Broncos To Re-Sign DT Shelby Harris
For the second straight offseason, the Broncos reached an agreement to keep Shelby Harris in Denver. New GM George Paton will bring back one of John Elway‘s finds, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
A four-year contributor in Denver, Harris reached an agreement to re-sign much earlier than he did last year. The Broncos managed to land him on a one-year deal several days into free agency. Hours into this year’s legal tampering period, they moved to keep the interior defender off the market.
Harris’ new Denver deal will be worth $27MM over three years, Rapoport tweets. A nice payday for a former seventh-round pick who spent a year out of football before trekking to Colorado in 2017. Harris will receive $15MM guaranteed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Set to turn 30 this year, Harris has expressed interest in staying in Denver for a while. He will return for a third season in Vic Fangio‘s defense.
A part-time starter under Vance Joseph, Harris has blossomed under Fangio. The 3-4 defensive end starter has become one of the NFL’s best pass deflectors, having swatted 16 passes over the past two seasons. He registered six sacks in 2019 but was limited in 2020, having contracted COVID-19. Harris did return down the stretch for the Broncos, who have now kept their top two free agents off the market. Denver was the first team to use its franchise tag this year, cuffing Justin Simmons for a second straight offseason.
Patriots To Re-Sign Deatrich Wise
The Patriots have been the most aggressive team in the league so far, signing free agents left and right, and now they’re bringing back one of their own. New England has agreed to terms on a new deal to bring back defensive lineman Deatrich Wise, a source told Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
A fourth-round pick out of Arkansas back in 2017, Wise just wrapped up his initial rookie contract. He’s been a consistent role player during his four years in New England, starting at least three games each season but never more than seven. He had five sacks as a rookie and then 4.5 as a sophomore.
He started seven games this past year and appeared in all 16, playing around 55 percent of the defensive snaps. He finished with only 2.5 sacks this time as the Patriots’ pass-rush struggled as a whole.
The team has been making moves to upgrade the defensive front by adding defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and pass-rusher Matt Judon, but they clearly didn’t feel like that made Wise expendable.
Texans To Sign DT Maliek Collins
Maliek Collins will relocate for the second straight offseason. The veteran defensive tackle agreed to terms with the Texans on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The former Cowboys draftee and 2020 Raiders contributor will sign a one-year contract worth up to $6MM, Schefter adds. This could represent good value for the rebuilding Texans, with Collins having started 66 games in his five-year career.
A third-round Cowboys pick in 2016, Collins became a Dallas regular immediately. He will a Houston D-line that lost J.J. Watt this offseason. Collins, who will turn 26 next month, played 12 games last season (11 starts) but failed to record a sack or a tackle for loss as a Raider.
This represents a “prove it”-type deal for the longtime starter. The Texans will surely add more starters to a defense that has fallen on hard times in recent years.
49ers To Sign Samson Ebukam
The 49ers are poaching away a young player from a division rival. San Francisco has agreed to terms on a deal with former Rams outside linebacker Samson Ebukam, sources tell Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
It’s a two year pact worth $12MM that can be worth up to $13.5MM with incentives, Pelissero writes. A 2017 fourth-round pick, Ebukam has shown plenty of flashes although he’s never been able to have a full-time role in the Rams’ often loaded defensive front. This past year he started 14 games, but only played around 35 percent of the defensive snaps in a rotational role.
Even still, he managed to finish with 4.5 sacks, so it easily could’ve been double digits had he been playing every down. He’s also been durable, appearing in all 16 games in all four of his pro seasons.
The Eastern Washington product is still only 25, so this is a nice upside signing for a 49ers team that saw their pass-rushers get decimated by injuries this past year. Fortunately they’ll have Nick Bosa back in 2021, which should make Ebukam’s job easier just like playing next to Aaron Donald did.
Chargers To Sign C Corey Linsley
After cutting multiple key veteran starters last week, the Chargers will use some of those funds to make a big addition on their offensive line. They are signing longtime Packers center Corey Linsley, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The deal, which will reunite Linsley with former Green Bay O-line mate Bryan Bulaga, is expected to make Linsley the NFL’s highest-paid center. Linsley expected to hit the market, and after the Packers prioritized Aaron Jones just before the legal tampering period began, his Wisconsin exit appeared a near-certainty.
It is a five-year, $62.5MM contract, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. That will come in just above Ryan Kelly‘s recently established center-record contract.
Linsley broke through in his contract year, becoming an All-Pro blocker. Pro Football Focus slotted him as far and away the No. 1 overall center. The Bolts have battled issues up front for years, and their investments in Mike Pouncey and Trai Turner did not end up working out especially well. Pouncey retired after missing all of last season, and Turner saw his run of Pro Bowls stop after an injury-plagued 2020. The Chargers cut Turner last week.
This will give Justin Herbert a high-end offensive lineman to work with as well. Linsley and Bulaga were also teammates from 2014-19. The Packers signed Linsley to an extension that ran through 2020 but could not strike a deal to keep him off this year’s market. The 2021 season will be Linsley’s age-30 campaign.
Linsley will represent a key free agency loss for the Packers, who cut 2020 starter Ricky Wagner last month. The Jets were also interested in Linsley, likely joining several other teams, but the Chargers moved quickly to secure his services. Los Angeles still has holes on its offensive front, however, so Linsley might not be their last big upgrade here.
