FA Rumors: RGIII, Beachum, Lamur, C. Long
The Rams have not shown any interest in free agent quarterback Robert Griffin III at this point, reports Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Ten clubs are reportedly giving Griffin a “hard look.”
Here are a few more free agent rumors from around the NFL:
- Having reached a deal to bring back veteran guard Ramon Foster, the Steelers think they might be able to re-sign left tackle Kelvin Beachum on a one-year deal, tweets Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Beachum is coming off a torn ACL, which may be limiting his market.
- Free agent linebacker and special-teamer Emmanuel Lamur is not expected to re-sign with the Bengals, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who writes that the Lions, Vikings, and Dolphins are among the teams that have expressed interest in Lamur since the legal tampering window opened.
- Former Rams defensive end Chris Long enjoyed his visit to Washington and has genuine interest in joining the club, but he has more free agent visits planned, so it doesn’t sound like any deal is imminent, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
- The Raiders have already made a pair of big splashes in free agency, reaching agreements with Kelechi Osemele and Bruce Irvin. Bill Williamson of Fanrag Sports suggests (via Twitter) that cornerback Janoris Jenkins is another name to watch for Oakland.
Bears, Falcons, Titans In Hunt For Danny Trevathan
9:04pm: The Bears are in competition with the Falcons and Titans for Trevathan’s services, multiple sources tell Brad Biggs.
6:50pm: The Falcons have joined the Bears as strong contenders for Trevathan, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
2:33pm: The price tag for Trevathan is expected to be at – or slightly above – $7MM per year, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
1:06pm: The Bears are making a strong push for linebacker Danny Trevathan, Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. Trevathan enjoyed a huge bounce back year for the Broncos after previously dealing with knee injuries.
Last month, Trevathan said that he was anticipating interest from Chicago. Trevathan and John Fox have history from their time together in Denver, so a reunion with the Bears would make a lot of sense.
“Coach Fox is one of the guys that gave me the opportunity to showcase I can fit within the scheme,” Trevathan said in February. “I’m sure it’ll be there, I’m sure we’ll end up talking, but right now my main focus is this game. Whatever happens, happens. This game could make or break my contracts. It’s up to me to make the most of it.”
Trevathan was Denver’s leading tackler in 2013, but he registered just 11 tackles across three games for the Broncos in 2014 thanks to a left medial tibial impaction fracture. In 2015, Trevathan has looked like his old self. In 15 regular season contests (all starts), the inside linebacker recorded 109 total tackles, six pass deflections, and two interceptions – one of which led to a defensive touchdown.
A former sixth-round pick, the linebacker earned just $660K in 2015. Needless to say, Trevathan is looking forward to a contract that matches his performance. “We’re going to get paid,” said Trevathan in January. In addition to the Bears and Broncos, the Titans have also been said to have interest in the linebacker.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles Favorites For Chase Daniel; Two Other Teams Interested
Three clubs are “heavily involved” in negotiations with free agent quarterback Chase Daniel, but the Eagles are viewed as the frontrunner, according to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, cautions Russini, a deal between Daniel and Philadelphia is not yet done.
Just this afternoon, a report indicated that the Eagles could be interested in Daniel, even after agreeing to re-sign starting QB Sam Bradford to a two-year deal. Daniel, of course, has spent the past several seasons in Kansas City under former OC Doug Pederson, who is now Philadelphia’s head coach. The connection is there, but whether Daniel would want to be relegated to a backup role once again is an open question.
Daniel, entering his age-30 season, is almost all promise — he’s only attempted 77 passes in his career while backing up Drew Brees and Alex Smith. But in a league where competent quarterback play is so rare (yet so needed), it’s easy to see a club taking a chance on Daniel as its starter. He’d already been one of the backups in the NFL, earning $3.33MM annually during his time with Kansas City.
Daniel ranked as PFR’s No. 3 available quarterback, slotting in behind Brock Osweiler and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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.
Colts Re-Sign Adam Vinatieri
6:55pm: It’s a two-year, $6MM deal for Vinatieri, with another $1MM available in incentives, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. $1MM is guaranteed, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
6:23pm: The Colts announced that they’ve re-signed veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri, who will stay in Indianapolis for his age-43 season (and presumably beyond).
“We are thrilled to retain Adam as a member of the Colts family,” said Colts GM Ryan Grigson. “Adam continues to play at the highest level year in and year out and his hard work, consistency and professionalism are a credit to him being the longest tenured active player in the NFL. Adam has won multiple Super Bowls and is a future Hall of Famer. We look forward to continuing to utilize his championship-pedigree and leadership in our program.”
In 2015, Vinatieri connected on 25 of 27 field goal tries, for a 92.6% conversion rate. However, he did occasionally struggle with the longer extra point, missing three of 35 attempts. Still, there were few NFL kickers more reliable than Vinatieri, who is now third on the league’s list of all-time leading scorers. With 2,253 points, Vinatieri could make a run at Morten Andersen (2,544) and Gary Anderson (2,434) if he decides to play for longer than just one more season.
