Falcons To Sign QB Taylor Heinicke
Mar 18: We now have specifics on the deal, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Heinicke’s new contract is, specifically, a two-year, $14MM deal with $6.32MM guaranteed, including a $4MM signing bonus, his 2023 base salary of $1.32MM, and his 2023 roster bonus of $1MM. He’s due a 2024 roster bonus of $1.32MM on the fifth league day of the 2024 season. He’ll also receive a per game active bonus of $40,000 for a potential season total of $680,000. Lastly, the deal has up to $3MM in playoff and playing time incentives each year that could push the contract to that maximum $20MM value.
Mar 14: The Falcons have been public about their intentions of adding depth at the quarterback position, and they are acting on it. Atlanta has agreed to terms with Taylor Heinicke on a deal, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter). His colleague Tom Pelissero tweets that it is a two-year contract worth up to $20MM. 
This deal represents a homecoming for the 29-year-old. Heinicke is also making a return to the NFC South, after he spent one season with the Panthers in 2018. That campaign was preceded by a single year in Houston, but he his of course best known for his three years with the Commanders. That span included 24 starts, and has earned him a pact carrying significant value for what is expected to be a backup role.
Heinicke found himself atop Washington’s depth chart for the 2021 campaign, but the team supplanted him with Carson Wentz this past offseason. The trade which brought in the latter was their latest attempt to find a long-term solution at the position, but things didn’t go according to plan with Wentz from both a health and performance perspective. Heinicke did still see nine starts last year, posting a 5-3-1 record with a passer rating of 89.6.
The Commanders have made it clear that 2022 fifth-rounder Sam Howell will enter the 2023 season as their starting quarterback, albeit one who will likely have an experienced passer behind him on the depth chart. Heinicke could have continued in his backup role in the nation’s capital, but now he will head to Atlanta, the location of another interesting quarterback situation. Desmond Ridder, the team’s third-round pick last April, took on the starting role late in the regular season in place of veteran Marcus Mariota, who like Wentz, has since been released.
When speaking about Ridder last month, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and head coach Arthur Smith both praised his performance across his four games of action. Notably, they declined to endorse him as the starter moving forward, adding that competition would be brought in. Signing Heinicke will accomplish that goal, and give the team a consistent veteran option if Ridder fails to take a step forward in his second season.
The Falcons were long named as a potential Lamar Jackson suitor, either through an offer sheet or a tag-and-trade. Not long after it became known that the Ravens were placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on the former MVP, however, Atlanta was reported to be one of several teams which will not be pursuing him. That will leave them with Ridder, and now Heinicke, occupying the top two spots on their QB depth chart.
Vikings To Re-Sign OL Oli Udoh
Set to return their entire starting offensive line, the Vikings are also retaining multiple key backups. Oli Udoh will be one of them, with CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reporting (via Twitter) the veteran swingman agreed to terms Saturday to stay with the team.
Udoh has started at multiple positions for the Vikings. He spent the 2021 season as the team’s full-time right guard starter, and after Brian O’Neill went down in January, the former Minnesota sixth-round pick finished the season as the team’s first-string right tackle. Udoh joins interior O-line backup Austin Schlottmann as having agreed to stay in Minnesota this week.
Despite most of Minnesota’s O-linemen being in place before the arrivals of Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the team will be running it back up front in 2023. Center Garrett Bradbury re-signed with the team on a three-year, $15.75MM deal, and Ed Ingram joins Christian Darrisaw and Ezra Cleveland on rookie contracts. O’Neill is signed to a long-term extension.
While Schlottmann arrived in Minneapolis during the new Vikings regime’s first year in charge, Udoh joined the team under Rick Spielman back in 2019. Udoh, who emerged on the draft radar out of Division I-FCS Elon, spent two seasons as a backup before winning the starting right guard job in 2021. He started 16 games in 2021, ranking outside the top 60 at guard in the view of Pro Football Focus that year. The Vikings opted to replace Udoh with Ingram last year, after an offseason during which they added Chris Reed and Jesse Davis. But Udoh, 26, now remains in the picture beyond his rookie contract.
The Vikings played without Bradbury for a stretch late last season, and they lost O’Neill in Week 17. The team called upon Udoh to start the season finale and the team’s wild-card playoff game. PFF viewed Udoh’s two-game tackle sample as much better, though obviously in a much smaller sample size. He, Schlottmann and Reed will be back in position to be the team’s second-stringers up front.
