Dolphins To Sign RB Malcolm Brown
This Tuesday in the NFL will produce multiple Malcolm Brown agreements. Following the Jaguars acquiring the former Saints defensive tackle, the Dolphins will add a running back.
The Dolphins agreed to terms with the former Rams running back, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Brown has played his entire career with the Rams, beginning that run in St. Louis and staying with the team for its first five seasons back in Los Angeles.
The Rams drafted Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers in consecutive years, minimizing Brown’s status going forward. But the soon-to-be 28-year-old back received interest and will head to south Florida. He will join a Dolphins team that has acquired a few running backs under GM Chris Grier.
Miami signed Jordan Howard and traded for Matt Breida last year. Neither move resulted in much production, and the Dolphins made seventh-round pick Myles Gaskin its primary running back. Both Howard and Breida are no longer with the Dolphins. Gaskin remains under contract, and he will have a veteran complement in Brown.
A former UDFA out of Texas, Brown has posted a 4.0 yards-per-carry average as a pro. Brown spent five seasons backing up Todd Gurley in L.A. but received more work after the Rams cut their previous starter. Brown rushed for a career-high 419 yards last season, helping the Rams transition from their Gurley era. He will now help the Dolphins assemble a backfield in Year 3 of the Grier-Brian Flores regime.
Derek Wolfe, Ravens Agree To Terms
5:15pm: These talks will lead to a contract agreement. The Ravens are bringing back Wolfe and will do so on a multiyear deal this year. Wolfe will sign a three-year, $12MM deal to stay in Baltimore, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets.
4:59pm: Derek Wolfe may be on track to securing a second contract agreement with the Ravens. The veteran defensive lineman indicated he is close to re-signing with the Ravens, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets.
The Ravens have lost their top two edge rushers from last season, with Matt Judon going to the Patriots and Yannick Ngakoue committing to the Raiders. But they still have Calais Campbell under contract and made moves to retain their backup edges — Pernell McPhee and Tyus Bowser — and appear to have a second Wolfe deal in sight.
A Broncos starter for eight seasons, Wolfe moved on to the Ravens last season. He started eight games, playing 58% of Baltimore’s defensive snaps. The 2021 season will be Wolfe’s age-31 campaign.
Wolfe played a key role for the Broncos’ Super Bowl champion defense but was not prioritized in Denver last year. It appears the Ravens view the run defender/inside pass rusher as an important cog as they attempt to reconstruct their pass rush.
Bills To Sign P Matt Haack
Matt Haack is sticking around the AFC East. The Bills have signed the former Dolphins punter, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).
The 26-year-old punter had spent his entire career with the Dolphins. Haack entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State in 2017, and he was immediately handed the starting gig in Miami. Haack ended up with 307 punts during his tenure with the Dolphins, averaging 44.7 yards per attempt. He’s hit at least a 60-yarder in each of his four seasons.
Haack will presumably snag the role that was previously held by Corey Bojorquez. It seemed like the 24-year-old’s stint with Buffalo may be coming to an end when we learned of the Bills’ interest in veteran Michael Palardy earlier this month.
Titans To Sign CB Janoris Jenkins
After dismantling their cornerback corps, the Titans are starting to put pieces together at the position. They are signing veteran Janoris Jenkins, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Saints made Jenkins a cap casualty last week. The Titans have made both Malcolm Butler and Adoree’ Jackson cap casualties, creating major needs at this spot.
Tennessee boasted one of the worst third-down defenses in modern NFL history last season and ranked 29th against the pass. The Titans will add Jenkins, a longtime starter who has been a first-stringer with three teams, in hopes of improving here. This move comes after the team addressed its front-seven needs by agreeing to terms with Bud Dupree and Denico Autry.
In 2019, the Titans possessed a high-end group of corners in Butler, Jackson and Logan Ryan. All three are gone, leaving 2020 second-round pick Kristian Fulton and multiple vacancies at this rather important position. Jenkins, 32, profiles as a stopgap solution of sorts. He will turn 33 midway through the season but has managed to stick as a starter in multiple seasons with the Rams, Giants and Saints.
Pro Football Focus has rated Jackrabbit as an above-average corner over the past two seasons. He slotted at 42nd and 38th among qualified corners in 2019 and ’20. The Rams let Jenkins walk as a free agent in 2016; the Giants traded him in 2019. Formerly a pick-six maven, with seven return TDs as a Ram and one as a Giant, Jenkins will hope to deliver another solid season as a pro.
