an honorable mention in our positional free agent rankings. ESPN’s Josina Anderson previously listed the Saints, Lions, Seahawks, Colts, Vikings, Giants, Cardinals, and Falcons as teams to watch when it came to the lineman.
WR Justin Hunter To Visit Patriots
The Patriots have been connected to a number of free agents, and we now have another wideout to add to the list. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that Justin Hunter is set to visit the organization today.
The former second-rounder joined the Bills early during the 2016 season after being waived by the Dolphins. In 12 games (five starts) with Buffalo, the receiver hauled in 1o catches for 189 yards and four touchdowns. The 25-year-old’s best season came in 2014 with the Titans, when he finished with 29 receptions, 498 yards, and three touchdowns.
Hunter certainly wouldn’t replace Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, or Malcolm Mitchell on the Patriots’ depth chart. The wideout could logically slide in as the team’s fifth receiver, or he could replace Danny Amendola as the fourth option.