AFC Rumors: Vernon, A. Jones, J. Freeman
Alex Marvex of FOX Sports is “getting strong vibes” from NFL sources that the Dolphins will rescind defensive end Olivier Vernon‘s transition tag at some point (Twitter link). Vernon could be expendable given that Miami signed Mario Williams and plans to keep Cameron Wake.
Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald agrees that the Fins could rescind the tag, and also reports that a league source expects Vernon to sign a long-term deal with another club in the next few days, and the Dolphins aren’t expected to be able to match. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also chimes in, noting that he hears Miami hasn’t made a decision on Vernon yet.
Here’s the latest on the AFC free agent scene:
- The Jets are no longer in contention for free agent corner Adam Jones, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
- The Chiefs are “poking around” on free agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. Freeman could serve as a potential replacement for Derrick Johnson, who is also a free agent.
- Elsewhere in Kansas City, it looks like Chiefs corner Sean Smith will hit the open market, per Robinson (Twitter link), and the Raiders could be one potential suitor.
- Despite receiving interest from other clubs, receiver Travis Benjamin is still in play for the Browns, writes Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
- Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com believes the Titans are interested in receiver Rishard Matthews — it’s a little unclear if the ESPN scribe is reporting or speculating, but it sounds like there could be a link.
- Free agent safety Tavon Wilson will not return to the Patriots, according to Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com. the former second-round pick has been in New England since 2012.
Free Agent Rumors: Benjamin, Falcons, Hali
The Falcons have inquired about free agent receiver Travis Benjamin, a source tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Benjamin played under Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan in Cleveland during the 2014 season. Benjamin also worked with current Minnesota OC Norv Turner in Cleveland, but per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link), the Vikings have not show any interest in Benjamin.
Here are the latest free agent rumors:
- Linebacker Tamba Hali was choosing between the Falcons and Kansas City before signing a three-year deal with the Chiefs, Kelsey Conway of AtlantaFalcons.com tweets.
- The Patriots were interested in signing Michael Hoomanawanui before he re-signed with the Saints on Tuesdsay, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets.
- The Texans are interested in re-signing safety Quintin Demps, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. This past season, Demps started a career-high 13 games and recorded 61 tackles, one interception, six passes defended, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. The 30-year-old free agent is also drawing interest from other teams, however.
- The Buccaneers may not tender free agent defensive end Olatunji Fatinikun, but they still could sign him later in summer, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The DE is coming off of ACL surgery.
Patriots To Keep Alan Branch For 2016
The Patriots have informed defensive tackle Alan Branch that they will pick up his $400K bonus due on Wednesday, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Branch is now locked in for the 2016 season.
Now that he’s been retained, the 31-year-old Branch is due to count $2.75MM against New England’s cap. The Patriots signed Branch to a two-year deal worth as much as $6.6MM last offseason. In the past, Branch has had some question marks about his work ethic and conditioning and those issues contributed to an up-and-down year with New England.
In 16 regular season games (15 starts), Branch totaled 35 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 pass deflections. Branch graded out as the No. 36 defensive tackle according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required), putting him ahead of notables such as Haloti Ngata, Ricky Jean-Francois, and Chris Canty.
FA Rumors: Osweiler, Sean Smith, Adam Jones
The latest rumors on a slew of free agents-to-be:
- The Broncos have offered quarterback Brock Osweiler a three-year contract worth ~$39MM, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. That runs a bit contrary to a weekend report that stated the Broncos had offered $45MM for three years.
- Seven teams have expressed interest in Jets running back Chris Ivory, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The Buccaneers and Raiders are among those clubs, per a report from earlier tonight.
- The Raiders “have reached out” to Chiefs corner Sean Smith‘s camp, per Scott Bair CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Smith is the fourth high-profile pending free agent whom the Raiders have been connected to today, joining Ivory, Malik Jackson and Kelechi Osemele (links to Jackson and Osemele stories: 1, 2).
- Bengals veteran corner Adam Jones has several potential suitors, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who lists the Ravens, Browns, Dolphins, Raiders, Cowboys and Vikings as teams that could end up with the 32-year-old. The Bengals would like to retain Jones, per Florio.
- The Bears are expected to go after Patriots defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bears general manager Ryan Pace and player personnel director Josh Lucas were in the Saints’ front office when they drafted Hicks in 2012, Biggs notes.
- The Giants, Eagles, Dolphins and Bears are interested in Chargers corner Patrick Robinson, reports ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link).
Patriots Will Not Re-Sign Brandon Gibson
The Patriots have informed Brandon Gibson they will not re-sign him, a source tells Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). Gibson tore his ACL in August, ending his 2015 season before it could begin. Gibson is apparently still rehabbing his knee injury, so that will be a concern for any interested team this spring. 
Gibson, 28, signed a one-year, minimum-salary benefit contract with the Patriots in March, getting a $40K bonus to join the club. The torn ACL was especially unfortunate because the wide receiver was having a strong preseason for New England.