O’Neill’s partially torn Achilles brought Udoh into the lineup, but despite the injury occurring in January, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert notes (via Twitter) Minnesota’s longtime right tackle starter is expected back by training camp.
Cowboys To Re-Sign QB Cooper Rush
MARCH 18: The deal’s base value checks in at two years and $5MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. The Cowboys are guaranteeing $2.75MM of their backup QB’s pact.
MARCH 17: Cooper Rush helped the Cowboys stay afloat during Dak Prescott‘s early-season absence last year, and the team will sign up for more from the veteran backup. The Cowboys are re-signing Rush, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
The Cowboys’ latest Rush commitment will be a two-year deal worth up to $6MM, with Rapoport adding the deal’s first season and signing bonus will be guaranteed. The QB2 market has moved steadily this week, and the Cowboys will prioritize the player who helped them reach a second straight 12-win season. This will be Rush’s most lucrative contract to date; he was most recently tied to a two-year deal worth $1.96MM.
Rush has spent almost his entire career with the Cowboys, save for a stretch back with ex-Dallas HC Jason Garrett on the 2020 Giants. After the Giants cut him during that season, Rush found his way back to Texas. The former UDFA has been one of the longest-tenured backup QBs in franchise history. Counting that 2020 campaign he finished in Dallas, this will be Rush’s seventh season as Prescott’s backup.
While not needed much in his previous six slates with the team, Rush emerged as a borderline household name (weekly NFL-following homes, at least) in 2022. Prescott’s thumb injury led to five Rush starts in 2022; the team went 4-1 during that stretch, losing only to the Eagles in a nationally televised road game. The Cowboys beat the Bengals, Giants, Commanders and Rams with Rush, who totaled 1,051 passing yards and threw five touchdown passes compared to three interceptions. This came a year after the Central Michigan alum quarterbacked the Cowboys to an upset win in Minnesota.
Rush, 29, will work with Mike McCarthy for a fourth year, and after making just one start over his first five seasons, Rush will enter his seventh NFL slate with a higher profile and as a stronger security presence.
Bears To Sign LB Tremaine Edmunds
Mar 17: According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Edmunds’s new deal has a guaranteed amount of $36.8MM at signing that is composed of a $9.75MM signing bonus, his 2023 base salary of $2.4MM, his 2024 base salary of $14.9MM, and a 2023 roster bonus of $9.75MM. The remaining $13.2MM of guaranteed money is composed of $8.2MM of his $14.9MM 2025 base salary that will be due on the third league day of 2024 and a $5MM roster bonus due on the fifth league day of 2024.
Mar 13: The top off-ball linebacker is off the board. The Bears have entered the mix and will sign Tremaine Edmunds, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
After passing on a monster Roquan Smith extension, GM Ryan Poles will pay up big for Edmunds. The ex-Bills linebacker scored a four-year, $72MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He secured $50MM guaranteed, Schefter adds, noting this is the biggest four-year deal given to an off-ball ‘backer.
This contract checks in just behind Smith’s in Baltimore but also falls just below — AAV-wise, that is — the pacts given to Shaquille Leonard and Fred Warner in 2021. For guarantees, however, Edmunds will only trail Smith, who secured $60MM in total guarantees from the Ravens.
Edmunds, a 2018 first-round pick, spent the first five seasons of his career in Buffalo, compiling at least 100 tackles in each of those campaigns and earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods. He continued being productive in 2022, finishing with 102 tackles in 13 games while finishing as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-best linebacker among 81 qualifiers. He also earned the best coverage score at his position.
Despite his production, it didn’t sound like Edmunds was long for Buffalo. While the organization obviously made an attempt to re-sign the linebacker, it sounds like they’re confident pairing a cheaper off-ball linebacker to play alongside strongside LB Matt Milano, including in-house options like Tyrel Dodson and/or Terrel Bernard. Plus, it sounds like both the Bills and Edmunds were anticipating a deal that would ultimately be too pricey for the organization. Edmunds was far and away the best available free agent at his position, joining a grouping that includes Zach Cunningham, Lavonte David, Deion Jones, Denzel Perryman, and Germaine Pratt. Edmunds indicated that he was a flight risk when he discussed his impending free agency last month.
“I’m gonna let the process take shape,” Edmunds said in February. “Like, you know, they’ve been good to me, so I definitely say ‘thank you’ to the Bills for everything that they’ve done for me these last five years, but like I said, man, I’m…in the backseat.”
