WR Mack Hollins Signing With Falcons
The Falcons have brought in some much-needed help at wide receiver, signing former Raiders wide receiver Mack Hollins, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The new deal is reportedly a one-year, $2.5MM contract including a signing bonus of $910,000 and a base salary of $1.08MM. The deal will reportedly also include a per game active roster bonus of $30,000 for a potential season total of $510,000. 
Hollins had a breakout season with the Raiders last year after four years in the league between Philadelphia and Miami. Hollins recorded career-highs in starts (16), targets (94), receptions (57), and receiving yards (690), while tying a career-high with four touchdowns last season. In his first opportunity to be a starting weapon in an NFL offense, Hollins was second on the team in receiving yards, behind only star wideout DeAndre Hopkins. He used his health and dependability to outperform last year’s leaders Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller.
Hollins immediately becomes a big piece on the Falcons offense due to an extreme lack of depth at the position. Not including young starters Drake London and Kyle Pitts, three of Atlanta’s top-five targeted receivers from last season (Olamide Zaccheaus, Damiere Byrd, and KhaDarel Hodge) are all currently free agents. The top returning wideout behind London is Frank Darby who had one catch for 15 yards last year.
Whether he’s receiving passes from second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder or recently acquired Taylor Heinicke, Hollins provides the Falcons with a breakout wide receiver who can contribute on special teams if needed. In return, Hollins receives the biggest contract of his career so far.
Chiefs To Sign DE Charles Omenihu
MARCH 19: Thanks to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, we now have some details on Omenihu’s new contract. The contract is a two-year, $16MM deal now confirmed to have that maximum value of $20MM. The deal has a guaranteed amount of $10.6MM partially consisting of a $7.5MM signing bonus and the first year’s base salary of $1.08MM. Omenihu’s deal includes annual incentives worth up to $2MM per year based on playing time and playoffs. Lastly, the deal includes a per-game active roster bonus of $30K that could add a season total of $510K in 2023.
MARCH 14: The Chiefs are adding a pass rusher. The team is signing defensive end Charles Omenihu, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It’s a two-year deal worth up to $20MM.
Omenihu spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Texans, collecting seven sacks through his first two seasons with the organization. He was traded to the 49ers during the 2021 for a sixth-round pick and played sparingly down the stretch.
He took on a larger role in 2022 and had a career season. Omenihu appeared in a career-high 54 percent of his team’s defensive snaps while finishing with career-highs in sacks (4.5) and QB hits (16). Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him 44th among 119 qualifying edge defenders, including a top-20 grade in pass rushing. He’ll provide the Chiefs with some extra depth on the edge (plus some insurance in case Carlos Dunlap signs elsewhere).
The 49ers, meanwhile, will watch as yet another key defender walks out the door. So far in free agency, the team has lost Samson Ebukam, Emmanuel Moseley, Azeez Al-Shaair, Jimmie Ward, and now Omenihu.
Panthers Finalizing Deal With WR Adam Thielen
The Panthers continue a busy offseason hellbent on improving their roster, coming to a three-year agreement with long-time Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, according to Ian Rapoport. Thielen becomes the fourth major addition to the Panthers’ offense this offseason and will be a major factor as they attempt to better a unit that finished 29th in passing yards last season. 
Thielen is an incredible story of outperforming his resume. An undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2013, Thielen attended a rookie tryout with the Vikings. He was signed to an entry level contract before getting cut in final roster cuts and signed to the practice squad as a rookie. A strong preseason performance in 2014 earned him a spot on the 53-man roster, but he mostly played on special teams for the next two years, getting negligible snaps on offense.
Thielen broke out in 2016 with a 69-catch, 967-yard performance. It solidified him as a full-time starter in the years to come. He gained new highs in each of the next two seasons with career-high 91- and 113-reception seasons of 1,276 and 1,373 receiving yards, respectively. The only thing he ever improved on from those seasons was his touchdown catch totals. In those seasons, he caught four and nine touchdowns. Two years later, Thielen would catch 14 touchdowns in 2020 and 10 in 2021.