Gibson, a former sixth-round pick of the Eagles, spent four seasons with the Rams before landing with the Dolphins in 2013. In 2013, he hauled in 30 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns in just seven games. In 2014, Gibson totaled 29 receptions for 295 yards and a TD in 14 contests.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Patriots To Pick Up Gronkowski’s Option Bonus
The Patriots will pick up the rest of Rob Gronkowski‘s $10MM option bonus before March 9th, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). So, as expected, the tight end will not reach free agency. 
New England paid $4MM of that option bonus last year and paying the additional $6MM of this bonus now will trigger the rest of Gronkowski’s extension. The Patriots now have the rights to the tight end for four more seasons at $34MM. The superstar will have modest cap numbers of $6.6MM and $7MM in the next two seasons before those figures balloon to $11MM and $12MM in 2018 and ’19.
In 2015, Gronk caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns across 15 regular season games. For yet another season, Gronkowski established himself as one of the most lethal tight ends in the game today. For his efforts, Gronk earned his third First-Team All-Pro selection and his fourth Pro Bowl nod.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
ERFA Signings & Decisions: 3/7/16
Here are today’s transactions involving exclusive rights free agents:
- The Falcons have tendered safety Ricardo Allen, reports Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Allen started in 14 of 15 appearances last season, amassing 68 tackles and three interceptions. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked his performance 46th out of 88 qualifying safeties.
- Cornerback Charles James has re-signed with the Texans, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 25-year-old appeared in nine games for the Texans last season, logged one start and totaled 19 tackles. They’ve also re-signed offensive lineman Jeff Adams, tweets Tania Ganguli of ESPN. Adams started in both of his 2015 appearances.
- The Patriots will tender corner Justin Coleman, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
- The Bengals have re-signed center T.J. Johnson, according to their official Twitter account. Johnson appeared in 12 games last season.
RFA Tender Signings & Decisions: 3/7/16
When teams assign first- or second-round tenders to their restricted free agents, or when those RFAs accept the tender, we’ll devote full news stories to those moves. For news concerning everyone else getting the lower tenders, we’ll round it up in the space below, with the latest updates added to the top of the list throughout the day….
- Fullback James Develin announced that he is returning to the Patriots on a one-year deal, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The Patriots did not plan to tender Develin an offer at $1.6MM, so the two sides worked out a reduced one-year pact (link).
- Defensive tackle Stefan Charles will not be tendered an offer by the Bills, per John Kryk of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Defensive tackle Corbin Bryant, wide receiver Chris Hogan, and tackle Jordan Mills were tendered offers, however. There could be some teams interested in Hogan, Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets, and that low tender might not ward of interested clubs.
- Washington has tendered a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Duke Ihenacho, a source tells John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Fullback Jorvorskie Lane will not be getting a tender from the Buccaneers, Greg Auman of The Tampa Bay Times tweets.
- The Panthers will not tender defensive end Frank Alexander an offer or re-sign him, a source tells Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Alexander must sit out until November thanks to his third drug suspension.
Free Agent Rumors: Weddle, Raiders, Patriots
Here’s a roundup of the very latest free agent rumors from around the NFL:
- Reiterating that he wants to sign with a team capable of contending for the Super Bowl, free agent safety Eric Weddle tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com that he thinks he has another three to five years left in him. According to King, Weddle spoke fondly of the Patriots, Panthers, Raiders, and Steelers, suggesting those teams could be fits for him.
- Within King’s piece, the MMQB.com scribe notes that rival executives around the NFL expect the Raiders, Jaguars, and Falcons to be among the most active teams in free agency this week.
- “Buzz is building” for running back Bilal Powell, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who writes that the free agent Jet should land a respectable contract this week. Florio notes that all three of the Jets’ division rivals – the Dolphins, Patriots, and Bills – make sense as potential suitors for Powell.
- Washington running back Alfred Morris took to Instagram with a message that appears to be a farewell to the organization. Morris will be a free agent this week. The tailback rushed for 4,713 yards in his four seasons with Washington. This past season, he split duties with rookie Matt Jones and was not a key part of the team’s offense.
- The Colts have former Patriots tight end Scott Chandler in for a visit today, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets.
Logan Mankins To Retire
Guard Logan Mankins is retiring, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The former Patriots great played a total of eleven seasons in the NFL. 
The Buccaneers reportedly have interest in offensive lineman Nate Chandler and over the weekend Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times speculated that it was a sign that the team expected Mankins to retire. Mankins pledged to let the team know his decision before the start of free agency and he has done just that today.
Mankins finishes his playing career with a pretty impressive NFL résumé. The former first-round pick, who turns 34 later this week, earned six Pro Bowl berths and played in two Super Bowls. Unfortunately, however, he did not win a Super Bowl. He joined the Patriots the year after they won Super Bowl XXXIX and then was traded to Tampa Bay prior to New England’s 2014 championship season.
Mankins had one year left on his current contract for $7MM though that entire sum was non-guaranteed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.