Texans, OT Chris Clark Agree To New Deal
WEDNESDAY, 7:42am: Clark’s new two-year deal is worth $6MM, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), who observes that $3MM per year is a nice deal for Clark, assuming he’ll be Houston’s swing tackle.
TUESDAY, 7:05pm: The Texans have reached an agreement with swing tackle Chris Clark, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). Clark was set to hit the open market on Wednesday if the two sides hadn’t come to terms on a new deal.
Houston acquired Clark from the Broncos during final roster cutdowns last August, sending a seventh-round selection to Denver to bring in the offensive tackle. Clark, 30, served as a backup to Duane Brown and Derek Newton, and ultimately started four games, playing on a little over a third of the club’s offensive snaps.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Texans would like to work out a new deal with Clark. Having accomplished that goal, however, the team is still expected to draft an offensive tackle to develop as something of an insurance policy as Brown recovers from injury, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
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Panthers Re-Sign Charles Johnson
WEDNESDAY, 7:31am: Johnson has officially signed his new one-year deal with the Panthers, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
TUESDAY, 7:47pm: Johnson’s one-year pact will be worth $3MM, tweets Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, so Johnson will take a $8MM pay cut to stay in Carolina. According to Person, Johnson turned down as much as $6MM elsewhere to re-sign with the Panthers.
6:30pm: Just days after being released by the Panthers, defensive end Charles Johnson plans to return to the only team he’s ever known, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Johnson will re-sign with Carolina. It’ll be a one-yer deal, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
After being cut by the Panthers on March 3, Johnson quickly lined up suitors, taking visits with both the Giants and the Buccaneers. Johnson almost went to New York, as he tells Anderson (Twitter link), but admitted that his “heart was in Carolina” — indeed, Johnson tweeted a cryptic message earlier today, indicating that many observers would be surprised by where ended up.
Johnson was scheduled to earn $11MM in 2016 (between his base salary and a workout bonus), as well as account for a $15.02MM charge on the Panthers’ cap, and it’s safe to say that Johnson will earn less than that total on his new contract. Johnson was thought to have refused a pay cut before being released, so evidently he and the club have negotiated an acceptable figure since that time.
The 29-year-old Johnson has been the Panthers’ most reliable pass rusher over the last several years, recording at least 8.5 sacks in every season from 2010 to 2014. However, his 2015 campaign was derailed by a hamstring injury, which landed him on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, sidelining him for nearly half the season.
In nine regular-season games in 2015, Johnson recorded just 12 tackles and a single sack, easily making it his least productive year since his rookie campaign. He showed flashes of his old self during the team’s postseason run though, picking up three playoff sacks.
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Extra Points: Hasselbeck, Powell, Vernon
Former Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is set to join the cast of ESPN’s Sunday Countdown, sources tell Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead, who adds that a retirement announcement from Hasselbeck could come as soon as tomorrow. Indianpolis informed Hasselbeck that it would not re-sign him late last month:
More from around the league before the craziness starts tomorrow:
- The Patriots are interested in free agent running back Bilal Powell, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets, Powell’s club for the duration of his career, already lost one RB earlier tonight when Chris Ivory agreed to sign with the Jaguars.
- Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports is the latest to confirm rumors that the Dolphins may rescind Olivier Vernon‘s franchise tag, noting that if the club works out an extension with Cameron Wake, Vernon could become an unrestricted free agent.
- Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo underwent successful collarbone surgery and is expected to recover within six-to-eight weeks, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
Buccaneers, Doug Martin Nearing Deal?
10:21pm: The two sides have “a ways to go” when it comes to reaching a deal, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, who adds that there is definitely a “gap to bridge.”
9:27pm: The Buccaneers are set to re-sign one of their own, as they’re reportedly nearing a deal with running back Doug Martin, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Per Stroud, the new contract would pay Martin $6.85MM per season.
