Giants Not Planning To Tender Isaiah Hodgins As RFA
A part-time starter and regular contributor for the Giants over the past two seasons, Isaiah Hodgins may not be part of the team’s 2024 plan. The Giants are not expected to tender Hodgins as a restricted free agent, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan.
The Giants did keep Hodgins as via ERFA tender last year, but the RFA numbers are more expensive. It would cost the Giants $2.98MM to keep Hodgins. While that would not be especially difficult to pull off, teams regularly pass on tendering a player only to bring him back at a lower rate. It remains to be seen if the Giants will consider keeping Hodgins for a third season.
Hodgins, 25, proved quite valuable for a receiver-thin Giants squad in 2022. The ex-Brian Daboll Bills charge — claimed off waivers midway through the 2022 slate — caught 33 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns, reaching these totals despite playing in only eight Giants games. In New York’s playoff upset win in Minnesota, Hodgins scored and served as Daniel Jones‘ top target. His 8-105-1 line made a considerable difference in the Giants’ first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI.
Kayvon Thibodeaux‘s production and the interesting Tommy DeVito stretch notwithstanding, just about everything fell apart for the Giants last season. The team added more receiving help, including Darren Waller and Parris Campbell, but still used Hodgins regularly. The 6-foot-3 target played ahead of Campbell and Sterling Shepard but saw fewer snaps than the re-signed Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson and third-round pick Jalin Hyatt. Hodgins caught 21 passes for 230 yards and three TDs.
The Giants have Slayton and Robinson still under contract alongside Hyatt, though Shepard and Campbell are unlikely to return. Hodgins, who did not play any special teams snap, may also be out of the picture soon. If the Giants do not draft a quarterback in Round 1, they are being closely tied to a big receiver investment.
Jets To Re-Sign P Thomas Morstead
Turning 38 last week, Thomas Morstead still showed the Jets enough to command a multiyear contract. Following through on an effort to re-sign Morstead, the team is giving him a deal through 2025.
Morstead’s two-year contract will be worth more than $5MM, according to The33rdTeam.com’s Ari Meirov. Morstead joined the Jets last year, doing so after a season with the Dolphins. The Jets have now re-signed both Morstead and Greg Zuerlein. The veteran kicker also received a two-year deal.
The 15-year veteran averaged 48.8 yards per punt last season — the second-most of his career — and that came on a rather large number of punts, as the Jets’ offense ran into some memorable struggles. Morstead’s 99 boots led the NFL, coming after he only punted 61 times in 17 Dolphins games. This represents the former Super Bowl winner’s second Jets stint, as the team used him in seven games during the 2021 season.
Morstead replaced Braden Mann as the Jets’ punter, though the team has not run into the turnover it has at kicker. Zuerlein stopped a run of several seasons with new kickers. He and Morstead are each tied to deals that will take them into their late 30s. Morstead, who earned second-team All-Pro acclaim with the Saints back in 2012, is now under contract through his age-39 season.
Panthers To Sign CB Dane Jackson
Dane Jackson will not stay in Buffalo on a second contract. The free agent corner has agreed to a deal with the Panthers, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. 
Carolina was prepared to move on from veteran corner Donte Jackson by releasing him. Instead, a trade with the Steelers was worked out which will see the team acquire Diontae Johnson in exchange for Jackson. In need of a starting-caliber replacement in the secondary, Dane Jackson will provide an intriguing option on that front.
The latter will receive up to $14.5MM on a two-year deal, Pelissero adds. Given those terms, Jackson will be counted on as a starter with Carolina. The former seventh-rounder started a total of 28 games across his four seasons in Buffalo. That figure includes 14 starts in 2020, a season in which he recorded two interceptions and 12 pass deflections.
The 27-year-old saw his defensive snap share drop to 50% last season, and his ball production suffered as a result. Jackson also endured the worst season of his career with respect to coverage performance in 2023. He allowed a 74.3% completion percentage and a passer rating of 109.6 as the nearest defender. While Jackson drew a career-high PFF grade in coverage, improvement in his overall play will no doubt be a goal for the Panthers.