After the impressive 2017 and 2018 seasons, Thielen signed a four-year, $64MM extension with Minnesota to keep him under contract through 2024. Hamstring issues would limit him to only ten games that year. He rebounded with the 14-touchdown 2020 season and likely would have, at the very least, matched that output in 2021 if not for ankle surgery that kept him out of four games.
Thielen stayed productive in 2022, but with star wideout Justin Jefferson firmly taking the reins on offense and the emergence of K.J. Osborn, Thielen’s contract became untenable, leading to his release. His new deal is reportedly worth $25MM over the three years with $14MM guaranteed and $10MM in the first year of the contract, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. He’ll now head to Carolina as part of a completely retrofitted offense.
The new Panthers offense will feature either a rookie, No. 1 overall pick or Andy Dalton at quarterback, Miles Sanders at running back, and Hayden Hurst at tight end. With the re-signing of center Bradley Bozeman, a largely improved offensive line completely returns. Now Thielen should figure as the top option at wide receiver.
After trading away D.J. Moore in the deal that brought in the top draft pick, the team could still use some help at wide receiver. The Panthers currently roster Terrace Marshall, Shi Smith, and Laviska Shenault as their top receiving options behind Thielen. All are serviceable, especially with Thielen now in the group, but Carolina is still interested in adding another name. They recently hosted DJ Chark and would very much like to reunite him with Shenault, his former Jaguars teammate.
Regardless of whether or not they can pair Chark with Thielen, the Panthers have a new No. 1 receiver in Thielen. After years behind Stefon Diggs and Jefferson in Minnesota, Thielen will finally get a chance to be a top receiving option in Carolina.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/23
We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: LB Del’Shawn Phillips
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: LB Jordan Kunaszyk
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LS Jake McQuaide
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: LS Trent Sieg
Washington Commanders
- Retired: TE Eli Wolf
Broncos To Re-Sign CB Essang Bassey
The Broncos have been one of the league’s busiest teams in free agency, authorizing multiple big-money deals to bolster their offensive and defensive fronts (among other areas of need). The club is also finalizing a lower-profile transaction to keep a core special-teamer and key secondary reserve on board.
Per Mike Klis of 9News.com, Denver and cornerback Essang Bassey were putting the finishing touches on a one-year contract last night. Bassey, whom the Broncos signed as a UDFA in 2020, was eligible for restricted free agency after having accrued three years of service time. However, even the lowest-level RFA tender would have cost Denver $2.63MM, which the team deemed too expensive. So the Broncos non-tendered Bassey, thereby allowing him to hit the open market.
Klis says that the Jaguars and one other team showed serious interest in Bassey’s services, and it appeared as if Jacksonville would land him. The Jags, though, re-signed fellow CB Tre Herndon, which led Bassey to believe that a return to Denver was his best bet.
Bassey was a pleasant surprise for the Broncos in his rookie campaign in 2020, getting into 12 games (three starts) and securing a spot as the team’s top nickelback. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL late that year and missed most of 2021 as a result. He did play in one game apiece for the Broncos and Chargers — who had claimed him off waivers — in December 2021, and he returned to the Broncos last year. He saw action in 14 contests in 2022, participating in 23% of Denver’s defensive plays and 62% of the club’s special teams snaps.
In his career, the 24-year-old has recorded 39 tackles, an interception, and four passes defensed. In 2023, he will likely reprise his roles as a rotational member of the Broncos’ defensive backfield and as a regular third phase contributor.
Texans, LT Laremy Tunsil Agree To Extension
The Texans have signed left tackle Laremy Tunsil to a record-setting extension. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, player and team are in agreement on a three-year deal worth $75MM, including $50MM in fully guaranteed money and $60MM in total guarantees (Twitter link).
