Texans Sign S Eric Murray
Eric Murray is heading to Houston. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the safety is inking a three-year, $20.25MM deal with the Texans.
The 2016 fourth-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Chiefs, and he started nine game for Kansas City during the 2018 campaign. The defensive back appeared in 45 games during his stint with the Chiefs.
Last offseason, he was dealt to Cleveland in exchange of Emmanuel Ogbah, and he proceeded to appear in nine games (four starts) for his new squad. Murray finished the year having compiled 24 tackles and one sack.
This is the second (former) Browns safety to sign elsewhere tonight. Earlier, we learned that Juston Burris was joining the Panthers.
49ers, Shon Coleman Agree To Extension
The 49ers have agreed to a one-year extension with offensive tackle Shon Coleman, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports (on Twitter). Last year, Coleman came into training camp last year as the favorite to become the team’s main swing tackle. Then, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury that caused the team to change course.
Coleman suffered a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula during the first game of the preseason, an injury that immediately ruled him out for the rest of 2019. Fortunately, he’s now fully recovered and ready to help the defending NFC champs.
In other Niners news, DeForest Buckner is now a member of the Colts thanks to Monday afternoon’s shocking trade. In the swap, the 49ers have received the Colts’ first-round pick at No. 13 overall, a selection that could be flipped to give them a better stockpile of picks in April.
Eagles Sign NT Javon Hargrave
Javon Hargrave is now the highest-paid nose tackle in the NFL. The former Steelers standout has inked a three-year, $39MM deal with the Eagles, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The deal includes $26MM in guaranteed money.
Following a standout career at South Carolina State, the Steelers selected Hargrave in the third round of the 2016 draft. The lineman ended up spending four years in Pittsburgh, missing only a single regular season game along the way. Hargrave built off his breakout 2018 campaign this past year, finishing with 60 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble.
It always seemed unlikely that he’d end up sticking with the Steelers. For starters, the organization had previously handed out significant contracts to Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward, so it was uncertain if the front office would want to invest even more money on the defensive line. Further, the organization was already eyeing limited cap space.
Hargrave made the decision to switch agencies back in February, with the lineman hiring Drew Rosenhaus for his representation.
Dolphins Agree To Terms With Kyle Van Noy
The Dolphins are staying busy. Miami is signing Kyle Van Noy away from the Patriots shortly after we heard the Jets were talking to the outside linebacker, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
In other words, almost the entire AFC East was involved in some way. It’s a big payday for Van Noy, as the Dolphins are giving him a four-year, $51MM contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. $30MM of that is guaranteed. Miami just gave a record-breaking contract to cornerback Byron Jones, so they’re certainly spending big to revamp their defense. The move to sign Van Noy makes plenty of sense, as he played for Dolphins head coach Brian Flores when Flores was New England’s defensive coordinator.
To that end, we’ve heard Van Noy isn’t the only former Patriot that the Dolphins will be targeting. Van Noy is the latest free agent for the Jets to miss out on, as they also failed to sign Jones and James Bradberry after expressing interest, among others. Van Noy was drafted 40th overall by the Lions in 2014, and was initially a big disappointment.
He barely played his first couple of years in the league, but began to break out after he was traded to the Pats. He had 6.5 sacks last year while being a key part of a Patriots defense that put up historic numbers for much of the year. Miami obviously wasn’t all-in on winning this past year, but after a brief rebuild they’re clearly intent on turning things around in 2020.
They overachieved with Ryan Fitzpatrick and a bunch of cast-offs in 2019, so it’ll be very interesting to see what Flores can do with all these big new pieces.
Bears To Sign Jimmy Graham
Jimmy Graham has found a new home, and he’s staying in the NFC North. The tight end is signing a two-year deal with the Bears, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s a $16MM pact for Graham, with $9MM of that guaranteed. ESPN’s Field Yates has more details and notes that the deal includes some incentives and a rare no-trade clause (Twitter link).
The Packers cut Graham last week to avoid paying him the final year of the three-year, $30MM deal he signed with Green Bay in 2018. Graham established himself as one of the best offensive weapons in the game during his time with the Saints, having four straight seasons with at least 889 yards from 2011-14. A third-round pick back in 2010, Graham has made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.
He was traded to the Seahawks for a first-round pick in 2015, and his effectiveness started to dip after that. He had ten touchdowns in 2017 and was still a great redzone threat, but had only 520 yards. He got the big deal from the Packers but was a disappointment, only racking up 447 yards last season.
He’s been a warrior and has managed to play in all 16 games in four straight seasons, but he’s dealt with a seemingly never-ending string of minor injuries that have reduced his effectiveness physically. Now 33, it’s anyone’s guess as to what he’ll look like in 2020. Still, he should be an upgrade for the Bears, who haven’t had anything consistent at the position in years despite multiple attempts to address it. They gave a big contract to Trey Burton last offseason, and while they hope to still see a return on that investment, the deal for Graham suggests that Chicago doesn’t have a ton of confidence in Burton at this point.
