Latest On Derrick Johnson
The Chiefs are negotiating to keep veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). For his part, Johnson says his agent has only spoken with Kansas City, but per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link), Johnson’s rep has in fact talked with other clubs.
“It’s heating up,” Johnson told Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “It’s going to come down to the wire.” Johnson did add that he’s more optimistic now that he’ll be able to reach a deal to remain with the Chiefs for a 12th consecutive year.
Johnson, 33, hasn’t been linked to any other clubs, but the Chiefs have reportedly been “poking around” fellow free agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman as possible replacement in case Johnson departs. Johnson ranked as PFR’s No. 46 overall free agent and No. 4 inside linebacker, behind Danny Trevathan, Freeman, and Roland McClain, the latter of whom has already re-signed with the Cowboys.
In his 11th season with Kansas City, Johnson started all 16 games just one season after missing nearly the entire year with a torn Achilles. He posted 95 tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions, grading out as the league’s eighth-best linebacker, per Pro Football Focus.
The Chiefs have already retained one veteran defender, agreeing to a three-year deal with Tamba Hali yesterday.
Rams To Re-Sign William Hayes
The Rams have agreed to re-sign William Hayes, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year deal, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will pay him a max of $21MM over that three year stretch, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). 
A few teams were in on Hayes before he re-upped with Los Angeles, including the Dolphins, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. Having played alongside guys like Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn on the Rams’ defensive line, Hayes was somewhat overlooked in recent seasons, but he garnered some attention for himself in his contract year. The veteran end, who turns 31 this May, has picked up between four and seven sacks in each of his four years with the Rams. Multiple teams in need of pass-rushing help were in on the bidding for Hayes, but he ultimately decided to join the Rams for their 2016 season in L.A.
We rated Hayes as the No. 9 edge defender in this year’s free agent class, behind Olivier Vernon, Bruce Irvin, Jason Pierre-Paul, Mario Williams, Charles Johnson, Greg Hardy, Tamba Hali, and Robert Ayers.
The Rams also re-signing strong safety Mark Barron and hitting Case Keenum with a first-round tender, so it’s clear that they’re making a concerted effort to hang on to their own players.
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Rams Reach Agreement To Retain Mark Barron
Mark Barron‘s career resurgence will continue with the organization that triggered it, albeit in a new city. The Rams have reached an agreement to keep Barron, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Heading to Los Angeles on a contract worth approximately $9MM per year, ESPN.com’s Mark Domenik (Twitter link) reports, Barron will stay the course that helped him bounce back. Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter) shines more light on the lucrative deal for Barron; it’s reportedly a five-year, $45MM accord.
The Rams are planning to keep Barron at weakside linebacker, Nick Waggoner of ESPN.com tweets. Alec Ogletree will slide to middle linebacker as a result of this mammoth contract.
Multiple teams wanted to sign the former first-round pick to play safety, but the Rams prefer him at linebacker after relocating the 26-year-old talent there last October.
Barron ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 20 overall linebacker last season, and the former No. 7 overall selection of the Buccaneers’ resided as one of the position’s top UFAs.
Barron’s deal, as of now, resides third among outside linebackers in 4-3 defenses, behind just Lavonte David and Bruce Irvin. The market for this position has intensified considerably over the past year, with K.J. Wright‘s $6.75MM-per-season pact representing the spot’s high-water mark late last summer.
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Rams Extend First-Round Tender To Case Keenum
The Rams have offered a first-round tender to restricted free agent Case Keenum, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Keenum would earn $3.635MM in 2016 under the one-year deal.
If another club expressed interest in poaching Keenum, they would not only have to sign him to an offer sheet, but they would need to sacrifice a first-round pick if Los Angeles declined to match the offer. That scenario seems wholly unlikely, so Keenum will likely return to the Rams, who have already said Keenum will enter the offseason as their starter.
Keenum, 28, took over as the Rams’ starter last season after Nick Foles was benched — he went on to start five games, completing about 61% of his passes for 828 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Head coach Jeff Fisher has said Keenum will start, but it’s always possible that the club brings in competition, either via the draft or through free agency.
Foles, meanwhile, can reportedly be had via trade, and a number of clubs could make sense as suitors.
Cowboys To Bring In Matt Moore, Cedric Thornton
The Cowboys are expected to bring in quarterback Matt Moore and defensive end Cedric Thornton for visits on Thursday, Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com tweets. Things have been slow for Dallas today, but it sounds like they could make some free agent moves tomorrow.
Dolphins quarterback Logan Thomas recently indicated that he’s been told he’ll have a legitimate chance to compete for the Dolphins’ backup job behind Ryan Tannehill next season. That would imply that Moore’s future in Miami is in doubt. Moore may not have a chance to re-up with the Dolphins for 2016, but he now has at least one interested suitor in the Cowboys.
Thornton, 28 in June, started all 16 games for the Eagles in 2014, posting 36 tackles, one sack, and three fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown. In that season, the Southern Arkansas alum graded as the league’s 20th-best 3-4 defensive end, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and was especially proficient against the run, where his +11.3 grade placed him eighth at his position.