The Bears were willing to pony up, with the front office stealing another headline following a busy start to the offseason. Besides trading the number-one pick for a haul that included a pair of firsts and wideout D.J. Moore, the organization also signed linebacker T.J. Edwards to a three-year pact worth $19.5MM and guard Nate Davis to a three-year, $30MM deal.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/23
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Tae Davis
Buffalo Bills
- Signed free agent tender: CB Dane Jackson
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: C Justin McCray
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: S Rudy Ford
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: P JK Scott
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: WR River Cracraft
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: DT Daniel Ekuale
- Signed: LB Chris Board
New York Jets
- Re-signed: FB Nick Bawden
- Signed: C Trystan Colon-Castillo
Washington Commanders
- Signed: DT Abdullah Anderson
Board is a strong special teamer, signing a two-year, $5MM deal with New England, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The contract reportedly includes incentives that can push the deal to a maximum value of $6.7MM.
Colon-Castillo reportedly visited the Falcons today, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Despite the visit, he decided to sign with the Jets.
K Josh Lambo Announces Retirement
After eight years in the NFL, kicker Josh Lambo announced on Twitter that he will be retiring from his second professional sport. In 2012, Lambo retired from professional soccer and went to college to kick for the Texas A&M football team. 11 years later, he’ll retire from football. 
After a strong career with the Aggies, Lambo signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers. After losing the kicking job to Younghoe Koe in Los Angeles, Lambo signed with the Jaguars. Lambo would remain with the Jaguars for the bulk of his career.
After two rough years with the Chargers that saw him miss 12 kicks and eight extra points in the two-year span, Lambo completely turned things around in Jacksonville. In 43 games over his first four years with the Jaguars, Lambo miss only four kicks, making 76 of his 80 attempts. He still had some struggles with extra points but nothing nearly as bad as the four-miss seasons he had with the Chargers.
The 2021 season would be an eventful one for Lambo. After ending the 2020 season on injured reserve with a hip injury, Lambo was struggling to find his form. This led to a preseason interaction with then-head coach Urban Meyer that would then lead to legal action. According to the lawsuit filed by Lambo in 2022, Meyer allegedly kicked Lambo in the leg during warmups and cursed at him while demanding that he make his kicks. The lawsuit was eventually tossed out of court, with the judge giving Lambo an opportunity to re-file the suit.
Following the incident and three consecutive misses to start the season, Lambo was cut from the team. He spent a week that year on the Steelers’ practice squad and, in 2022, signed with the Titans as an injury replacement for Randy Bullock, getting waived five days later.
Now, after only appearing in nine games over the last three seasons, due mostly to injury, Lambo has decided to hang up his cleats for the second time. The 32-year-old kicker ends his career with a field goal percentage of 87.1, thanks in large part to a four-season stretch that was among the more impressive stretches in kicking history.
K Michael Badgley Re-Signing With Lions
The Lions have their placekicker going into next season, reportedly agreeing to terms with Michael Badgley, according to Badgley’s agent Brian McLaughlin (Twitter). Badgley made the Lions his fifth team in as many years last season and impressed the team enough down the stretch to earn a new contract for 2023. 
Badgley initially signed with the Colts in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Miami (FL), leaving Coral Gables as the Hurricanes’ all-time leader in points scored and field goals made. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster, Badgley eventually signed with the Chargers. He struggled to stay on the field in his first two seasons but impressed as a rookie converting 15 of his 16 attempted field goals and 27 of 28 extra point attempts while earning the nickname of Money Badger. His sophomore season was nearly as impressive as he only missed three field goals and made all of his extra points.
A rough 2020 season that would see him miss nine field goals and three extra points would lead to a position battle in camp. The Chargers waived the young kicker after he failed to beat out Tristan Vizcaino in a camp kicking competition. Vizcaino wouldn’t last long in Los Angeles after missing five extra points the next season. Badgley would rebound, signing to the Titans’ practice squad and appearing in one game for Tennessee.
After getting waived by Tennessee, Badgley would win a kicking competition in Indianapolis, beating out Brett Maher, Aldrick Rosas, and Riley Patterson for a backup position behind an injured Rodrigo Blankenship. He would finish the season for the Colts after Blankenship was placed on injured reserve, missing only three field goals and making all 39 of his extra point attempts.
Badgley started 2022 as a free agent and eventually signed with the Bears as Cairo Santos was away from the team for personal reasons. He would only play one game for Chicago but would make all four field goals he would attempt in the game. Badgley was released the following week but quickly picked up by the Lions.