Panthers Sign S Juston Burris
Juston Burris is heading to Carolina. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the free agent safety is signing a two-year, $8MM deal with the Panthers.
The former fourth-rounder has bounced around the league a bit after spending the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Jets. He was waived by the Browns at the end of the 2019 preseason, and after briefly catching on with the Raiders, he was cut again.
He re-signed with Cleveland in late September, and he proceeded to have the best season of his career in 2019. He finished the campaign having compiled 32 tackles, one sack, seven passes defended, two picks, and one forced fumble. In total, the 26-year-old has seen time in 52 career games.
Ravens To Sign Michael Brockers
The Ravens are bolstering their defensive front. Baltimore is signing free agent defensive lineman Michael Brockers, his agent told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
It’s a big deal for Brockers, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that he’ll be getting $30MM over three years. $21MM of it is fully guaranteed, Garafolo noted in a follow-up tweet. The Ravens will now have one of the most imposing defensive lines in the league, as they just landed Calais Campbell in a trade with the Jaguars on Sunday. They’ve already got Brandon Williams on the interior, so this is a unit that’s going to be hard to block in 2020.
The Rams drafted Brockers in the first-round all the way back in 2012, and he’s been with them his entire career until now. He’s been very sturdy and reliable, starting all 16 games in six of his eight seasons. In the other two, he appeared in at least 13 games. He’s never quite been an elite player, but he’s always been solid.
This past season playing next to Aaron Donald he had 63 tackles and three sacks. The Rams are stretched pretty thin financially, so it would’ve been very hard for them to match an offer like this. The Ravens were one of the league’s breakout teams last season, and they’ve been very bold this offseason after their disappointing divisional round exit in the playoffs. They also added a second-round pick by shipping out tight end Hayden Hurst earlier today.
DE Stephen Weatherly Signs With Panthers
Defensive end Stephen Weatherly has signed a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Panthers, agent Blake Baratz announced on Twitter.
Weatherly had spent his entire career with the Vikings after being selected in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. The 25-year-old appeared in all 32 regular season games for Minnesota over the past two years, collecting three sacks each season. Weatherly also had a sack during the Vikings Divisional Round loss to the 49ers this past year.
It’s been a relatively quiet day in Carolina. The Panthers only other move came when they released special teams captain Colin Jones earlier this afternoon.
Dolphins To Sign CB Byron Jones
Just moments after James Bradberry agreed to sign with the Giants, another top cornerback has been taken off the market. Byron Jones has inked a deal with the Dolphins, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It’s a five-year, $82.5 million deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The deal includes $57MM guaranteed and $40MM through the first two seasons.
The contract will make Jones the highest-paid player at his position, with the deal paying him $16.5MM annually. We heard last week that the market for the cornerback was expected to “start” at $16-17MM per year. Jones new teammate, Xavien Howard, previously led all cornerbacks with a $15.05MM annual salary.
ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweets that the Dolphins were willing to give Jones more guaranteed money than rival suitors, while Rapoport notes that the Raiders made a competitive offer to the defensive back (via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area). Further, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that both Miami and Vegas offered “huge money in tax-free states,” but Miami’s structure of up-front money appealed to Jones.
A number of teams, including the Raiders, Broncos, Lions, Eagles, Giants, and Jets, had been connected to Jones at some point during the offseason. The Cowboys had expressed some optimism in retaining the Pro Bowler. However, the Cowboys had some bigger fish to fry with both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, and it’s uncertain if they could afford Jones’ new pact, anyway.
Jones, 27, played safety during his first three years in Dallas but switched to corner in 2018, promptly earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. In 2019, Jones started 14 games for the Cowboys, and ranked 14th in both Pro Football Focus‘ CB grades and Football Outsiders‘ success rate metric.
James Bradberry To Sign With Giants
Another one of the top free agents is off the board. Cornerback James Bradberry will be going to the Giants on a three-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Bradberry’s pact will be worth $45MM, with $32MM of it being guaranteed. We heard a couple of weeks ago that the Panthers were unlikely to re-sign Bradberry, with Carolina being reluctant to dole out this kind of cash as they enter somewhat of a rebuild. The Jets were interested in Bradberry as were many other teams, meaning the Jets have been interested in but unable to land seemingly every big free agent so far.
Bradberry was one of the top corners available and he likely helped set the market for Byron Jones, who agreed to sign with the Dolphins moments later. Bradberry was drafted by the Panthers in the second-round back in 2016, and spent his first four years in Carolina. He’s started at least 15 games in each of the past three years, and has had at least ten passes defended in each of his four pro seasons.
The Giants’ secondary struggled mightily last year, so this was very much a position of need for them. They cut long-time starter Janoris Jenkins towards the end of last year after multiple clashes with the coaching staff, and were left with a bunch of inexperienced young guys at corner. First-round pick Deandre Baker was a disappointment as a rookie, and New York is hoping Bradberry can provide some stability to the unit. It’s the first major move of the Joe Judge era.