Seahawks, TE Gerald Everett Agree To Deal
Gerald Everett will stay in the NFC West. The four-year Rams tight end agreed to terms with the Seahawks on a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal is worth $7MM, including $6MM guaranteed (per Rapoport on Twitter).
There were some high hopes for Everett when he was selected in the second round of the 2017 draft, but he’s yet to put together a standout NFL season. 2020 was arguably a career year for the 26-year-old, but he still only finished with 41 receptions for 417 yards and one touchdown (plus the first rushing touchdown of his career).
It seemed clear that his stint with the Rams was coming to a close when the organization inked fellow tight end Tyler Higbee to an extension. Everett was also mentioned as a potential trade candidate towards the beginning of the 2020 season.
He will now join a Seahawks team that has been searching for tight end stability for a bit now. Seattle relied on the trio of Greg Olsen, Jacob Hollister, and Will Dissly in 2020, with that grouping combining for 73 receptions, 709 yards, and six touchdowns. Olsen has since announced his retirement, opening a spot on the depth chart.
Eagles Release DT Malik Jackson
Malik Jackson‘s stint with the Eagles has officially come to an end. The team announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve released the defensive tackle.
This move doesn’t come as a huge surprise; we learned back in January that the veteran was likely on his way out of Philly. The front office had adjusted Jackson’s contract to accommodate the impending transaction, a move that also saved the organization a chunk of cash.
The Eagles signed Jackson to a three-year, $30MM pact in March of 2019, and it was immediately derailed when he suffered a foot injury in the first game of that season that knocked him out for the entire year. He returned to play in 15 games this year, but only played around half the defensive snaps and not at a high enough level to warrant his hefty salary.
The 2012 fifth-round pick of the Broncos had a few really good years with the Jaguars and is still only 30, so there will be interest. While he’s far removed from his 2017 Pro Bowl campaign, the veteran still seems like he’s good for around three sacks per season.
Ravens Acquire TE Josh Oliver From Jaguars
The Jaguars have agreed to trade tight end Josh Oliver to the Ravens in exchange for a conditional draft pick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter).
Jacksonville selected Oliver in the third round of the 2019 draft, so the club had reasonably high hopes for him. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to shake the injury bug. He got his first start as a pro in Week 11 of the 2019 campaign, but he sustained small fractures in his back during that game and missed the rest of the season. Then, last August, he underwent surgery on a broken bone in his foot and missed all of 2020.
So the San Jose State product has played a grand total of four games in his NFL career and has three catches to his credit. Still, he turns 24 in just a few days and is controllable through 2022, and his size, athleticism, and upside make him an intriguing buy-low candidate for the Ravens.
Baltimore relies heavily on its tight ends, so even with Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle ahead of him on the depth chart, Oliver should have some opportunities in the Ravens’ offense. Boyle has developed a reputation as one of the best blocking TEs in the game, but he has also become a reliable target for quarterback Lamar Jackson, and his presence was sorely missed when a knee injury knocked him out for the season in November. So, if nothing else, Oliver will be worthwhile depth.
Bills To Re-Sign CB Levi Wallace
Levi Wallace is sticking around Buffalo after all. The Bills announced that they’ve agreed to terms with the cornerback on a one-year deal.
It was a bit of a surprise when the Bills non-tendered the 25-year-old earlier this week. After all, Wallace had started 28 games for Buffalo over the past two seasons, including a 2020 campaign where he finished with 48 tackles, eight passes defended, and two interceptions. Wallace also started each of Buffalo’s three playoff games, collecting 12 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.
Despite being non-tendered, Wallace wanted to stay in Buffalo. The young corner did not consider any outside interest, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).
In total, Wallace has started each of his 35 career games, compiling 161 tackles, 20 passes defended, and four interceptions.
While the Bills have been busy adding players on the offensive side of the ball, they’ve mostly focused on retaining their defensive free agents. Specifically, the team re-signed linebacker Matt Milano to a four-year deal earlier this week.
Broncos To Sign RB Mike Boone
The Broncos will add a complementary piece to their backfield equation. They agreed to terms with former Viking Mike Boone on Wednesday night, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
Acquired by the Vikings during current Broncos GM George Paton‘s lengthy Minnesota tenure, Boone will follow Paton to Denver. The Vikings wanted to retain him, just not on an RFA salary, but he will leave for the AFC instead.
Boone, 25, agreed to a deal worth $2.6MM, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adding $1.6MM of that is guaranteed (Twitter link). It is a two-year contract worth up to $4.5MM, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
Boone will leave a crowded backfield and join another. Formerly a special-teamer and third-stringer behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, Boone will join a Broncos team that has Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay on its roster. However, the Broncos gave the latter the low-end RFA tender. That clouds Lindsay’s Denver status, with the Broncos not entitled to compensation were they to fail to match an offer sheet.
This move also could spell trouble for Royce Freeman‘s roster spot. Lindsay’s former backup worked as Denver’s third-string back last season. Lindsay and Freeman are due for unrestricted free agency after this season, but it would appear the backfield will lose one of them before the campaign starts.
The Vikings did not offer Boone an RFA tender, which would have meant a salary north of $2MM for this coming season, so the Broncos will have him going into his fourth year. While Boone has mostly played special teams as a pro, fantasy GMs will recognize him from 2019, when he took over late in the season. He finished the ’19 slate with 273 rushing yards on a 5.6 YPC average, potentially providing the Broncos with a capable off-the-bench option.
