Browns Sign OL Germain Ifedi
The Browns have added depth to their offensive line ahead of the upcoming draft. Germain Ifedi signed with Cleveland on Thursday, per a team announcement. 
Ifedi spent his first four seasons in Seattle, seeing time at both right guard and right tackle. The former first-rounder did not develop as hoped despite serving as a full-time starter, though, and the team’s decision to decline his fifth-year option led to a free agent departure in 2020. Ifedi played on a pair of one-year contracts with the Bears following his Seattle tenure.
The 29-year-old saw 23 starts and 25 total appearances in Chicago, splitting his time between guard and tackle during that span. His PFF evaluations improved compared to his Seahawks tenure, with pass protection being viewed as the strong point of his skillset. Still, Ifedi has struggled to find a permanent home in the NFL, having bounced around to the Falcons, Lions and Bills over the past two years.
The Texas A&M product played sparingly in Atlanta in 2022, logging only eight snaps on offense. He was set to join the Lions last offseason but was ultimately let go before final roster cutdowns. Back on the market, Ifedi signed with the Bills in a move which provided the team with depth ahead of the campaign. During a year in which the Bills remained healthy up front, though, Ifedi did not see the field throughout the 2023 season.
Cleveland, by contrast, dealt with a number of injuries along the O-line last year. The team has had a quiet offseason to date up front, as Ifedi represents the only outside addition made before the draft (reserve guard Michael Dunn was previously re-signed). The Browns could certainly still look to add a rookie offensive lineman next week, but Ifedi will give them a veteran of 83 starts capable of competing for a roster spot in training camp.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/24
Here are some minor moves from around the NFL today:
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Justin Murray
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Cam Brown
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on reserve/retired list: P Jon Ryan
Murray has been a journeyman lineman since going undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2016. While his most productive season came over three years with the Cardinals during which he started 20 games in 30 appearances, Murray has spent time in Denver, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Oakland, Buffalo, Las Vegas, and Tennessee. Most recently, he signed to the Browns’ practice squad midseason last year before signing a reserve/futures contract in January. Instead of competing for a roster spot, Murray will join wide receiver Rashard Higgins and linebacker Christian Kirksey in retirement.
Brown, a former sixth round pick out of Penn State, has spent his rookie contract as a core special teamer for the Giants. He’ll attempt to earn a bigger role in Miami in 2024.
After a 12-year NFL career, including 10 straight seasons with the Seahawks, Ryan found himself off of a roster following his 36-year-old season in 2017. Determined to continue playing, Ryan has continued punting, and excelling, in the Canadian Football League over the past few years. Now 42 years old, Ryan seems to have finally resigned to end his football career. He’ll retire a Seahawk.
Colts Extend DT DeForest Buckner
APRIL 17: The Colts are guaranteeing nearly this entire pact, which reminds of the structure the Texans authorized for Danielle Hunter. Of Buckner’s $46MM, $43.25MM is guaranteed at signing. Both Buckner’s 2024 and ’25 base salaries ($2.25MM, $13MM) are fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap.
This profiles as a great deal for Buckner, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicating $10MM of his $13MM 2026 base salary shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in 2025. This would bump the practical guarantee in this through-2026 deal to $53.25MM. Indy used two void years for bonus proration purposes. The extension dropped Buckner’s 2024 cap number to $8.35MM, saving more than $14MM. Even with the void years, Buckner’s cap number spikes to $26.6MM in 2025.
APRIL 15: DeForest Buckner has become the latest defensive tackle to benefit from the position’s surging market. The three-time Pro Bowler agreed to a two-year, $46MM extension on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
The past two offseasons has seen a number of defensive tackle contributors land lucrative new deals, especially ascending players at the position securing second contracts. That does not apply in Buckner’s case, but the 30-year-old has been as advertised during his time in Indianapolis. In four years since Buckner was acquired via trade, he has racked up 32.5 sacks and (in the 2020 campaign) his lone career first-team All-Pro nod.
One year remained on the former 49er’s existing deal – a four-year, $84 pact signed upon arrival in Indianapolis – and he was set to carry a 2024 cap hit of $22.75MM. Schefter’s colleague Stephen Holder notes that figure could change with Buckner now on the books through 2026, but he adds the Colts rarely elect to backload extensions such as this one. In any case, he will carry a similar cost for the next two seasons ($23MM AAV) compared to his current pact.