Dolphins To Sign Jacoby Brissett
The quarterback market is really starting to heat up now. Just moments after news broke about Andy Dalton signing with the Bears, we’ve got word of Jacoby Brissett‘s next destination.
Brissett will be signing a one-year contract with the Dolphins, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The former Patriots and Colts quarterback will sign for a guaranteed $5MM, according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin (on Twitter). The deal can max out at $7MM.
Ryan Fitzpatrick left for Washington last night, and Miami wasted no time in finding their new veteran backup for Tua Tagovailoa. After all the controversy last season from the Fitz/Tua flips that Brian Flores initiated, it’s a little eyebrow-raising to see them go with another high profile player behind Tagovailoa.
If Tua falters in his second season, Flores will once again have another player with lots of starting experience waiting in the wings behind him. The Dolphins have sought to establish themselves as committed to Tagovailoa ever since the season ended, amid lots of speculation that they’d try to make a move for Deshaun Watson.
Brissett’s time in Indy came to an end with the Colts trading for Carson Wentz earlier this offseason. After a shoulder injury to Andrew Luck in 2017, the Colts traded with the Patriots for Brissett and he started 15 games for them that year. In 2018 he backed up Luck but after Luck’s sudden retirement, he again started 15 games for them in 2019.
His play in 2019 was subpar, causing the Colts to go out and sign Philip Rivers last offseason, once again relegating Brissett to clipboard-holding duties. In his last season as the starter he had 18 touchdowns and only six interceptions, but averaged just 6.6 yards per attempt as he was often too conservative with the ball and failed to push it down the field.
Saints Trade Malcom Brown To Jaguars
The Saints have found a trade partner for Malcom Brown after all. New Orleans is sending the defensive lineman to the Jaguars, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
We first heard about two weeks ago that the team was shopping Brown. Then we heard last week that they were planning on releasing him after apparently finding no takers. The Jags seemingly swooped in at the last minute to avoid a release, and Saints GM Mickey Loomis was rewarded for his patience.
Brown had been set to make about $5MM with the Saints in 2021, but now after this deal the Jags are giving him a new two-year contract worth $11MM with $8MM guaranteed, Rapoport tweets. Brown went from almost getting cut, to now getting a new team, a raise, and some more security.
New Orleans signed Brown to a three-year deal worth $15MM in March of 2019. The last pick of the first-round by the Patriots back in 2015, Brown was solid enough but never lived up to his draft pedigree, and New England declined his fifth-year option. He started 29 games for the Saints the past two years, and will likely be a big part of Urban Meyer’s run defense in Jacksonville.
It’s yet another veteran addition for the Jaguars, who have been busy the past 24 hours. They just signed receiver Marvin Jones Jr, and have already added guys like cornerback Shaquill Griffin, defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, and safety Rayshawn Jenkins to the defense.
Jaguars, WR Marvin Jones Agree To Deal
Marvin Jones indicated he wanted to join a contending team in free agency. But the former Bengals and Lions wideout will instead join a rebuilding project in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars are signing the nine-year veteran wide receiver, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a two-year, $14.5MM deal that includes $9.2MM fully guaranteed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
We heard back in mid-February that Jones was interested in joining the Jaguars. A coaching hire may have made a difference in bringing the veteran target to north Florida. Jones will follow former Lions assistant Darrell Bevell to Jacksonville. The Jags hired the ex-Detroit interim HC as its offensive coordinator earlier this year.
This week has not featured an aggressive wide receiver market, and Jones will fall short of the $8MM-per-year deal he inked with the Lions in 2016. Jones will join Phillip Dorsett in trekking to Jacksonville, though the former should be expected to start. Jones, Dorsett and other Jaguars are expected to be joined by Trevor Lawrence soon.
In three of Jones’ five seasons with Detroit, he exceeded 900 receiving yards. His best season came in 2017, when the Lions featured he, Golden Tate and then-rookie Kenny Golladay. Even at age 30 last year, Jones reached 978 yards. He totaled nine receiving touchdowns in each of the past two seasons and will add a proven target for the Jaguars, who exited last season without much in the way of those.
Jacksonville has D.J. Chark under contract for one more season, with receiver/occasional backfield cog Laviska Shenault showing flashes last year. The team that entered this week with the NFL’s most cap space may not be done at receiver, but Jones represents a nice addition who will stand to help a rookie quarterback assimilate.
Texans To Sign QB Tyrod Taylor
Texans brass has continued to insist Deshaun Watson will not be traded, but the team is signing another starter-caliber quarterback. They agreed to terms with Tyrod Taylor on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The now-well-traveled stopgap starter/backup option can make up to $12.5MM on this one-year deal with Houston, Schefter adds.NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that Taylor’s deal has a base value of $5.5MM, including $2.5MM guaranteed.