Houston acquired Tunsil in a blockbuster deal with the Dolphins in 2019, sending two first-round picks, a second-rounder, and two players to Miami in exchange for the blindside blocker and WR Kenny Stills. In light of that massive haul and the fact that he earned Pro Bowl honors in his first year in Houston, Tunsil — who operates without an agent — had considerable leverage when it came time to talk extension with the Texans. He landed a three-year, $66MM contract in April 2020, and the $22MM annual average on that deal was a record for left tackles at the time.
That AAV has since been surpassed by Trent Williams and David Bakhtiari, but Tunsil’s new $25MM/year rate once again positions him atop the LT hierarchy. In a piece by Jeff Howe and Adam Coleman of The Athletic (subscription required), Coleman notes that Tunsil will have the chance to hit the market in three years, which suggests that the new extension simply scrapped the final year of his previous contract and will run through the 2025 season. As such, Tunsil will be eligible for free agency when he is just 31 years old, thereby giving him a great chance to cash in all over again in fairly short order.
The contract will drop Tunsil’s 2023 cap number down from $35MM to $26.6MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 adds. Tunsil’s 2024 cap figure drops to $25.9MM, with Wilson adding the 2025 and ’26 hits check in at $28.9MM apiece. Tunsil’s 2023 and ’24 base salaries are fully guaranteed, and his 2025 base features a partial injury guarantee ($10MM). That $10MM injury guarantee shifts to a full guarantee a year out, as Wilson adds it vests on Day 5 of the 2024 league year.
Though the payout is staggering, it is difficult to argue with the Texans’ decision to authorize it. After Tunsil missed most of the 2021 season with a thumb injury, he bounced back in a big way in 2022, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 10th-best offensive tackle and boasting the best pass-block grade of any tackle. That grade was supported by the fact that he only allowed three quarterback hits and 17 pressures on the year, and he earned Pro Bowl acclaim for the third time in his four Houston seasons (the only year in which he did not receive that honor as a member of the Texans was his injury-shortened 2021 campaign).
Plus, the Texans are widely expected to select a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, as Albert Breer of SI.com recently confirmed. So while having an elite left tackle is a top priority for any team, it is especially critical for a rebuilding Houston outfit that could be deploying a rookie under center as soon as Week 1. The club also has Tytus Howard, another extension candidate, at right tackle, giving it an enviable OT situation. The Texans also made a recent move to bolster the interior of their O-line by trading for guard Shaq Mason.
Steelers To Sign OL Isaac Seumalo
One of the top remaining offensive linemen in this year’s free agent class is set for an intra-state move. Isaac Seumalo has agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the Steelers, per Jordan Schultz of The Score (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that the contract is worth $24MM.
Seumalo, 28, had spent all seven years of his NFL career with the Eagles, seeing 60 starts amongst his 80 games played. A full-time starter since the 2019 campaign, Seumalo had primarily seen action at left guard prior to this past season. In 2022, he played on the right side for the first time in four years, logging over 1,100 snaps as the Eagles’ right guard.
The former third-rounder earned himself a three-year, $15.92MM second contract with Philadelphia thanks to his consistency. Seumalo’s strong play has been reflected by positive year-over-year PFF grades ranking him amongst the best interior linemen in the league. In 2022, his overall grade of 72.7 placed him in the top 10 for all qualifying guards.
While that will make his departure a notable one for the NFC champions, it is not an unexpected one. The Eagles were thought to be set for a number of losses in free agency, and they have indeed seen several contributors to this year’s run to the Super Bowl depart. Seumalo will become the latest to do so, though Philadelphia has Cam Jurgens in place as a succession candidate. The 2022 second-rounder was drafted to one day replace Jason Kelce at the center spot, but the latter’s decision to keep playing at least one more year will allow Jurgens to get playing time at right guard.
Seumalo has an injury history, including 14 games missed in 2021 and seven in 2020. However, his addition is a significant one for a Steelers team which has made several moves up front in recent years. Improving along the interior will give a big boost to Pittsburgh’s o-line, and likely pave the way for a bounce-back season on the ground after they ranked mid-pack in rushing yardage in 2022.