Buckner has missed just one game during his Colts run, and he has remained a consistent producer during his time with the team. He has made between 58 and 81 tackles each season with Indianapolis, with the latter figure (posted in 2023) representing a career high. The former first-rounder has added between 21 and 26 QB hits each year in that span, and he will be expected to remain a top producer on the Colts’ defense for the intermediate future with this new deal now in hand.
Indianapolis has been busy this offseason with respect to retaining key players on both sides of the ball. That has included new deals for the likes of cornerback Kenny Moore and safety Julian Blackmon, along with an extension for linebacker Zaire Franklin. On offense, wideout Michael Pittman Jr. saw his time attached to a franchise tag come to an end once a three-year, $70MM deal was worked out.
Along the defensive line, the Colts have also elected to return much of the core which was in place last year. Grover Stewart and Tyquan Lewis each signed new deals in March, and the former is on the books for the next three years while the latter is in place for the next two. Stewart in particular has been a key figure in the Colts’ defensive interior, serving as a full-time starter for each of the past five years. His partnership alongside Buckner is now set to continue beyond 2024.
Buckner entered Monday ranked 11th in the league in terms of annual average compensation amongst defensive tackles. Seeing a slight bump in that regard will move him back into the top 10 with this pact, one which ensures he will remain a focal point of Indianapolis’ front seven for at least the next few years.
Cowboys Sign RB Royce Freeman
After sitting out the initial phase of the running back carousel, the Cowboys have finally added to the position. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Cowboys have signed veteran Royce Freeman. It’s a one-year deal for the running back.
The Cowboys have seen some massive turnover in their backfield over the past year. After moving on from Ezekiel Elliott last offseason, the Cowboys weren’t able to retain Tony Pollard this year. While a long list of free agent RBs switched teams, the Cowboys ended up sticking with a current grouping that’s led by Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle.
While it’s no guarantee that Freeman will slide atop the depth chart in Dallas, the 28-year-old brings much more experience than his two newest teammates. Freeman has seen time in 79 career games, and while he hasn’t been able to replicate his early-career success in Denver, he’s still been serviceable in recent years. He most recently got into 14 games with the Rams last season, collecting 319 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries.
While his 2023 performance was fine for a backup, the Cowboys will surely be seeking more upside from their running game. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Archer notes that today’s signing doesn’t take the Cowboys out of the running for an early-round rookie RB. Archer even says the Cowboys could look to add more depth via free agency.
49ers To Bring Back WR Trent Taylor
After three years away, Trent Taylor has agreed to come back to San Francisco. The veteran wide receiver/return man is set to rejoin the 49ers, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. The team has since announced a one-year agreement with Taylor.
The 49ers drafted Taylor in the 2017 fifth round but did not retain him once his rookie contract expired. After two seasons with the Bengals, the slot player/punt returner spent last year with the Bears. Taylor operated as Chicago’s primary punt returner last season.
Taylor predates some of the key 49ers who have been part of the team’s run of NFC championship game appearances over the past three years, but he arrived during Kyle Shanahan‘s first offseason as HC. The 49ers used Taylor extensively on offense in 2017; the 5-foot-8 target caught 43 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns. Since that season, however, Taylor has not seen much usage on offense. He has, however, worked as a regular punt returner for three franchises.
Also San Francisco’s punt returner as a rookie, Taylor averaged 10.3 yards per return with Cincinnati in 2022; that ranked sixth in the NFL. Last year, the Bears stashed Taylor on their practice squad before calling him up ahead of Week 1. Taylor played in all 17 Chicago games, averaging 8.3 yards per return. While Taylor has not seen much time as a receiver since his first 49ers stint, he caught a key two-point conversion in the Bengals’ overtime win over the Chiefs in the 2021 AFC championship game.
San Francisco’s primary punt returner last season — Ray-Ray McCloud — is no longer on the roster; he signed with the Falcons in free agency. A failed McCloud fumble recovery on the punt that caromed off Darrell Luter in the third quarter of Super Bowl LVIII became a pivotal sequence for the 49ers, whose defense surrendered a touchdown — the Chiefs’ only regulation TD in the overtime thriller — one play later. Taylor, who will turn 30 later this month, may now be the favorite to replace McCloud in the return game.