As many as six clubs were thought to have interest in Martin, with the Raiders, Texans, and 49ers (per Stroud on Twitter) among them. Instead, it looks like Martin will return to Tampa Bay, where he enjoyed his best season since his rookie year. Martin rushed for more than 1,400 yards, scoring six times, and added 33 reception and another touchdown for good measure.
If Martin’s new deal does come in around $6.85MM, he’ll be among the second-tier of running back contracts, as Jamaal Charles ($6.9MM) and Jonathan Stewart ($7.3MM) earn comparable annual salaries. The fact that Tampa Bay and Martin’s representatives were able to agree to a deal so quickly is a little surprising, as just days ago a report indicated between the two sides had broken down. However, it appears as though any gap in talks was able to be bridged.
Martin, 27, ranked as PFR’s No. 13 free agent, and No. 1 available running back. He’s not the only RB to agree to terms tonight, as Chris Ivory will reportedly sign with the Jaguars tomorrow.
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Latest On Brock Osweiler
Brock Osweiler looks to be the Broncos’ quarterback of the future following Peyton Manning‘s Sunday retirement, but there’s just one problem — Osweiler is a free agent. Denver was thought to be negotiating with Osweiler, but according to James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link), the Broncos have not spoken to Osweiler’s reps since making an initial three-year offer several days ago.
That offer was said to be worth roughly $39MM — obviously, without knowing the structure or the guarantees, it’s hard to judge how realistic that potential contract might be. But it was always going to be hard to judge Osweiler’s value as a whole, given that he’s started only seven games during his four-year career. Each of those starts came in 2015, but the Broncos (and other clubs) can’t be sure of what they’re getting in Osweiler.
One other team that has expressed interest in Osweiler is the Texans, who are expected to make a “competitive” offer to Osweiler. Per reports, $15-16MM might be the figure Osweiler is targeting. Of course, like any free agent, he cannot officially sign with another club until tomorrow afternoon, but he can agree to terms between now and then.
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RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/16
Here are Tuesday’s minor tender decisions from around the NFL on potential restricted and exclusive-rights free agents:
- The Texans have assigned the low tender to both cornerback A.J. Bouye and linebacker John Simon, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Both players will earn a $1.671MM non-guaranteed base salary next year.
Earlier updates:
- The Buccaneers have assigned the low-end tender to RFA wide receiver Russell Shepard, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Shepard, 25, hasn’t been a major part of the offense since joining the team in 2013, catching just seven total passes, but he has been a key contributor on special teams.
- The Texans will not tender an offer to running back Jonathan Grimes, nor will they re-sign him to a lesser deal, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
- The Ravens have begun extending contract tenders to their ERFAs, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links), who reports that wide receiver Daniel Brown, running back Terrance West, and cornerback Sheldon Price all received offers from the team. Cornerback Jumal Rolle — another ERFA — also received a tender, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- The Packers have issued a tender to safety Chris Banjo, who was an exclusive rights free agent, Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette tweets.
Contract Details: Sendejo, Rubin, DHB, Cox
Here are the specifics on a few deals signed in recent days:
- Andrew Sendejo‘s four-year contract with the Vikings contains a $3MM roster bonus, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). The safety will make $4MM in 2016, and he has another $1MM that will become guaranteed next March.
- Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin received a $4.5MM signing bonus as part of his $12MM deal with the Seahawks, tweets Pelissero. Rubin will take home $6MM during the upcoming season.
- Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey got a $400K signing bonus per the terms of his three-year deal with the Steelers, according to Pelissero (Twitter link).
- Long snapper Morgan Cox‘s new five-year contract with the Ravens is worth $5.6MM, tweets Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun. Cox will receive a $700K signing bonus and net $1.5MM in the first year of the deal.
Eagles Sign Leodis McKelvin
9:56pm: McLane offers a minor clarification, tweeting that the base value of McKelvin’s contract is actually $6.2MM.
