Bears To Sign Buster Skrine
Moments after agreeing to terms with running back Mike Davis, the Bears are making another signing. Chicago is adding cornerback Buster Skrine, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network added in a tweet that it’ll be a three-year deal worth $16.5MM. $8.5MM of it will be guaranteed. Garafolo writes that the news “surely means Bryce Callahan is gone from Chicago.” Skrine comes to the Bears from the Jets, after spending the past four seasons in New York.
Skrine signed a four-year $25MM deal with the Jets back in 2015, and had an up and down tenure in New York. He came close to getting cut several times, and his play has fluctuated greatly. A fifth round pick of the Browns back in 2011, Skrine is still only 29. He’s a slot cornerback, and will slight right into the hole presumably left by Callahan.
Skrine received average marks from Pro Football Focus for his work last year, which is a pretty big downgrade from Callahan, but the move should save the Bears a decent amount of money. In 14 games and 11 starts last year, Skrine had 58 tackles and eight passes defended.
Bears To Sign RB Mike Davis
The Bears are adding a running back. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the team has reached an agreement to sign Mike Davis.
This will be the first significant payday for the 26-year-old, who languished for two years in San Francisco before finding a home with the Seahawks. The deal is for two years and worth $6MM, per Rapoport (on Twitter). This pact carries a max value of $7MM. Davis hit free agency last offseason but decided to stick with the Seahawks.
After starting six games with Seattle in 2017, Davis established career-highs across the board in 2018. In 15 games, the running back ran for 514 yards and four touchdowns on 112 carries. He also showed some pass-catching prowess, hauling in 34 receptions for 214 yards and one score.
His role in Chicago is a bit uncertain considering the presence of both Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Davis is versatile enough to serve as insurance for both of those players, and he’s a better option than both Taquan Mizzell and Ryan Nall. However, barring a trade, it’s unlikely Davis will end up playing an overly-significant role for his new team.
Bills To Sign Mitch Morse
The Bills just keep on rolling. After landing Frank Gore, Kevin Johnson, and Tyler Kroft, Buffalo is making another big move. Center Mitch Morse has agreed to terms with the Bills, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
This will come with a major pay raise. Morse is expected to receive a contract that will pay him more than $11MM on average, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal, per Yahoo.com’s Terez Paylor (on Twitter). This coming to fruition would make him the NFL’s highest-paid center.
Morse is coming to Buffalo from Kansas City, where he’s spent the past four seasons. The Chiefs took Morse in the second round of the 2015 draft, and he’s been a starter with them ever since. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy the past couple of seasons, which might’ve played into the Chiefs’ decision to let him walk.
Morse appeared in 11 games last year, and just seven the year before that. Morse has dealt with concussion and foot issues the past couple of seasons, but has been an effective player when on the field. In his 11 starts last season, he graded out as the 13th-best center in the league, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
No terms of the deal have been announced at the moment, and it’ll be very interesting to see what Morse gets. The Bills have been very generous with their spending so far, so it’s safe to assume Morse got a fairly big contract. The Chiefs signed Austin Reiter to an extension back in December, and he could become the team’s full-time starting center if they don’t sign or draft anyone else.
Before signing Morse, the Bills were in on Broncos center Matt Paradis, a source told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link). Vacchiano thinks that could help the Jets’ chances of signing Paradis.
DeSean Jackson To Sign New Deal With Eagles
After being traded back to Philly this afternoon, it sounds like DeSean Jackson has already inked a new deal with the Eagles. ESPN’s Tim McManus tweets that the veteran receiver will rework his contract to the tune of three years and $27MM. The deal includes $13MM guaranteed (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
Jackson had one season remaining on his contract at $10MM. The veteran initially signed a three-year, $33.5MM deal with the Buccaneers in 2017, but Tampa Bay started shopping him only a year into his contract.
After being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, Jackson proceeded to play his first six NFL seasons with the Eagles. He earned three Pro Bowls during his tenure in Philly, including a 2013 campaign where he finished with nine touchdowns and a career-high 1,332 receiving yards.
Jackson was solid during his stint with the Redskins, but he hadn’t show the same big-game ability during his time with the Buccaneers. Perhaps teaming up with Carson Wentz will help the 32-year-old finish with his first 1,000-yard season since 2016. As our own Sam Robinson pointed out earlier today, Jackson is an upgrade over the team’s recent deep-threat acquisitions, Torrey Smith and Mike Wallace.