Browns, S John Johnson Agree To Deal
Entering the legal tampering period in need of defensive talent, the Browns are making a big move early. They agreed to terms with longtime Rams safety starter John Johnson, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
With Justin Simmons, Marcus Maye and Marcus Williams receiving the franchise tag, Johnson moved up the list of available safeties. The Browns will add the former third-round pick on a three-year, $33.75MM contract, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). Johnson will receive $24MM guaranteed in the deal.
The Rams have lost a host of key role players over the past three offseasons, with the team having made a few splashy moves. Johnson follows the likes of Rodger Saffold, Lamarcus Joyner and Cory Littleton out of Los Angeles. He joined them as a Super Bowl LIII starter and had been a Rams first-stringer since his 2017 rookie season. Being well over the cap, the Rams will lose Johnson to a team with in a better financial spot.
The Browns ranked 25th in defensive DVOA last season. They lost second-round pick Grant Delpit to injury and used multiple stopgaps at the position. This represents a much bigger investment than Cleveland made at the spot last year. Johnson will join Denzel Ward as high-end Browns secondary cogs. Pro Football Focus has regarded Johnson highly for much of his career; he ranked as PFF’s No. 3 overall safety in 2020.
Despite Johnson’s status as a high-end free agent, his contract will not quite hit the top tier among safeties. It is outside the top five at the position in both AAV and guaranteed money. But the Browns will have a key piece to team with both Delpit and Ronnie Harrison under Joe Woods going forward.
Chiefs To Sign Joe Thuney
One of the most high profile free agents is off the board, and the Chiefs have made a big splash. Kansas City is signing guard Joe Thuney to a five-year deal, his agent Mike McCartney announced on Twitter.
Details soon trickled in, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweeting that the five-year pact is worth a whopping $80MM. The first two years are fully guaranteed at $32.5MM, and while the third year is initially only guaranteed for injury it becomes fully guaranteed in year two, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. As such, he writes that $48MM of the deal is “practically guaranteed.”
Patrick Mahomes was running for his life during this past Super Bowl, and the Chiefs immediately set out to aggressively remake the offensive line. They cut both of their starting tackles, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, and are expected to let starting center Austin Reiter walk in free agency.
At $16MM annually, Thuney is now the highest-paid guard in the league. Thuney was highly sought after, and we heard the Jets were preparing a push for the former Patriot. A third-round pick back in 2016, Thuney immediately became a starter in New England and has started all 80 possible games since entering the league.
That kind of durability must’ve been attractive to a Chiefs team that saw their O-line decimated by injuries last year. Thuney was a second-team All-Pro in 2019, and is one of the league’s best interior linemen. He has versatility, and started a couple of games at center for the Patriots in 2020.
Despite landing one of the big fishes on the market, Kansas City likely isn’t going to stop here with addressing Mahomes’ blockers. They’re also set to host the recently un-retired Kyle Long this week.
The Pats franchise tagged Thuney last offseason, but never got a long-term deal done. Minimal progress had been made right up until the point New England traded for Trent Brown, although Albert Breer of SI.com writes that “lines of communication” had recently reopened and that the Patriots had expressed interest in keeping Thuney.
Obviously nothing got done, and despite New England’s free-wheeling spending so far, Thuney got priced out of their range. It’s a big upgrade for the Chiefs.
Lions Release OL Joe Dahl
The Lions are moving on from one of their offensive line regulars from recent years. They opted to release Joe Dahl on Monday, per a team announcement.
A backup over the first three years of his career, Dahl became a primary starter during the 2019 season. Detroit opened last season with Dahl as one of its starting guards, but Dahl only stuck with the first unit in four games.
Dahl signed an extension to stay with the Lions in 2019 but ended that season on IR due to a back injury. A groin malady halted Dahl early last season. While he returned from IR midway through, he did not stick as a starter.
With this release, the Lions will create just more than $3MM in cap space. The rebuilding team figures to make several retooling-type maneuvers ahead of the 2021 league year. With the legal tampering period having just begun, the now-Brad Holmes-run team is barely over the cap.
Jets To Sign Jarrad Davis
We heard last night the Jets were expected to “make waves” in free agency, and they’re starting to heat up their activity. They’ve agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Jarrad Davis, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The Jets are giving him a one-year deal for $7MM, Rapoport reports. New Jets coach Robert Saleh will be installing a 4-3 defense, and Davis fits nicely as a 4-3 outside linebacker. The 21st overall pick of the 2017 draft by the Lions, Davis didn’t quite pan out in Detroit. He certainly wasn’t terrible but didn’t live up to his draft status, and the Lions declined his fifth-year option last offseason, making him a free agent now.
All told, he started 45 games across his four years in Detroit. After starting at least 11 games in each of his first three pro seasons Matt Patricia curtailed his role sharply in 2020, as he only started four times and played just below 30 percent of the defensive snaps.
His most productive year was in 2018, when he started all 16 games and finished with 100 tackles, six sacks, and five passes defended.
Ravens Re-Sign LB Chris Board
The Ravens just let Matt Judon walk to the Patriots, but they’re retaining a different linebacker. Baltimore has re-signed Chris Board to a one-year deal, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The deal is worth “up to” $2.68MM, and Board will be getting over $1.6MM guaranteed to sign. As Pelissero refers to, the team didn’t tender Board as a restricted free agent but now he’ll actually have the opportunity to make a little more than he would’ve under a tender.
An UDFA out of North Dakota State in 2018, Board made the 53-man roster as a rookie and played on special teams. This past year he earned a real role on defense, starting two games and playing almost 25 percent of the defensive snaps. He finished with 31 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a pass defended, and a forced fumble.