The addition of Seumalo comes not long after Pittsburgh signed another former Eagles lineman in Nate Herbig. The latter inked a modest two-year deal, but a starting role was not thought to be out of the question. Regarldess of what happens with him, an upgrade at one guard spot has now been secured with Seumalo, who will look to replicate his personal and team success from his Eagles tenure in his new NFL home.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/23
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: CB Cornell Armstrong
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: S C.J. Moore
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: DE Adam Gotsis
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: LB Curtis Bolton, OL Hroniss Grasu, FB Jakob Johnson
- Signed: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: S Cody Davis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: OLB Cam Gill, DL Pat O’Connor
Armstrong saw by far the largest workload of his career in 2022, his first season with the Falcons. Starting four of the nine games he appeared in, he logged a 57% snap share on defense. The 27-year-old had offers from other teams, per his agent (on Twitter), but he will instead remain in Atlanta on a one-year contract (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2).
Moore is one of several core special teamers earning new deals in recent days. His new Lions pact is two years in length, and has a base value of $4.5MM, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Moore will earn $3MM guaranteed, and could add a further $1.25MM in incentives.
49ers Sign S Myles Hartsfield
The 49ers have added a quality piece to their secondary, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, agreeing to terms with former Panthers safety Myles Hartsfield. The Panthers recently opted not to tender Hartsfield, and despite discussions aimed at a return, the versatile defensive back heads to San Francisco after three years in Carolina. 
An undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss in 2020, Hartsfield made the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster after practicing at both safety and running back in training camp. It took a while before he made his debut, and while he initially started play as a special teamer, the Panthers couldn’t resist including him on defense more and more. By the end of the season, he was a regular rotation on defense.
In his sophomore season, Hartsfield was placed on injured reserve after Week 1. After seven games on IR, Hartsfield earned his first career start and would start the remainder of the season. His usage that year displayed his versatility as he spent very little time at safety and most of his snaps either in the slot or in the box.
Last year, Hartsfield continued in his versatile role, starting ten games for the Panthers. He spent much more time at the safety position in 2022 but still spent the majority of his snaps in the slot and a good amount in the box. Over three years in Carolina, Hartsfield has racked up 118 total tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback hits, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and seven passes defensed.
The 49ers are all set at safety. Despite the departure of Jimmie Ward, San Francisco still returns both starters in Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson, who re-signed with the team earlier this week. Hartsfield should be a strong option to play at nickel or as a box safety. His presence provides the 49ers already stellar defense with a versatile weapon.
Dolphins Sign OLB Malik Reed
The Dolphins have added some pass rushing depth today, agreeing to a one-year deal with Malik Reed, according to Field Yates of ESPN. Both parties have intentions of improving on a disappointing 2022 season. 
Reed started his career in Denver, signing with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada in 2019. He quickly made an impact as a rookie, tallying his first sack by Week 4 and starting the next eight games for the Broncos. His strongest season came the following year when he led the team in sacks with eight, combining with Bradley Chubb for 15.5 sacks.
While still under his entry level deal, Reed was traded to the Steelers for 2022. No longer starting on his new team, Reed struggled to produce in Pittsburgh, following up 15.0 sacks in three years with the Broncos with a single sack on the Steelers. He’ll attempt to get back on track with the Dolphins.
Miami was middle of the pack with their pass rush last year, led by the second-year linebacker out of Miami (FL), Jaelan Phillips, who totaled seven sacks. The team is set to lose its second- and third-highest sack getters, Melvin Ingram (6.0) and Elandon Roberts (4.5), to free agency this offseason but still have Chubb, whom they acquired and extended last season.
Reed will be reunited with Chubb in Miami, backing him and Phillips up as a depth pass rusher. The Dolphins passing rushing depth is extremely thin right now, making Reed an immediate asset no matter what the result. If Reed can return to the production he had in Denver, Miami is looking at a strong top group of pass rushers.