Falcons To Sign G James Carpenter
Former Jets left guard James Carpenter will sign a four-year deal with the Falcons, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Carpenter will celebrate his 30th birthday later this month, so the four-year pact could take him through the end of his career. 
Carpenter first entered the league as a first-round pick of the Seahawks in 2011. After finishing out his original four-year rookie deal, he hooked on wiht the Jets, where he spent the last four years. Carpenter stayed healthy between 2013-2017, but his 58-game starting streak ended in November when he underwent shoulder surgery.
Carpenter’s anchored the Jets’ offensive line following the departures of stalwarts D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. With Atlanta, he’ll help open up running lates for Devonta Freeman and protect quarterback Matt Ryan, who just restructured his deal to free up cap space for the team.
Titans To Sign Rodger Saffold
Former Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold will sign a four-year, $44MM deal with the Titans, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The deal will include $22.5MM guaranteed. 
Earlier today, the Rams hinted that Saffold would likely be heading elsewhere. In fact, he’ll be heading to the opposite side of the country on a lucrative new deal.
A 2010 St. Louis Rams second-round pick, Saffold has played his entire career with the Rams. The Rams ideally would have liked to keep him, but they were unable to match his outside offers in a so-so market for free agent guards. For Saffold, this is a phenomenal payday as he enters his age-31 season.
Saffold indicated he wanted to stay with the Rams, but this offer is certainly much bigger than his previous organization was willing to make. Saffold was the Rams’ longest-tenured player.
He started 111 games and was one of the anchors in Sean McVay‘s cutting-edge system, one that featured back-to-back Todd Gurley first-team All-Pro showings.
The Rams will now pivot to at least two new offensive line starters, with Saffold defecting and the team not picking up John Sullivan‘s option. Andrew Whitworth said he will return, and the Rams still have Austin Blythe and Rob Havenstein under contract. Third-round tackle Joseph Noteboom could move inside and replace Saffold, per Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic (subscription required).
Giants To Sign Antoine Bethea
The Giants are signing veteran safety Antoine Bethea, according to former teammate Reggie Wayne (on Twitter). The news has been confirmed by Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (Twitter link). 
Bethea, entering his 14th NFL season, will be 35 by the time Giants training camp begins. He profiles as a cheap replacement for Landon Collins, whom New York declined to use its franchise tag on then watched defect to Washington.
Despite his age, Bethea was a full-time Cards starter in 2018. After starting for the 2006 Super Bowl champion Colts as a rookie, the former sixth-round pick has previously played for the Colts, 49ers, and, most recently, the Cardinals. Over the course of his career, he’s made three Pro Bowls, with the most recent one coming in 2014 with SF.
While Bethea is nearing the end of a nice career, he has produced in recent years. In 2017, his first year in Arizona, Bethea intercepted a career-high five passes. Last season, he registered a career-best three sacks. Bethea will trek to the Giants with 24 career interceptions.
The safety market was absolutely flooded this year, leading many to believe that Bethea would have to wait things out before finding a home. That wasn’t the case, as Bethea quickly found a landing spot with the G-Men. This move helps patch up a spot, but the Giants will need more help in their secondary given the current personnel.
Texans To Sign CB Bradley Roby
The Texans have agreed to sign former Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby, according to James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal worth $10MM, a source tells Palmer.
This marks a key investment for the defending AFC South champions, who saw two key members of their 2018 secondary defect. Kareem Jackson is likely set to take Roby’s place as the Broncos’ No. 2 cornerback. Roby’s deal illustrates both the cornerback market and his uneven contract year.
Denver’s nickel man for four seasons behind Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, Roby struggled as a full-time player in 2018. He played a key role for the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl defense and an elite pass coverage crew a year later, but the former first-round pick probably could have secured a long-term deal with a better contract year.
Houston does not have much in the way of long-term pieces at corner, having Roby on a one-year deal and Johnathan Joseph going into his age-35 season. The Texans never received a quality return on their Kevin Johnson investment and is now without Jackson, who was the longest-tenured Texan on last year’s team. Houston also benched Aaron Colvin last season, so more moves may be coming for the Texans at this position — either through free agency or the draft.
For Roby, this is a chance to re-establish his value. While a $10MM accord is a solid payday, it’s a fraction of what the soon-to-be 27-year-old defender could earn if he bounces back next season.
Buccaneers Re-Sign QB Ryan Griffin
While the status of Ryan Fitzpatrick is uncertain, the Buccaneers know who one of Jameis Winston‘s backups will be.
Ryan Griffin re-signed with the Bucs on a two-year deal. Griffin has been with the Bucs since the Lovie Smith regime, catching on via September 2015 waiver claim, but has yet to play a regular-season down. He will now work with Bruce Arians, his third Tampa Bay HC.
