Jaguars Sign RB Benny Cunningham
The Jaguars have signed running back Benny Cunningham, per a team announcement. The move comes on the heels of signing running back Alfred Blue, giving the Jaguars two backup options behind starter Leonard Fournette. 
Blue profiles as more of a traditional ball carrier while Cunningham figures to be more of a special teams contributor.
“I’m just excited to have the opportunity,” the seventh-year veteran said in a press release from Jacksonville. “I feel like this place will be home for me. I’m excited to get started. There are pieces in place that this team can win the Super Bowl. I just want to be part of something special.”
Cunningham has a 26.3-yard average on 110 career kickoff returns. He had just 14 carries for 36 yards in two seasons with the Bears, but he has shifted gears and now embraces his role on special teams.
Meanwhile, the deal reunites Cunningham with former Rams teammate Nick Foles.
“I can’t wait to call Nick, talk to him and catch up,” the running back said.
Cowboys, Randy Gregory Agree To Extension
The Cowboys and Randy Gregory have agreed to an extension that will keep him under club control through the 2020 season, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The news is somewhat surprising, given that Gregory was recently hit with the fourth suspension of his career for violating the substance abuse policy and is indefinitely banned from the NFL. 
The new pact will convert $310K of Gregory’s 2019 salary into a signing bonus. Meanwhile, he’ll gain an additional year worth $735K that can increase with a salary escalator.
For their part, the Cowboys are hopeful that Gregory can be reinstated for 2019. If not, he’ll have a home for 2020, provided that he can convince the NFL to allow him to return to the field once more.
The Cowboys aren’t necessarily banking on Gregory taking the field this year, but he would go a long way towards helping their pass rush. The Cowboys acquired defensive end Robert Quinn in a trade with the Dolphins last week, but it’s still possible that DeMarcus Lawrence will stay away from the club if he does not get the extension he is seeking.
Last year, Gregory finished out with six sacks, 25 total tackles, and two forced fumbles in just 522 snaps.
Patriots Give Michael Bennett New Deal
The Patriots and Michael Bennett have agreed to a reworked two-year deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The fresh pact will give the defensive end a base value of $16.75MM, including a $4MM signing bonus. 
The new deal gives Bennett an additional $800K in base compensation this year with an additional $500K guaranteed for injury, potentially giving him a total boost of $1.3MM. Bennett had no guaranteed money left on the deal he had with the Eagles prior to the trade, so this is a nice bump for a player who had little in the way of leverage. Meanwhile, the adjustment creates $700K in cap space for the Patriots in 2019.
The Patriots swung a deal for Bennett as protection against Trey Flowers‘ potential departure. Days later, Flowers left to sign a five-year, $90MM free agent deal with the Lions. Bennett is several years older than Flowers, but he’s an accomplished sack artist who will cost them a whole lot less.
Last year, Bennett amassed nine sacks for Philly, giving him his highest total since 2015. The three-time Pro Bowler has 63 career sacks to his name across nine NFL seasons.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/1/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: DB Juston Burris
- Waived: DB Howard Wilson
New England Patriots
- Signed: T Cedrick Lang
Cardinals To Sign CB Tramaine Brock
Tramaine Brock will again join a Vance Joseph-coached defense. The one-year Broncos contributor will sign with the Cardinals, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Both Brock and Morris Claiborne visited the Cardinals Monday, and Brock will join a veteran-heavy cast of corners in Arizona.
Should Brock make the Cards’ 53-man roster, this will be his 10th NFL season. After one-season stints with the Vikings and Broncos, he will return to the NFC West. Brock spent seven seasons with the 49ers, serving as a backup and part-time starter for Jim Harbaugh‘s teams and then becoming a full-timer during the 2015-16 seasons.
Brock will turn 31 before the season starts. His arrival in Arizona will make the Cards secondary one of the most seasoned in the league. Patrick Peterson enters his ninth season, and Robert Alford and David Amerson are heading into their seventh. The Cardinals also added fifth-year veteran Josh Shaw this offseason.
With the draft coming, it is not a lock this quintet all makes the roster. But the Cardinals, who have had issues for years filling their CB2 role, are going with a volume approach to augment this position group this offseason.
A former UDFA, Brock served as the Broncos’ No. 3 corner last season. He did not fare especially well, grading as one of Pro Football Focus’ lowest-graded corners. But he will have a chance to continue in Joseph’s system. Secondary coaches Marcus Robertson and Greg Williams also worked with Denver’s DBs last season, creating more familiarity for the newest Cardinal corner.
Lions To Sign C.J. Anderson
C.J. Anderson‘s late-season success produced another contract offer. The former Pro Bowl running back agreed to terms Monday on a one-year deal with the Lions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
This will mark the veteran running back’s fifth team in the past 12 months. But Anderson has left his mark with multiple franchises during a six-year career and will have a chance to contribute in Detroit.
Prior to Anderson catching on with the Rams in what turned out to be a pivotal agreement, he worked out for the Lions last November. The 27-year-old back will now have a chance to play alongside Kerryon Johnson. LeGarrette Blount‘s contract expired after last season. The Lions now have a new power-based back in place to fill that role, one coming off a borderline-dominant stretch.