Cardinals Expected To Sign Terrell Suggs
This is moving fast. Mentioned as a possible landing spot for Terrell Suggs, the Cardinals are going to land the free agent pass rusher, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
An agreement will send the 16-year Ravens veteran, who told the team he will not be returning to Baltimore next season, back to Arizona. The contract for Suggs is a one-year, $7MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The somewhat hefty sum indicates the Cardinals still view Suggs as a full-time player.
Before going in the 2003 first round and becoming an all-time Ravens great, Suggs played his college ball at Arizona State. Suggs also spent his teenage years in Arizona.
One of the best players in Ravens history, Suggs will leave as the team’s sack leader (Suggs’ 132.5 sacks are 62.5 more than second-place Peter Boulware) and the Ravens’ games-played leader. A seven-time Pro Bowler and the 2011 defensive player of the year, Suggs surpassed Ray Lewis to become the Ravens’ games-played leader, suiting up for his 229th career regular-season contest in Week 17. The 36-year-old started all 16 games for a second-straight season in 2018, compiling 34 tackles and seven sacks.
Suggs will easily slide right into Arizona’s linebacker depth chart. The team really only has former first-rounder Haason Reddick slotted into the starting lineup, with Tanner Vallejo also projected to start.
Titans To Sign Adam Humphries
The Titans have agreed to terms with receiver Adam Humphries, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The receiver market is moving quickly, with Humphries being the latest wideout to sign.
Humphries isn’t a household name, but we’ve been hearing for a while now he was about to get paid big-time. All the reporting has been that Humphries was seeking around $10MM annually, and he came pretty close. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets that the deal is worth $36MM over four years. The Titans weren’t alone in bidding for Humphries’ services, as they faced stiff competition from the Patriots, a source told Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Russini writes that the Titans were in a bidding war “all day” with the Patriots before they eventually landed him.
In fact, Doug Kyed of NESN.com tweets that the Patriots upped their offer even after Humphries agreed to sign with Tennessee, and that the offer included a higher average annual value and more guaranteed money than Humphries will get from the Titans. However, Humphries never wavered in his decision to head to Nashville.
The slot receiver has been buried behind a ton of talented skill position players in Tampa Bay, but has shown plenty of flashes the past few years.He had the best year of his career last season, catching 76 passes for 816 yards and five touchdowns. The move makes a lot of sense for the Titans, who have been starved for receiver help. Tennessee has Corey Davis, but not much of note behind him in their receiving corp.
Humphries will be a huge asset for Marcus Mariota, and as Pelissero notes in his tweet, Humphries was one of the best receivers in the league on third down last year. The Clemson product went undrafted in 2015, but quickly proved all the evaluators wrong. He should have a chance to surpass his 816 yards from last year with a larger target-share in Tennessee.
Bills To Sign Tyler Kroft
After signing Frank Gore and Kevin Johnson earlier today, the Bills are making another move. Buffalo has agreed on a deal with tight end Tyler Kroft to a three-year deal, his agent Mike McCartney tweeted.
The deal is worth $18.75MM over the three years, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport also adds that the value of the contract can increase to $21MM, presumably through incentives. That’s a pretty hefty contract for a player who doesn’t have much of a history of production, and who played in just five games last season.
Kroft comes to the Bills from the Bengals, where he has filled in as Cincinnati’s tight end the past several seasons as Tyler Eifert has dealt with numerous injuries. The Bengals took Kroft in the third round back in the 2015 draft. He broke out in 2017, starting all 16 games and catching 42 passes for 404 yards and seven touchdowns.
But he suffered a foot injury early last year, and ended up missing the rest of the season. The fact that he was able to land this type of contract shows that the limited number of tight ends available in this year’s free agency class are all about to cash in.
Eagles Decline OL Stefen Wisniewski’s Option
The Eagles are making another move along their offensive line, declining their 2019 option for guard Stefen Wisniewski, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Garafolo adds that he’s “heard some rumblings” the Jets could be interested in Wisniewski on the open market. The option would’ve paid Wisniewski $3MM in 2019 and the Eagles have spent a ton of money on their offensive line recently, so it makes sense why they didn’t want to pay that.