While he has not played beyond the preseason, Griffin has been on the past four Bucs active rosters. He spent time on the Saints’ active roster from 2013-14. The Bucs made Griffin their No. 2 quarterback near the end of last season, but Winston logged all the game snaps during those contests.
A Tulane product, Griffin is set to turn 30 this year. He has a chance to keep that backup job, but Arians may well prefer someone with more experience. Fitzpatrick is a free agent.
Rams Tender LB Cory Littleton, Others
Cory Littleton established himself as a surefire Rams starter last season. He figures to be a key component of Los Angeles’ 2019 defense.
The Rams placed a second-round tender on Littleton. That will come out to a $3.1MM salary for 2019, should no extension be reached before June’s RFA signing deadline.
A fourth-year UDFA, Littleton broke out for a 125-tackle, four-sack season in 2018 — his first as a full-time starter. With so many big contracts on the Rams’ roster, it helps they can get quality production from players with rookie-deal salaries. While the $3.1MM will take Littleton to a slightly higher tax bracket, that is a manageable figure for the Rams.
In addition to Littleton, the Rams made the following moves with other restricted and exclusive-rights free agents:
RFAs tendered at original-round level: DB Blake Countess, RB Malcolm Brown, CB Troy Hill
ERFAs tendered: DE Morgan Fox, CB Dominique Hatfield, WR KhaDarel Hodge, CB Kevin Peterson, WR JoJo Natson
Lions To Re-Sign RB Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner is back. On Tuesday, the running back agreed to a new deal with the Lions, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. It’s a one-year agreement, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
Zenner enjoyed the best season of his career in 2016 when he ran for 334 yards and four touchdowns off of 88 carries. He also added 18 catches for 196 yards. All of those numbers stand as career highs for the former UDFA out of South Dakota State.
Last year, Zenner played a much smaller role with 55 carries for 265 yards and three touchdowns. However, his yards per carry average of 4.8 yards per tote was strong and represents a career high (albeit, one with a limited sample size).
Before re-upping with Detroit, the Vikings expressed interest in the Eagan, Minn., native, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). Zenner could have replaced Latavius Murray after he left for the Saints, but they’ll have to go in another direction.
Giants Re-Sign FB Eli Penny
The Giants have been very quiet in free agency so far, but they’re bringing back one of their own. The Giants have re-signed fullback Eli Penny, according to a team announcement. Penny was signed off the Cardinals’ practice squad in September and appeared in the team’s final 14 games of the season.
Penny was an undrafted rookie out of Idaho back in 2016. He spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, then made the 53-man roster as a sophomore. He played a meaningful role in the offense that year, rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
In his time with the Giants last season, Penny racked up 25 yards on seven carries and added eight receptions for 50 yards. All told, he played around 12 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Assuming New York decides to carry a fullback on the final 53-man roster, Penny will be back to help block for Saquon Barkley next year.
Bills To Sign OL Ty Nsekhe
The Bills are making their third signing of the day. Buffalo has agreed to terms on a contract with offensive lineman Ty Nsekhe, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Nsekhe will get a two-year deal worth $14.5MM with $7.7MM of that guaranteed, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Rodak writes that the amount of money “certainly means he’s projected to start at right tackle.”
Nsekhe comes to Buffalo from Washington, where he spent the past four seasons with the Redskins. Nsekhe was always a reserve, but thanks to the Redskins’ frequently injured offensive line, ended up starting at least four games each of the past three years. This past season, he started five games and split time between left guard and left tackle.
Nsekhe is an interesting case, as he bounced around the arena league for a handful of years before breaking through in the NFL. He’s been regarded as one of the league’s better backup linemen the last couple of years, so this could prove to be a sneaky good singing for Buffalo. Between Nsekhe now, center Mitch Morse yesterday, and receivers Cole Beasley and John Brown earlier today, the Bills have significantly upgraded their offense.
They’ve also done it without breaking the bank for any one player. These added pieces will greatly help Josh Allen next season in what will be a critical year for the young quarterback. Nsekhe received above average grades from Pro Football Focus for his work last season.
Panthers Re-Sign QB Taylor Heinicke
One of the lower-profile backup quarterbacks in the NFL last season, Taylor Heinicke saw some game action after Cam Newton‘s injury. The Panthers are bringing him back for another season.
The team announced Heinicke re-signed to stay in Carolina. He joins Newton and Kyle Allen as the Panthers’ quarterbacks.
A UDFA whom the Panthers brought in via waiver claim from the Texans last year, Heinicke made one start last season and finished his season with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. The Panthers turned to Allen by season’s end, with Heinicke suffering an elbow injury that sent him to IR. But they are keeping the 25-year-old Heinicke around nonetheless.