With Austin Seibert battling a groin injury and backup kicker Dominik Eberle struggling, Badgley took hold of the kicking job. He finished the year for the Lions, converting 24 of 28 field goal attempts and making all 33 of his extra points.
Since the departure of long-time kicker Matt Prater, the Lions kicking position has been in flux. The team will hope that Badgley can add a touch of stability to a position that has lacked it in the last few years.
Jaguars Re-Sign CB Tre Herndon
In what has now become an annual post, the Jaguars have re-signed cornerback Tre Herndon to one-year contract, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The new deal is reportedly worth $2.6MM, guaranteed, his highest deal yet with the team. 
A former undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2018, Herndon has spent all of the first five years of his career in Jacksonville. His role with the team over the years has varied greatly. His status has diminished from a starting position in the 2019 and 2020 seasons to a backup role in the past two years.
In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Herdon started in three games, but that was outweighed a bit by the seven games in which he only appeared on special teams.
The position group that Herndon returns to will likely be led by Tyson Campbell and Darious Williams. Herndon will likely be competing with Montaric Brown for the next position on the depth chart after the release of former starter Shaquill Griffin.
Bengals Sign S Nick Scott
Mar 17: Cincinnati has officially reached an agreement with former Rams safety Nick Scott, according to Adam Schefter. The two parties reportedly agreed to a three-year, $12MM deal as Scott is set to join the team he helped defeat in Super Bowl LVI.
Mar 16: The Bengals are zeroing in on a deal with Nick Scott. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus tweets that Cincinnati is “working towards” a deal with the free agency safety. While the deal isn’t finalized, Spielberger says “progress [is] being made.” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms (on Twitter) that the two sides are “working something up.”
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweeted earlier today that Scott was visiting with the Bengals. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets that “it was a great visit today for all involved,” and the two sides are now moving towards a contract.
The former seventh-round pick transformed from a special teamer into a starting-caliber defensive back during his time with the Rams. Scott only started one of his first 48 appearances for Los Angeles, although he took on a significantly larger role during the Rams’ run to a championship. Despite only starting one game during the 2021 campaign, Scott started all four playoff games for the Rams with Jordan Fuller out of the lineup. He compiled 14 tackles during that postseason run en route to a Super Bowl championship.
Scott mostly held on to his starting gig in 2022, starting 16 of his 17 appearances while setting career-highs in tackles (86), passes defended (five), forced fumbles (two), and interceptions (two). He only graded as Pro Football Focus’ 78th safety (among 88 qualifying players), although the site gave him one of the better grades at the position in rush defense. According to Rodrigue (on Twitter), the Rams had preliminary discussions with Scott about bringing him back for 2023.
With Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell out the door, the Bengals have been hunting for a safety to play opposite 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill. The Bengals will surely bring in more depth at the position, but Scott will likely get the first look in the starting lineup.
Jets To Sign P Thomas Morstead; Team Shopping P Braden Mann
5:55pm: What a punter day this is turning out to be. The Jets are now shopping Mann in trades, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Trade discussions have taken place. No punter trades occurred last year, but two — involving Corey Bojorquez and Ryan Santoso — took place in 2021. One involved a pick-swap with a sixth-round return; the other sent back a seventh-rounder. The Jets would save just more than $1MM by cutting Mann.
2:35pm: The Jets will give Thomas Morstead a chance to play a 15th NFL season. They have agreed to a deal with the veteran punter, per said veteran punter (on Twitter).
Best known for his lengthy Saints tenure, Morstead was with the Jets in 2021. The team added him in September of that year but cut him two months later. Robert Saleh‘s squad is circling back to the 37-year-old specialist, who spent last season with the Dolphins, punting in all 18 of Miami’s games.
Initially brought in as a Braden Mann injury fill-in two seasons ago, Morstead again joins a Jets team with Mann on the roster. The former sixth-round pick is going into a contract year. Mann averaged a career-high 46.9 yards per punt in 2022 and played a career-most 27 punts inside the 20-yard line, ranking 17th and 12th in these respective categories. Morstead dropped 28 punts inside the 20 and averaged 46.4 per boot.
If the Jets are keen on having a punting competition, Morstead will bring 14 years’ experience and one Pro Bowl (2012) to that matchup. Morstead spent 12 seasons with the Saints before moving from New York to Atlanta to Miami over the past two years. He also placed 46% of his punts inside the 20, while Mann finished his third season at 33% in that category. Mann is only tied to a $1.1MM cap number in 2023.