In his first game subbing in for Todd Gurley, Anderson gained 167 rushing yards and scored a touchdown. He followed up his Week 16 performance with another 100-yard game, averaging 7.0 yards per carry as a regular-season Ram. The former Broncos Pro Bowler then teamed with Gurley to bulldoze the Cowboys, with the Rams newcomer gaining 123 yards and scoring twice in Los Angeles’ divisional-round win.
This helped re-establish the running back after both the Panthers and Raiders released him during the season. Prior to his successful Rams stint, Anderson was seldom used as a Panther, receiving just 24 carries last season. He totaled 43 in his two regular-season Rams games.
The Lions were clearly interested in bringing a piece of the Rams’ running game to the Motor City. They submitted an offer sheet to Malcolm Brown, but the Rams matched it. Detroit re-signed Zach Zenner and has Kerwynn Williams on its roster, but Anderson almost certainly stands to have a key role.
As a Bronco, Anderson made the 2014 Pro Bowl after breaking out down the stretch that season. In 2015, he was a vital part of a Super Bowl champion outfit, helping a Denver team that had seen Peyton Manning decline suddenly. Anderson finished the season with 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in Super Bowl 50. In 2017, he rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards. The Broncos released Anderson in April 2018 pivoted to younger backs.
Daryl Worley Signs Raiders RFA Tender
Daryl Worley will be back in Oakland for the 2019 season. The veteran cornerback signed his RFA tender on Monday, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
The Raiders placed a second-round tender on Worley earlier this offseason. Barring an extension, Worley will make $3.095MM this season.
A Raider signing during a turbulent 2018 offseason, Worley played 505 snaps in 10 games last year. The Raiders clearly saw something Pro Football Focus did not in the former Panthers third-round pick; PFF graded Worley as the league’s seventh-worst full-time corner last season.
Worley’s 2018 season began four games late because of a suspension in connection to his offseason arrest and ended early due to a torn shoulder labrum. The 24-year-old defender has since undergone surgery. He is expected to remain the starter opposite Gareon Conley, Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area notes.
Worley joins Conley and Karl Joseph as secondary holdovers. The Raiders have added both Lamarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson this offseason, with former Giants safety Curtis Riley also signing. The Silver and Black begin their offseason program April 15.
Browns Trade Emmanuel Ogbah To Chiefs
Emmanuel Ogbah stayed away from the Browns’ voluntary workout on Monday with the expectation that he would be traded in the near future. As it turns out, the near future arrived in a matter of hours. The Browns have traded the defensive end to the Chiefs in exchange for safety Eric Murray, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
After a foot injury ended his 2017 season, Ogbah suffered an ankle malady early in 2018. The former second-round bounced back, however, and delivered three sacks in 14 games (all starts).Ogbah has 12.5 career sacks to his credit and will have an opportunity to make an impact in KC.
There was no room for Ogbah in Cleveland with Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon as the starting bookends and Chad Thomas, Chris Smith, and Anthony Zettel supporting the high-profile duo. He follows wide receiver Ricardo Louis and safety Derrick Kindred, other relics of the Sashi Brown era, out the door.
In the swap, the Chiefs and Browns each traded from a surplus to fill a weakness. The Browns were able to part with a DE after adding Vernon and the Chiefs have extra ammo at safety thanks to the addition of Tyrann Mathieu. Even without Eric Berry, the Chiefs were able to part with a supporting safety, enabling them to bolster a pass rush that no longer features Dee Ford or Justin Houston.
Murray, 25, made a career-high nine starts last season as he logged 55 tackles and two pass deflections. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 50 ranked safety in the NFL out of 93 eligible players, positioning him as a starting-caliber player.
Bears Re-Sign Aaron Lynch
The Bears have re-signed Aaron Lynch, according to a team announcement. The outside linebacker will return on a new one-year deal. 
Lynch met with the Seahawks, Raiders, and Colts this offseason, but he ultimately chose to return to the Bears for at least one more season. Lynch registered three sacks in Chicago last year, giving him 18 across five NFL seasons. However, 12.5 of those sacks came in his first two years in the league.
Lynch spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers and signed with the Bears last season to reunite with then-Chicago DC Vic Fangio. After playing on roughly 16% of the 49ers’ defensive snaps over his last two years in SF, Lynch saw an uptick in playing time last year, appearing in roughly one-third of the Bears’ defensive snaps.
Lynch can line up at DE or OLB, so he figures to split his time between those spots in 2019.
Vikings Re-Sign C Brett Jones
The Vikings have re-signed center Brett Jones, per a club announcement. It’s a one-year deal with a base salary of $850K that could be worth up to $1.5MM through incentives, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
The Vikings acquired Jones late last summer via trade with the Giants. In his first season with the Vikes, Jones appeared in 14 games, including three starts at center. Prior to that, Jones appeared in 30 games (14 starts) across three seasons with the G-Men and won a Grey Cup title in 2014 with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.
The Vikings offered Jones a contract earlier this month, but he did not immediately accept. Meanwhile, center Tyler Shatley circled back to the Jaguars after visiting with the Vikings and Jones, as far as we know, did not go on any other visits. It only made sense for the two sides to reunite as the Vikings needed a backup for Pat Elflein.
Jones started the first three games of the 2018 season while Elflein was injured. He’s likely eager to start somewhere, as he did with the Giants in 2017, but he’ll serve as Elflein’s understudy for at least one more year. Jones can also play guard, which may give him another path to getting on the field.