This past season, Thornton racked up 32 total tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass deflection. PFF (sub. req’d) rated him as the 44th best defensive tackle in the league with a 76.2 grade. That slotted him just behind fellow unrestricted free agents Haloti Ngata and Akiem Hicks.
Market Intensifying For RB Bilal Powell
2:59pm: The market for Powell is intensifying, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, who suggests (via Twitter) that the Patriots are no longer in the mix.
1:22pm: The Broncos are also interest in Powell, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link).
8:20am: The Cowboys, Patriots, Ravens, and the incumbent Jets are showing interest in running back Bilal Powell, league sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets could be looking at a full makeover at running back with Stevan Ridley on the open market and Chris Ivory on his way to the Jaguars. 
Powell averaged a career-high 4.5 yards per carry on 70 attempts last season and added a personal-best 47 receptions. If he does leave, it will be a disappointment for head coach Todd Bowles, who has been a vocal supporter of the running back.
“He’s been more of a complete back than even I thought he was coming in. He can block. He can run. He’s not just a pass catcher. He does a bunch of things for us,” Bowles said in January.
The 27-year-old has spent all five of his career NFL seasons with the Jets. In terms of overall yards and usage, his best season came in 2013 when he carried the ball 176 times for 697 yards and one touchdown. Last season, Powell had 70 rushing attempts for 313 yards, giving him a 4.5 yards-per-attempt average.
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Jets Release TE Jeff Cumberland
The Jets have opened up some additional cap space by releasing tight end Jeff Cumberland, according to Seth Walder of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The move will create $1.9MM in cap savings, since that was the amount of Cumberland’s base salary, which was non-guaranteed.
Cumberland, 28, caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his role in the offense significantly reduced last season, as Ryan Fitzpatrick rarely looked to throw to his tight ends. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Because he’s a vested veteran, Cumberland will immediately become a free agent with the ability to sign anywhere else once the move is made official by the Jets. New York, meanwhile, may be in the market for tight end help this offseason, even with Jace Amaro returning from a season-ending injury.
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NFC East Rumors: Bradford, Eagles, Giants
The latest from the NFC East:
- It’s not necessarily likely, but the Eagles could theoretically trade Sam Bradford, as Mike Florio of PFT writes. The first $5.5MM installment of Bradford’s $11MM signing bonus isn’t due until March 18, 2016, according to a source. The second installment is not due until September 1st. The Eagles have yet to pay Bradford anything on this new pact and, in theory, they could trade him without paying out any portion of his new contract. After signing Chase Daniel, it’s at least fair to wonder if Philly could consider such a move.
- Giants tight end Larry Donnell received full clearance from his neck injury, agent Tamika Cheatham tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Giants have not seen his latest test results and, therefore, the team has not yet cleared him medically.
- Washington plans to hang on to Perry Riley, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Keim notes that Washington liked how Riley played next to Will Compton before he went down with an injury.
Raiders, Chiefs, 49ers In On Sean Smith
1:37pm: Peter King of TheMMQB.com tweets that the Chiefs, Raiders, and 49ers are still in on Smith. If Tafur’s morning report that four teams are in the running is accurate, that leaves one unknown club, though it’s possible Smith’s list of suitors has been narrowed down since then. Oakland has been mentioned most frequently as a landing spot for the cornerback, but it doesn’t appear any deal is imminent at this point.
9:19am: Sean Smith‘s market has been whittled down to the Raiders and three other clubs, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The market is currently set at $12MM/year for the cornerback’s services, Tafur adds. 
The 49ers have also been tied to Smith, but it’s not clear if they’re one of the “three other clubs” in the mix for his services. Ditto for the incumbent Chiefs, though it was reported on Monday that KC had not reached out to him during the legal tampering period. Of course, it’s possible that the two sides connected on Tuesday.
Smith was ranked as the No. 9 overall free agent by PFR and considered to be the No. 2 available cornerback, behind Janoris Jenkins. With an even 100 regular-season starts under his belt, Smith is still just 28 years old. With so many other key defensive free agents to re-sign, the Chiefs appear willing to let Smith sign elsewhere, and considering the cornerback market isn’t overly deep, the former second-round pick should have no shortage of suitors.
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Seahawks Pushing To Re-Sign Russell Okung
The Seahawks have made a strong offer to free agent tackle Russell Okung, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Okung is representing himself and, in an interesting twist, he was barred from talking with teams during the two-day legal tampering period since players cannot talk with teams. As a result, the Seahawks are the only team able to talk to Okung until 4 ET/3 CT. Okung has been vocal about his desire to stay in Seattle, though he also wants to be paid fairly.
“It’s very possible that I could stay here,” Okung said in February. “But I know my value, and I’m not going to settle for anything less than that. If it works out, great. And if it doesn’t, that’s great as well.”
In late January, Okung underwent surgery to repair his dislocated left shoulder. Still, the 28-year-old stands as the best offensive tackle on the open market. Overall, PFR ranked Okung as the No. 11 free agent in this year’s crop. Okung also says he expects to be fully cleared in a matter of months, which would put him on track to participate in training camp.
It will be interesting to see how much Okung gets on his next contract, whether it’s with the Seahawks or another team. By limiting himself during the legal tampering period, it’s quite possible that Okung has put himself at a disadvantage.
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