Buffalo moved on from Tre’Davious White earlier this month, and the team also cut veteran safety Jordan Poyer in a cost-shedding move. Jackson’s departure will add further to the turnover seen in the Bills’ secondary. The Panthers, meanwhile, will seek to use Jackson as a first-teamer opposite Jaycee Horn moving forward as they look to replicate their strong play against the pass from last season.
Chargers, Khalil Mack Agree To Restructure
At least one member of the four Chargers players thought to be potential cap casualties is on the way out. Mike Williams has been released, but edge rusher Khalil Mack will remain in Los Angeles in 2024. The latter has agreed to restructure his contract, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The former Defensive Player of the Year is due $23.5MM in 2024, but his cap hit was slated to sit at $38.5MM. The Bolts needed to make a few major cost-shedding moves to achieve cap compliance today, and the Williams release freed up $20MM in funds. Reworking the Mack contract will provide further breathing room.
This marks the third straight year the Chargers have restructured Mack’s contract. The 2023 adjustment created the whopping 2024 cap number, and with Mack’s Bears-constructed contract in its final year, it will be interesting to see what the Chargers do here. After Mack resurfaced with a career-best 17 sacks last season, Jim Harbaugh will keep him in the fold.
With Tom Telesco at the helm, the Chargers traded second- and sixth-round picks for Mack in March 2022. After a quiet debut, the former Raiders and Bears All-Pro posted his first double-digit sack season since 2018. The 33-year-old pass rusher has also proven durable for a Chargers team generally anything but, playing 17 games in each of his two Los Angeles seasons.
The Chargers discussed Williams, Mack, Keenan Allen and Joey Bosa in trades recently, and they pushed the Williams matter to the deadline. The team has moved under the salary cap via these two moves, but this became one of the more notable cap crunches in recent NFL history due to the team entering the compliance deadline day more than $25MM over the cap. With a new czar in charge, Mack, Bosa and Allen may not be full-on locks to stay with the Chargers — as trades could come about.
For now, however, the Bolts have checked off two of these four contracts. Allen and Bosa, however, are tied to cap hits north of $34MM. Like Mack, Allen is going into the final year of a contract. Bosa has two years remaining.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Bengals Release S Nick Scott
Having made a notable addition on the backend by agreeing to a deal with Geno Stone, the Bengals will remove a recent arrival from the equation. Cincinnati plans to release safety Nick Scott, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move is now official, per a team announcement. 
Scott spent the course of his rookie contract with the Rams, a tenure which concluded with the team’s Super Bowl win over the Bengals. That landed him a three-year, $12MM agreement with Cincinnati last offseason. After just one year in the Queen City, however, the 28-year-old will once again hit the open market.
Scott is due $3.3MM in 2024, with a cap hit $1MM higher. Cutting him immediately would result in $2.3MM in cap savings against a dead money charge of $2MM. Designating him a post-June 1 release would shift $1MM from dead money to cap space, but the Bengals would not see the savings until June 2. In any event, Stone’s arrival suggested Scott could be on the way out this offseason.
The latter started 10 games in 2023, but by November he had lost his first-team spot to Jordan Battle. Scott racked up 57 tackles and a fumble recovery, but he surrendered a passer rating of 99.6 in coverage. Breakdowns in the secondary were a common issue for Cincinnati last year, something which influenced the decision to bring in Stone at the outset of the negotiating window. The former Ravens draftee secured $15MM on a two-year deal.
Battle is still on his rookie contract for three more seasons, and he and Stone could serve as full-time starters in 2024. Former first-rounder Dax Hill is also in the fold, although questions have been raised about where he best fits in the secondary. Cincinnati will have decisions to make in the latter’s case moving forward, while Scott will become a late entrant to a crowded free agent safety class.
Bucs To Bring Back S Jordan Whitehead
As the Buccaneers’ offseason blueprint brings a heavy retention vibe, they will bring back another familiar face. After two seasons with the Jets, Jordan Whitehead is coming back to Tampa.
The six-year veteran safety will rejoin the Bucs on a two-year deal that can max out at $10.5MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. In base value, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports Whitehead will be tied to a two-year, $9MM deal that features $4.5MM guaranteed at signing. This checks in south of Whitehead’s Jets deal (two years, $14MM) from 2022.