Cardinals Sign K Matt Prater
The Cardinals have made an upgrade at kicker. They signed the specialist who holds the record for the NFL’s longest field goal, agreeing to terms with former Broncos and Lions kicker Matt Prater.
Prater spent the past seven seasons in Detroit. He will migrate to the desert for his age-37 season. Prater will replace Zane Gonzalez, whose struggles down the stretch contributed to the Cardinals slinking out of the 2020 playoff race.
Prater’s deal is worth $7MM over two years, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He will rejoin former Broncos special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers with the Cardinals.
He of a 64-yard field goal during his final Broncos season (2013), Prater continued his long-range mastery in Detroit. He connected on a 59-yard game-winner last season and was successful from at least 58 yards in three other Lions seasons. Prater made just 21 of 28 field goals last season but has two Pro Bowls on his resume.
The Cardinals cut Gonzalez last week. While his six misses (16 of 22) were fewer than Prater’s misfire count, Gonzalez missed some key kicks in Cards losses. Most notably, his 49-yarder that fell short of the goal posts led to the Cards losing to the Dolphins in a late-season shootout. GM Steve Keim moved swiftly to address the deficiency.
Raiders To Sign DL Quinton Jefferson
6:08pm: The Raiders moved fast here. They agreed to terms with Jefferson, according to the team. The former Seahawk will be set to play in a familiar system in his sixth NFL season.
Jefferson’s deal is similar to Hankins’, with Caplan noting it is a one-year pact worth $3.25MM (Twitter link). Jefferson can earn up to $4MM in 2021.
3:39pm: Raider Day continues. The team reached out to recent Bills cap casualty Quinton Jefferson and will bring him in for a visit, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.
The Raiders will host the former Bills and Seahawks defensive lineman later this week, with Caplan adding Jefferson’s experience in new DC Gus Bradley‘s scheme is a factor in the Raiders’ interest. The Bills cut Jefferson after one season.
With Seattle, Jefferson served as a hybrid player; he saw time at both defensive end and D-tackle. The 2016 fifth-round pick served as a rotational cog in Buffalo but was primarily a starter in his final two Seattle seasons. Jefferson has accumulated 9.5 sacks over the past three seasons, though he underwhelmed in Buffalo. The five-year veteran has never played under Bradley, but the former Seahawks DC will use a similar system to the one in which Jefferson operated in Seattle.
Oakland has added Yannick Ngakoue at end, where he will team with 2019 draftees Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby. The team also re-signed Johnathan Hankins on Wednesday. Maliek Collins, a 2020 signee, defected to the Texans this week.
Panthers To Sign Morgan Fox
The Panthers are signing defensive lineman Morgan Fox, per Albert Breer of TheMMQB (via Twitter). Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network adds that it will be a two-year, $8.1MM deal, with $7MM guaranteed (Twitter link).
Fox, 26, joined the Rams as a UDFA in 2016. His entire 2018 campaign was wiped out by an ACL tear, but in 2017, 2019, and 2020, he worked as a situational pass rusher and performed reasonably well in that role.
He saved his best for 2020, appearing in 39% of Los Angeles’ defensive snaps and recording six sacks, both career highs. He will join the newly-signed Haason Reddick as part of Carolina’s revamped pass rush.
The Panthers finished in the bottom fourth of the league in 2020 with just 29 team sacks, and Reddick and Fox should help push that number higher this season.
Raiders To Re-Sign Johnathan Hankins
The Raiders are keeping one of their own in the fold. Las Vegas is re-signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to a one-year deal, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
Hankins’ contract is a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. It comes with a $1.75MM salary and a $1.75MM signing bonus, per Wilson. This will represent a slight salary decrease for the mammoth D-tackle, whose previous Raiders pact was a two-year, $8.5MM accord. 
The big fella from Ohio State has been with the Raiders the past three seasons now. Originally a second-round pick of the Giants back in 2011, he spent his first four years in New York. He then signed a three-year, $30MM pact with the Colts in 2017, but was released just one season into that. He landed with the Raiders, where he’s been ever since.
He’s started at least 14 games in each of his three seasons with the team, including all 16 in 2020. He finished with 48 tackles, one sack, and a fumble recovery while playing a little over 60 percent of the defensive snaps as a run-stuffer. He received middling marks from Pro Football Focus.
He signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal prior to the 2019 season, and it’ll be interesting to see how the financials on this one compare to that.
Chiefs To Sign OL Kyle Long
Kyle Long‘s comeback tour will see him joining the defending AFC champs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran offensive lineman is signing with the Chiefs. Long is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5MM.
The 2013 first-round pick had spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, earning three Pro Bowl appearances and a second-team All-Pro nod in 2014. However, the offensive guard dealt with a long list of injuries between 2016 and 2019, averaging only 7.5 games per season over that four-year span. After being limited to only four games in 2019, Long announced his retirement last offseason. The Bears subsequently declined his option.
We learned earlier this month that the 32-year-old was eyeing a return to the NFL. If he can stay healthy, Long has a good chance of contributing with his new squad. The Chiefs have made revamping Patrick Mahomes‘ offensive line a priority this offseason, and they proved that by giving Joe Thuney a hulking five-year contract. The team was also mentioned as a potential suitor for Trent Williams before he re-signed with the 49ers.
The Raiders were also a suitor for Long’s services, a logical landing spot considering the player’s father, Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, played his entire 13-year career with the Raiders. However, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets that Long’s visit with the organization didn’t necessarily go as planned. Some sources told the reporter that Long’s workout “didn’t go that well,” while others told Tafur that the free agent was “freaked out” by the organization’s decision to dump center Rodney Hudson.