Wisniewski has been with the Eagles since 2016, and has been an on and off starter at left guard the past three seasons. He started six games in 2016, 11 in 2017, and seven this past season. He entered the 2018 season as the starter at left guard, but was benched for Isaac Seumalo. Philadelphia extended Seumalo last week, signaling who they preferred.
They also extended center Jason Kelce a couple weeks ago, and signed left tackle Jason Peters to a new contract earlier today. Wisniewski entered the league as a second round pick of the Raiders in 2011, and has been a solid starter in Oakland, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia. Still only 29, he shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new team.
Bucs To Trade DeSean Jackson To Eagles
It looks like DeSean Jackson will return to the Eagles. They have reached an agreement with the Buccaneers to bring him back, Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan reports (on Twitter).
This comes shortly after Jackson indicated he would be headed elsewhere in 2019. The Eagles were the veteran deep threat’s return destination. The Bucs will receive a 2019 sixth-round pick for Jackson and will send the Eagles a 2020 seventh-rounder in the deal, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com.
Jackson played six seasons in Philadelphia, and it was the best stretch of his career. The 2008 second-round pick made three Pro Bowls as an Eagle, and although he performed well with the Redskins, he has not made a Pro Bowl since. This will be a major addition to the Eagles’ receiving corps, though, one that obviously looks quite different from the one he left. Zach Ertz remains, though, with a far bigger role than he had when Jackson was last in Philly.
One season remains on Jackson’s Bucs contract, at $10MM. The Eagles made several moves to create cap space in recent days, but that number is still high. It is possible an extension could bring that down, and Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets an extension may well be in the cards.
Either way, this will be an upgrade for the Eagles, who have now acquired a new player for their deep-threat role in each of the past three offseasons, with Jackson following moves to land Torrey Smith (2017) and Mike Wallace. Even at 32, Jackson remains a more dangerous weapon than the Eagles’ recent two long-range targets.
Jackson did not click with Jameis Winston, his first Bucs season producing a career-low 13.4 yards per catch, but did do well with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Last season, D-Jax’s YPC figure ballooned back up to 18.9 — an NFL-best mark. Carson Wentz will now be throwing him passes, with the Eagles continuing to make splash moves to bolster their receiving corps.
This deprives Bruce Arians of a player he wanted back, though the Bucs are up against the cap. This trade does create $10MM in Bucs cap space. Tampa Bay still has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. But the team may be set to lose Adam Humphries as well. With Jackson also gone, the formidable Bucs aerial corps may need an addition at wideout after two years of having arguably the league’s deepest receiving corps.
Jaguars To Sign Nick Foles
This has felt like a foregone conclusion for over a week, but the Jaguars will sign free agent quarterback Nick Foles, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). And it is a huge deal, as RapSheet tweets that the former Super Bowl MVP will land a four-year, $88MM pact from Jacksonville. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network adds that the deal maxes out at a whopping $102MM (Twitter link), but Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that “only” $50.125MM is guaranteed.
After months of discussion as to how the Eagles would handle Foles’ contract, Philadelphia elected to not hit him with the franchise tag once he bought his way into free agency. Teams like Jacksonville who were interested in Foles did not really engage the Eagles in trade talks prior to that decision, as they never expected Philly to tag him in the first place.
The Giants were also rumored to have some interest in their former division rival, but the Jags seemed to be the clear favorites all along. Jacksonville’s quarterback situation has long been a hot topic of conversation, especially after the Blake Bortles extension predictably backfired. And in case you couldn’t hear it over all of the rejoicing in Florida, we just learned that Bortles has been cut.
Foles, 30, spent the bulk of his career as a backup, but wound up as the Super Bowl MVP following the 2017 season in one of the best feel-good stories of the century. He was once again called upon in 2018 as Carson Wentz was sidelined by injury. He went 4-1 in his five starts and completed 72.3% of his passes, his highest mark in any of his NFL seasons. He also threw for seven touchdowns against four interceptions.
He is not perfect by any means, but he should be an improvement over Bortles, and despite a recent batch of cost-cutting moves, the Jags hope that their core is strong enough to make another run at the playoffs after a disappointing 2018 campaign.