A Taylor injury prevented him from playing in 2019, though he did circle back to a Super Bowl stage two years later with the Bengals. As the 49ers attempt to clear a troublesome hurdle en route to their sixth championship, they are bringing back an old friend for a niche role. Although the NFL changing the kick-return game has affected teams’ plans this offseason, Taylor has mostly been a punt-game specialist. The Louisiana Tech alum has eight career kickoff returns as a pro.
Dolphins To Exercise OLB Jaelan Phillips’ Fifth-Year Option
While Jaylen Waddle is on Miami’s extension radar, the team is making the clear-cut decision to push his rookie contract through 2025 via the fifth-year option. The other Dolphins 2021 first-round pick will also see his deal extended by a year.
Despite going down with an Achilles tear on Black Friday, Jaelan Phillips will secure some additional guarantees soon. The Dolphins are planning to exercise the edge rusher’s fifth-year option by the May 2 deadline, GM Chris Grier said Tuesday (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson). The option is fully guaranteed.
Because Phillips’ injury trouble limited him to eight games last season, the zero-time Pro Bowler’s option number is set to come in at $13.3MM. That doubles as the lowest tier for linebackers on this year’s option structure. Phillips needed to play at least 50% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps in each of his three seasons or cross the 75% snap barrier in two of the three. The ex-Miami Hurricanes cog would have been on track to cross the first of those thresholds had he not suffered the Achilles tear; that would have made the option number $14.5MM.
Phillips, 24, flashed as a rookie by recording 8.5 sacks under Brian Flores in 2021. In 2022, the 6-foot-5 edge defender posted a career-high 25 QB hits. Phillips appeared well on his way to his first double-digit sack season last year; in eight games, Phillips tallied 6.5. Had Phillips not missed three games early last season, he would have been eligible for Tier 3 of this year’s option structure. As a result, the Dolphins will receive a slight discount as they continue to evaluate the player.
The Dolphins committed big dollars to Bradley Chubb‘s extension just after acquiring him at the 2022 deadline, but their edge-rushing situation changed dramatically after the injuries to both starters. Chubb is rehabbing the ACL tear he sustained in Week 17. By the wild-card round, Miami needed to plug in a few emergency free agents — from Melvin Ingram to Justin Houston to Bruce Irvin. The Dolphins now have Shaq Barrett in the fold; the veteran may well be needed to start if one of the rehabbing edges is not ready to go in Week 1.
Re-emerging by Week 1 will be the goal for Phillips, who seems likely to begin training camp on the active/PUP list. A transfer to the reserve/PUP list would mean four missed games. Phillips has a big opportunity ahead, with a return to his pre-injury form setting up either a pricey extension or this contract coming with another team.
The Dolphins have identified some players they want to extend — from Waddle to Jevon Holland to Tua Tagovailoa. With Chubb and Tyreek Hill tied to lucrative deals, other corners could need to be cut. But a Phillips extension profiles as a back-burner issue. The Dolphins’ payroll could look quite different by the time a second Phillips contract goes on the books.
Eagles, DeVonta Smith Agree To Extension
A recent report indicated the Eagles were nearing an agreement with DeVonta Smith, and the parties have indeed worked out an extension. The fourth-year receiver has a lucrative second contract in place.
Smith has landed a three-year, $75MM extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He adds that the pact – which the team has since announced – includes $51MM guaranteed. Smith will now be under contract through 2028 as a result of this agreement, the first agreed to with a former first-rounder still under team control for two more years.
This deal includes $38.1MM guaranteed at signing, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicating the Eagles are giving Smith a $20.4MM signing bonus and guaranteeing his 2024 and ’25 base salaries ($1.1MM, $1.2MM). A 2025 option bonus worth $11.4MM represents the other chunk of the at-signing sum. The Eagles are also sweetening the pot via a year-out guarantee for 2026. Smith’s 2026 base ($13.3MM) becomes fully guaranteed in March 2025, per Florio, giving the slender wideout a practical guarantee of $51.4MM.
The 25-year-old’s fifth-year option (valued at $15.59MM) has been exercised, Rapoport notes. That comes as no surprise, but the fact that decision would have left the Eagles with plenty of time to negotiate meant the team did not face much urgency with respect to hammering out an agreement. In spite of that, optimism was high as of last week that a pact could be worked out in short order. That has proven to be the case, and a key member of Philadelphia’s offense is now on the books for the foreseeable future.