[RELATED: Bucs Trade CB Carlton Davis To Lions]
A 2018 Bucs draftee, Whitehead was a regular for four seasons before departing for New York. He will return to play alongside franchise-tagged safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The Jets expressed modest interest in retaining Whitehead but did not view the two-year starter as a top priority. As for the Bucs, they wanted to retain Whitehead in 2022, ESPN’s Jenna Laine tweets.
Whitehead started all 34 Jets games over the past two years. In 2023, he stood out in an ugly season for the team. Whitehead intercepted four passes — three in the team’s season-opening win over the Bills — and broke up nine more. Pro Football Focus rated Whitehead 39th among safeties last season. But Whitehead is better remembered for his Buccaneers contributions.
Whitehead started all four playoff games for the Super Bowl LV-winning team, forcing two fumbles during that four-game bracket, and has posted at least two INTs in each season this decade. He teamed with Winfield as a starter during the Bucs’ romp over the Chiefs, a win that has aged better given the AFC power’s accomplishments since, and started 55 games for the team since joining Winfield, Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting as Day 2 draft investments in the Bucs’ secondary.
Despite being a six-year veteran, Whitehead will be 27 throughout the 2024 season. Ryan Neal, who joined Winfield as a starter last season after the Seahawks parted ways with him, is a free agent. This clears the runway for Whitehead to reprise his role alongside the All-Pro talent.
Raiders To Add TE Harrison Bryant
With Michael Mayer in place as the Raiders’ starting tight end, the team will bring in one of Austin Hooper‘s former teammates to fill the sidekick role at the position. 
Hooper committed to the Patriots on Tuesday night, rejoining Alex Van Pelt in New England. The Raiders will move to ex-Browns role player Harrison Bryant on a one-year deal ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes is worth $3.25MM. Bryant could earn up to $4MM, Schefter adds.
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Bryant maintained a steady role on offense across his first three seasons in Cleveland. He made 24, 21 and 31 receptions from 2020-22, recording almost identical yardage totals during that span. Bryant’s roster security was in question last spring, however, and he found himself on the trade block. No deal emerged, but the FAU alum was limited to just 13 catches this past season.
Bryant did score three touchdowns in 2023, bringing his career total in that regard to 10. The 25-year-old will aim to remain an end zone target in Vegas while seeing an uptick in usage. Mayer drew 40 targets during his rookie season, a figure which could stand to increase moving forward. Given the team’s decision to move on from slot wideout Hunter Renfrow, though, more opportunities could be available in the middle of the field for both Mayer and Bryant.
The Browns have David Njoku on the books for another two seasons, and he will remain Cleveland’s starter at the TE spot moving forward. A depth addition could be coming during the second wave of free agency or the draft to replace Bryant’s secondary contributions, however. The latter will prepare to catch passes from at least one of Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell in 2024 knowing a strong campaign could boost his market value next offseason.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Eagles Reach Extension With K Jake Elliott
Two days after giving Landon Dickerson a guard-record extension, the Eagles are locking up their kicker. The team announced a four-year agreement with Jake Elliott on Wednesday. 
Elliott signed a four-year, $24MM deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets, tying the veteran to the Eagles through the 2028 season. Elliott’s $6MM average ties Justin Tucker for the highest among kickers. Both punter Braden Mann and long snapper Rick Lovato re-signed yesterday, so each member of the Eagles’ kicking battery will remain in place moving forward.
Drafted by the Bengals in 2017, Elliott spent his rookie season in Philadelphia and has not looked back since then. The 29-year-old has remained a consistent producer in the kicking game during his run with the Eagles, recording a field goal accuracy percentage of at least 83.9% in all but one season. Elliott earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021, and he received second-team All-Pro honors this past season.
In 2023, the former fifth-rounder connected on 30 of 32 field goal attempts; that total included seven makes on eight kicks beyond 50 yards. He also went 45-for-46 on extra points, missing three or fewer attempts in that regard for the seventh straight season. In the wake of another strong campaign, Elliott has landed a second long-term investment. The Memphis product had been playing on a five-year, $20.15MM pact.