2:46pm: McKelvin’s deal carries a max value of $6MM, which means that his base value is less than that, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
2:29pm: The Eagles and Leodis McKelvin have agreed to terms on a two-year contract, the team announced (on Twitter). The two-year deal is worth just over $6MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
New Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz coached McKelvin in Buffalo, so Philly has been thought to be a logical landing spot for him ever since he was released earlier this month. McKelvin was also scheduled to meet with the Cowboys, so the signing has the added benefit of beating out an NFC East rival.
McKelvin, selected 11th overall in the 2008 draft, had been preparing to enter the final year of his contract with the Bills. Recent reports had suggested the team would explore a reworked contract with McKelvin in an attempt to keep him around, but Buffalo ultimately parted ways with him instead, allowing him to hit the open market.
Despite being a first-round pick, McKelvin never developed into a shutdown corner for the Bills, or even a full-time starter — he has only started more than nine games in a season twice in his career, due to both performance and injuries. In 2015, McKelvin grabbed two interceptions to go along with 32 tackles, nine passes defended, and a fumble recovery. Pro Football Focus ranked him 83rd out of 111 qualified cornerbacks.
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Dolphins Sign Mario Williams
9:49pm: The Dolphins have officially announced the signing (Twitter link). Per Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), Williams’ two-year deal is worth $17MM in base value, and can be worth up to $20MM through incentives.
4:09pm: The Dolphins have agreed to sign Mario Williams to a two-year deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will reportedly be worth roughly $8MM per year. 
Last year was an ugly campaign for Williams, who didn’t mesh well with head coach Rex Ryan and the team’s new defensive scheme, and was accused of displaying a lack of effort at times. Coming off a five-sack performance in 2015, and with a huge cap hit on the books for 2016, Williams was released last week by the Bills.
Still, Williams is only a year removed from an All-Pro season in which he piled up 14.5 sacks though, so even though he turned 31 in January, he likely still has something left in the tank. Returning to a 4-3 system that better suits his skill-set could help him bounce back in 2016.
We heard earlier today that the Dolphins, who hosted the veteran pass rusher on a visit over the weekend, were the “clear front-runners” for Williams, with a separate report suggesting that the two sides may be nearing a deal worth about $8MM annually. Assuming the Dolphins get Williams locked up, the team will have a decision to make at the defensive end position.
Currently, the Dolphins have Olivier Vernon tentatively on their 2016 books for $12.7MM+ after placing the transition tag on him. However, Vernon has not signed that transition tender, so Miami could still remove it at any time. That would mean losing the right of first refusal if Vernon gets an offer from another club, but it would allow the Dolphins to collect a compensatory draft pick for 2017 if he leaves.
If the Dolphins prefer to keep Vernon, Cameron Wake could be the odd man out. Wake and the Dolphins are reportedly trying to rework a contract that currently features a $9.8MM cap charge for 2016, but as of last Tuesday, the two sides hadn’t made a whole lot of progress.
The Dolphins have a number of moves reportedly in the works, with a trade that will see them acquire Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso from the Eagles set to be finalized on Wednesday.
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Texans To Re-Sign Safety Eddie Pleasant
The Texans will re-sign safety Eddie Pleasant, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Per Wilson, Pleasant will receive a two-year deal.
Pleasant, 27, appeared in all 16 games last season, and while a lot of his action came on special teams (he played on about 45% of Houston’s special teams snaps), Pleasant also played a fair amount on defense, seeing action on 37% of snaps. On the year, Pleasant posted 18 tackles, two interceptions, and one fumble recovery.
The Texans’ defensive backfield will be one to watch, both in free agency and during the season. Andre Hal figures to start at one of the safety slots after seeing a good chunk of time last season, but Rahim Moore — a key free agent addition in 2015 0– has already been released. Quintin Demps, another ’15 signee, is a free agent, but Houston reportedly wants to retain him.
Houston has been in the news today, as they’ve re-signed offensive tackle Chris Clark but lost center Ben Jones to the Titans.