The Eagles, of course, have a number of lucrative deals already in place on offense. That group (which features the likes of quarterback Jalen Hurts, guard Landon Dickerson and left tackle Jordan Mailata) also includes wideout A.J. Brown. The latter has operated as Philadelphia’s No. 1 wideout since his arrival, which was accompanied by a four-year, $100MM deal. Smith’s extension carries an identical annual average value – and, when factoring in the fifth-year option, he is in line to receive just over $90MM from 2025-28.
While Smith has not matched Brown’s production to date, the former Heisman winner has been a key cog in the Eagles’ passing attack. He also profiles as one of the ascending receivers due to land massive extensions in the immediate future, and Philadelphia has gotten ahead of teams like the Vikings (Justin Jefferson), Cowboys (CeeDee Lamb), Bengals (Tee Higgins) and 49ers (Brandon Aiyuk) in working out the next big-money deal at the position. For now, Smith will move into a tie for fourth in the league in terms of AAV amongst receivers. Each of the other four pass-catchers are due new deals soon, though, and they could surpass that figure as the cap continues to rise.
Smith had a strong season as a rookie, recording 916 yards and five touchdowns. Brown’s arrival did not lead to a drop-off in production for the Alabama product; rather, Smith has taken a step forward with 95- and 81-catch campaigns over the past two years. He has posted over 1,000 yards in both cases, scoring seven touchdowns each time. After facing concerns about his frame entering the league, Smith has missed just one game to date.
The 2024 season will see Kellen Moore take over as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Philadelphia’s offense took a step back during the team’s late-season collapse, and a rebound in efficiency would help avoid a repeat of those struggles. Smith will be a central figure in that effort, and his ability to remain a productive complement to Brown will go a long way in determining the effectiveness of this lucrative commitment.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/15/24
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: LB Joe Bachie
- Signed ERFA tender: LS Cal Adomitis
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: LB Sam Kamara
- Waived/failed physical: G Drew Forbes
Detroit Lions
- Signed ERFA tender: OL Kayode Awosika, LB James Houston, RB Craig Reynolds
Green Bay Packers
- Signed ERFA tender: P Daniel Whalen, RB Emanuel Wilson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Patrick Murtaugh
- Waived: S Ayo Oyelola
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed ERFA tender: RB Ronnie Rivers
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: CB Shemar Jean-Charles
New York Giants
- Signed RFA tender: CB Nick McCloud
New York Jets
- Signed ERFA tender: T Austin Deculus
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Lorenz Metz
Washington Commanders
- Waived: LS Tucker Addington
Today marks the first day for teams with holdover HCs to begin offseason programs. That date frequently coincides with restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents officially coming back into the fold. McCloud’s signing and Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson inking his second-round tender leaves 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, also given a Round 2 tender, as the lone unsigned RFA. McCloud will be tied to a nonguaranteed $2.99MM salary.
A former UDFA out of Michigan State, Bachie has been with the Bengals for the past three seasons. The young linebacker has been a regular special-teamer in that time; over the past two seasons, Bachie has been on the field for more than 60% of Cincinnati’s ST plays.
The Commanders signed Tyler Ott in free agency. The longtime Seahawks snapper spent 2023 with the Ravens; the veteran staying in the Mid-Atlantic region will lead to Addington — a three-game Washington long snapper in 2023 — being moved off the roster.
Murtaugh and Metz are coming to the NFL via the league’s International Pathway Program. Murtaugh hails from Australia and has a background in Australian Rules Football. He spent a bit of time with the Lions in 2023. A German, Metz spent time with the Bears last year but did not make their roster. He was not with a team during the season. If Murtaugh and Metz fail to make their respective team’s 53-man roster, they can be carried as a 17th practice squad player via the IPP program.
Buccaneers Re-Sign DL William Gholston
In an offseason featuring the re-signings of Mike Evans and Lavonte David, another player who has contributed more than 10 years of service to the Buccaneers is staying. William Gholston is coming back for a 12th season in Tampa.
The veteran defensive lineman agreed to terms to stay with the Bucs for a 12th season. The 2013 draftee has only played for one NFL team. This will be the third straight offseason in which Gholston has signed a Bucs contract; he agreed to one-year deals in 2022 and ’23. Gholston played for $2.7MM last year and $4.5MM in 2022.