Vinatieri’s previous contract with the Colts, which he signed in March 2014, was worth $5MM over two years, with a modest $500K signing bonus. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sign a similar pact this time around.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucs Cut Bruce Carter, Re-Sign Keith Tandy
6:11pm: It’s a two-year deal for Tandy, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.
4:25pm: The Buccaneers have released one defensive notable while re-signing another. The Bucs have officially released Bruce Carter and re-signed safety Keith Tandy, as Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com writes. 
Tampa Bay rarely employs signing bonuses, and because it didn’t use one when signing Carter prior to last season, the club won’t incur any dead money. Instead, the Buccaneers will not only avoid paying a $750K roster bonus, but they’ll clear Carter’s scheduled base salaries of $4.25MM over the next three seasons. Following Carter’s release, Tampa will have roughly $50MM in cap space when the free agent period begins.
Carter, 28, will last only a single season with the Buccaneers after spending the first four years of his career with the Cowboys. An outside linebacker in Dallas, Carter was expected to serve as Tampa’s middle linebacker, but quickly lost the job to rookie Kwon Alexander, and ended up playing less than 30% of the Bucs’ defensive snaps.
Tandy, an unrestricted free agent, has long been expected to return to Tampa Bay. Last season, Tandy appeared in 14 games (2 starts) and racked up 38 total tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass deflection.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cardinals To Re-Sign Drew Stanton
5:53pm: Stanton agreed to a two-year, $6.5MM deal with “significant upside,” per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). That last bit seems to indicate that there are a fair amount of incentives in the deal.
5:34pm: The Cardinals have re-signed quarterback Drew Stanton, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. It was reported earlier in the week that a deal was looking less and less likely, but Arizona has gotten a deal done to keep their backup QB in place before the start of free agency. 
Earlier today, in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), Stanton reiterated his fondness for Arizona.
“I feel like this is a good situation here in Arizona. Is there a better opportunity for me elsewhere? I don’t know,” Stanton said.
In 2014, injuries to Carson Palmer thrust Stanton into the starting role for an eight game stretch. While he did not look like a world-beater, Stanton did go 5-3 in that span and he showed that he is one of the league’s stronger backup QBs.
For his career, the 31-year-old Stanton has started contests, completing about 55% of his passes during that time. It’s possible that Stanton could have received offers from other clubs, hence the report yesterday that he was unlikely to return to the Cardinals. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how much Arizona was willing to pay to lock in an insurance policy at quarterback.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Texans To Re-Sign Shane Lechler, Nick Novak
TUESDAY, 5:46pm: The Texans announced that they have officially re-signed Novak.
MONDAY, 9:56am: The Texans have re-signed both Lechler and kicker Nick Novak, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Novak was the Chargers’ full-time kicker from 2011 to 2014 before signing with Houston in September 2015. With San Diego, Novak converted on 101 of his 117 field goal attempts (86.3%), including 11 of 17 from 50+ yards. This past season in Houston, Novak nailed 18 of 21 field goal attempts, good for an 85.7% rate.
9:49am: The Texans will re-sign punter Shane Lechler on a one-year deal, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). Lechler averaged 47.3 yard per punt last season. 
Lechler, 40 in August, logged 13 seasons with the Raiders before joining the Texans in 2013. The veteran indicated last month that he wanted to return to the league in 2016 in search of a Super Bowl ring. Despite Houston’s struggles in 2015, he believes that the Texans can give him that opportunity next season.
“I played in the Super Bowl one time, didn’t get a chance to win it,” Lechler told Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. “I want to win one. That’s my main goal. I go into every Sunday, even when I was on a 2-14 team here, 2-14 team twice in Oakland, I never went on the field thinking I wasn’t going to win. I want to win a championship. I’m not going to sit here and say I deserve to win one, because I had that chance. I want to win one.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/16
It’s been a day of huge news around the NFL, with top free agents like Malik Jackson and Kelechi Osemele reaching contract agreements. We don’t want to let some of the smaller deals from around the league slip through the cracks though, so let’s round up Tuesday’s minor transactions….
- The Panthers have agreed to terms with Joe Webb on a new two-year contract, according to his agency, SportsTrust Advisors (Twitter link). Webb provides Carolina with a third quarterback on its depth chart, and can be utilized as a versatile, all-purpose weapon elsewhere on offense and special teams.
- The 49ers have re-signed linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, extending him through the 2016 season before he reaches free agency, the team announced today. San Francisco claimed Armstrong off waivers from the Raiders in 2015 after the linebacker and special-teamer made headlines for illegally taunting a police dog before a game against the Steelers.
- The Colts announced today that they’ve signed undrafted free agent long snapper Forrest Hill, in what probably qualifies as the exact opposite of a “splash.” Nonetheless, Hill could be given an opportunity to compete for the job this summer in Indianapolis against incumbent LS Matt Overton.
- Jaguars tight end Nic Jacobs has signed the one-year ERFA tender he received last week, the club announced today in a press release.
- Seahawks defensive tackle A.J. Francis has also received his ERFA tender, per Dov Kleiman of RantSports (Twitter link).
- The Seahawks waived defensive tackle Jesse Williams, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports (on Twitter).
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.