Elliott will outpace the value of that contract moving forward, although his 2024 cap hit ($5.95MM) will likely be reduced with this extension. That would provide the Eagles with added spending power for the offseason while ensuring Elliott remains in place for the foreseeable future. Expectations will thus remain high for Philadelphia’s special teams in 2024 and beyond.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Broncos To Re-Sign Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Playing a bigger-than-expected role with the Broncos last season, Lil’Jordan Humphrey is part of the team’s changing 2024 receiver plan. Denver is bringing back the ex-Sean Payton New Orleans charge.
Humphrey will re-sign with the Broncos on a one-year deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy to the Browns over the weekend and owe Courtland Sutton a roster bonus this coming weekend. As changes come about in a Denver receiving corps that had stayed mostly the same since 2020, Humphrey will attempt to carve out a role once again.
Down Tim Patrick for a second full season, Denver opted to use Humphrey as an eight-game starter. While this run did not lead to impressive stats (13 catches, 162 yards), Patrick played all 17 games and caught three TD passes. In addition to a Week 1 score, the 6-foot-4 pass catcher reeled off an impressive catch-and-run TD during Jarrett Stidham‘s first start four months later.
In five seasons, Humphrey has crossed 100 receiving yards only twice. He did play for Payton for three years in New Orleans, bringing system familiarity on a team that could be making a significant transition. Perennial trade candidates, Jeudy and Sutton were teammates for four seasons. Although the Broncos are bringing Patrick back, Sutton is due a $2MM salary guarantee on Sunday. The six-year veteran is attached to a nonguaranteed $13MM base salary for 2024. With the Broncos in cost-cutting mode, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they separate from Jeudy and Sutton this offseason.
Texans To Trade DT Maliek Collins To 49ers
Maliek Collins signed three Texans contracts in three years; his most recent will be transferred to the 49ers’ payroll. Houston is sending the veteran defensive tackle to San Francisco, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports.
The 49ers will acquire the former Cowboys, Raiders and Texans interior D-lineman for a seventh-round pick, Schefter adds. Collins, 29 next month, spent the past three seasons in Houston. He is coming off a career-best pass-rushing season. With Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw heading out of town, the 49ers are revamping their DT group alongside Javon Hargrave.
San Francisco will send this year’s No. 232 overall pick to Houston, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The Texans will end up dropping eight spots in the seventh round by trading Collins and acquiring Joe Mixon, who cost only the 224th overall choice.
This should prove to be a scheme fit, considering Collins started in DeMeco Ryans‘ defense last season. After shifting away from their Ryans-Robert Saleh scheme under Steve Wilks, the 49ers scrapped that plan and promoted Nick Sorensen to lead the defense. Collins will remain a 4-3 D-tackle in San Francisco.
Collins totaled five sacks in Ryans’ defense last season, tallying a career-high — by a wide margin — 18 QB hits in his third year with the Texans. ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric ranked Collins 12th among interior D-linemen in 2023.
The team has added Denico Autry and Foley Fatukasi in free agency; those veterans look set to move into Houston’s starting lineup. Collins may not be a lock to start in San Francisco, but his contract ($11.5MM per year) would suggest that is going to happen.
Signing Collins in 2021 to work in Lovie Smith‘s system, the Texans re-signed the ex-Cowboys draftee a year later. Despite changing schemes under Ryans, the team gave Collins a two-year, $23MM extension last summer. Two years remain on that deal, which could certainly provide good value for a 49ers team that did well to grab Charles Omenihu from the Texans in 2021. On a roster that featured low-cost deals just about everywhere but the offensive line, Collins’ deal stood out. It will blend in more on the 49ers’ payroll.
Hargrave is sticking around as the highest-profile Nick Bosa sidekick, but the defending NFC champions are retooling around the two veterans. Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos are coming in on midlevel deals to supplement Bosa on the edge, while ex-Browns starter Jordan Elliott will be part of the 49ers’ interior mix alongside Hargrave. Armstead started for nine seasons in San Francisco. The 49ers offered the 6-foot-7 regular a pay cut, but this trade and the Elliott pickup would suggest the team is not planning to have Armstead back at a reduced rate. The Titans are believed to be interested in Armstead, while Kinlaw joined the Jets.