Not many NFL teams in recent years have employed three players who have been around for at least 10 years together. The Eagles’ former “Core Four” held that distinction, and with Evans back after completing his 10th season, this Bucs group qualifies. While Gholston does not hold the kind of role Evans and David do, he is the team’s second-longest-tenured player — behind David, a 2012 second-round pick.
Although Gholston no longer operates as a full-time starter along Tampa Bay’s D-line, he played in 16 games last season (one start) for a team that made a surprise venture to the divisional round. Gholston’s Tampa Bay stay coincides with Jason Licht‘s; the GM’s first offseason doubled as Gholston’s NFL arrival. The team retaining Todd Bowles as head coach certainly helps Gholston’s cause, as the latter has played in Bowles’ system for the past five seasons.
Gholston, 32, is in rare territory in terms of games played as a Buccaneer. Only five players — three of them Hall of Famers — have suited up more times than the Michigan State alum, who has played 169 career contests. Gholston trails only Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, tight end Dave Moore, tackle Paul Gruber and David among games played with the franchise. Staying healthy this season would vault David and Gholston into the top three on this list.
After totaling 20 QB hits in 2020 and compiling 7.5 sacks between the ’20 and ’21 seasons, Gholston logged only 244 defensive snaps last season — a career-low number. But the Bucs clearly value his place on their D-line. The team has Vita Vea and recent high picks Logan Hall and Calijah Kancey along its defensive front; ex-Rams Super Bowl LVI starter Greg Gaines remains under contract as well. Gholston, who has 19.5 career sacks (none over the past two years), will rejoin during an offseason focused on the Bucs retaining everyone they can.
The Bucs have brought back Evans, David, Baker Mayfield and Chase Edmonds; they also circled back to Jordan Whitehead, who spent the past two seasons with the Jets. Like Whitehead, Gholston was a key backup in Super Bowl LV. For his career, however, Gholston has started 88 games — including 22 between the 2020 and ’21 seasons — and would be in place to add to that total if injuries affect the Bucs’ younger D-linemen.
LT Alaric Jackson Signs Rams RFA Tender
The Rams have their top free agent back in the fold, announcing Alaric Jackson signed his RFA tender. This transaction places Jackson under contract for 2024 and sets up an important year for the young blocker’s long-term future.
The rare UDFA to move into a role as a starting left tackle, Jackson received a second-round RFA tender in March. That entitles him to a $4.89MM salary. Unless he and the Rams agree on an extension before the season, that will be the Iowa alum’s 2024 salary. Only Jackson and 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings received second-round tenders this offseason.
Jackson, 25, usurped Joe Noteboom as the Rams’ left tackle last year, starting 15 games. Expected to remain in that role in 2024, Jackson has a big opportunity ahead. Barring an extension before the 2025 legal tampering period, Jackson is ticketed for unrestricted free agency next year.
Mid-April annually brings a deadline pertaining to RFAs. This year, the last date for RFAs to sign offer sheets with other teams looms on April 19. The league did see an offer sheet extended this offseason — the 49ers’ Brock Wright effort — but the Lions matched it. Although Jackson has shown himself to be a more important player, the Rams placing a second-round tender on him scared off other teams regarding an offer sheet. Had the Rams failed to match a Jackson contract proposal, they would have received a second-round pick as compensation.
Although the Rams signed Noteboom to a three-year, $39MM deal to succeed Andrew Whitworth at left tackle, he could not retain the job. Entering last season, Jackson had beaten out the former $13MM-per-year player — Noteboom has since taken a pay cut — for the blindside gig. Pro Football Focus slotted Jackson as a mid-pack tackle in 2023, ranking him 43rd at the position.
As of now, a notable crop of LTs are due to be 2025 UFAs. Ronnie Stanley, Taylor Decker, Garett Bolles, Jedrick Wills, Cam Robinson and Dan Moore are unsigned beyond 2024. So are 2021 first-rounders Christian Darrisaw and Rashawn Slater, though that will almost definitely change once the Vikings and Chargers respectively pick up their blind-siders’ fifth-year options. The Rams now have two big-ticket guard contracts on their payroll, via the Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson signings, so it will be interesting to see how they proceed with Jackson. Longtime Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein is signed through 2025.