While Taylor would certainly not be an impediment to Watson, were Houston’s starter to reverse course, the 10-year vet represents a potential bridge option for a Texans team attempting to avoid a major transition.
Houston will add Taylor on an incentive-laden deal similar to the contracts Cam Newton and Jameis Winston recently agreed to, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. It would seem Taylor’s compensation will largely depend on how Houston proceeds with Watson.
Following Philip Rivers‘ defection to the Colts last year, the Chargers turned to Taylor. But a mishap with a pregame injection resulted in an earlier-than-expected transition to Justin Herbert. Taylor’s previous understudy started the Bolts’ final 15 games, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year acclaim. Taylor has now been a backup for most of the past three seasons.
Entering his age-32 season, Taylor has started just four games since 2018. Prior to that, however, the dual-threat QB did operate as Buffalo’s starter for three seasons. New Texans HC David Culley was Taylor’s position coach in 2017. While the risk-averse passer did well to limit turnovers, he did not offer much in the way of upside. That remains the case. Taylor would make sense as both a Watson backup and, in what would be the Texans’ emergency scenario, a bridge starter as the team attempts to construct a rebuild effort.
The bridge-QB market has moved since Monday night. Taylor, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andy Dalton have chosen destinations. They followed Newton in doing so. Each could well be starters next season. Like Washington, Chicago and New England, the Texans are not in position to land one of the top quarterback prospects in the draft. As of now, they do not hold a first- or second-round pick this year. While Watson would net the Texans a bounty of picks, Culley and GM Nick Caserio have insisted — the former in roundabout fashion — that Watson was not going anywhere.
Bears To Sign Andy Dalton
Another one of the quarterback dominos has fallen. Andy Dalton will be signing with the Bears, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s a one-year deal worth $10MM that carries an additional $3MM in incentives, Schefter reports. We heard earlier this morning that the Bears were interested, and they were able to get something done. Chicago had been “circling” for a few days and the 49ers also had interest in his services, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. San Francisco’s interest is eyebrow-raising, and Dalton’s presence would’ve put some heat on Jimmy Garoppolo.
Understandably, Dalton opted to go with the team where he has a clearer path to starting duties. Financially, it’s very similar to the deal Ryan Fitzpatrick signed with Washington last night, which was also for one year and $10MM + incentives. Jameis Winston‘s new deal with the Saints is worth “up to” $12MM, so this appears to be where the bar has been set for quasi-starters with teams who have uncertain futures under center.
Mitchell Trubisky is a free agent and not expected to return to the Bears. Nick Foles is still on the roster, but Dalton can likely be penciled in as the starter for now. That being said, the commitment to him isn’t too large, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Chicago opted to still draft a rookie early or try to pull off a miracle trade. As of a couple weeks ago they were apparently all-in on a pursuit of Russell Wilson.
It’s unclear if this signing will alter those plans at all. Dalton was the Bengals’ starter from 2011-19, and had some real success, making the Pro Bowl three times and leading them to the playoffs in five straight seasons at one point. He was allowed to walk as Cincy entered a rebuild, and ended up in Dallas as a backup last year. After Dak Prescott‘s season-ending injury, he took over under center.
In 11 games and nine starts for the Cowboys, he finished with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions while averaging 6.5 yards per attempt. Not exactly eye-popping numbers, but he was in a tough situation.
There’s also a lot of familiarity here, as Bill Lazor is the Bears’ new offensive coordinator. Lazor was Dalton’s QBs coach and then OC for a few years in Cincinnati. Assuming Dalton is the starter, he’ll be tasked with saving the jobs of head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace, both of whom are on very thin ice entering 2021.
Steelers To Release Vince Williams
The Steelers are staying busy on Tuesday, releasing a long-time defensive player. Pittsburgh is cutting linebacker Vince Williams, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
As Fowler notes, the move will save the Steelers about $4MM in cap space. The Steelers drafted Williams in the sixth-round back in 2013, and he spent the past eight seasons with the team. In August of 2018 he signed a three-year extension worth $18.6MM. Not bad for a former 206th overall pick.
Williams was a part-time player earlier in his career, but has been a starter the past four seasons. This past year he appeared in 14 games, all starts, racking up 70 tackles, 14 for a loss, and three sacks. In 2017 he had eight sacks despite being an inside linebacker.
The Florida State product will now hit free agency for the first time at the age of 31. He should get picked up by a team in need of linebacking help before too long.