Raiders To Re-Sign WR Keelan Cole, Add WR Cam Sims
It took Keelan Cole a while before he landed a free agency deal in 2022, with the Raiders signing him more than a week after last year’s draft. The team is locking the veteran wide receiver down days into the new league year.
Cole will return to the Raiders on a one-year pact, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Raiders lost auxiliary wideout Mack Hollins to the Falcons on Sunday but will retain Cole, who played a regular role in Josh McDaniels‘ first season at the helm. The team will further add to the back end of its receiver room by signing Cam Sims as well, Ben Standig of The Athletic tweets.
[RELATED: Raiders To Sign WR Phillip Dorsett]
The Raiders have eight-figure-per-year commitments to four skill-position players — Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Jakobi Meyers, Josh Jacobs — so it should be fairly clear where Cole will reside in Jimmy Garoppolo‘s aerial pecking order. The former Jaguars pass catcher is coming off a 10-reception, 141-yard season in the desert. He did add a touchdown — a disputed score against the Patriots that preceded Meyers’ infamous lateral attempt — last season, and Hollins’ departure figures to open up more opportunities.
But the Adams-Renfrow-Meyers setup will effectively cap — barring injury issues — what Cole, Sims and Dorsett will be able to produce in 2023. These additions will, however, create competition for the team’s backup receiver roles.
This will be Cole’s age-30 season. The Division III success story led the AFC championship game-bound Jaguars in receiving yards (748) in 2017, and he posted 642 yards and a career-high five touchdown catches with Jacksonville in 2020.
Cole did not see action on much of Las Vegas’ special teams plays last season, but Sims has been more active in that area recently. The 6-foot-5 ex-Washington contributor played 53% of the Commanders’ ST snaps in 2022. Sims has spent the entirety of his five-year career in Washington. Still struggling to find a higher-end complement to Terry McLaurin in 2020, Washington turned to Sims. The Alabama alum-turned-UDFA caught 32 passes for 477 yards that year and added a seven-catch, 104-yard outing against the Buccaneers in a closer-than-expected wild-card game.
Sims, 27, was not a big part of Washington’s passing game over the past two seasons; he caught eight passes for 89 yards in 2022. But he will follow ex-Commanders OC Scott Turner, who joined the Raiders as the team’s pass-game coordinator this offseason.
Cowboys Acquire WR Brandin Cooks From Texans
MARCH 20: Upon acquiring the oft-traded wideout, the Cowboys restructured his deal. They moved $8MM of Cooks’ $12MM 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Cooks’ cap number will drop to $6MM in 2023, per Archer. It had resided at $12.4MM. Two void years are now attached to the 10th-year receiver’s deal, Archer adds (on Twitter). Cooks’ 2024 base salary is now $8MM — down from $13MM.
MARCH 19: Wide receiver Brandin Cooks has been traded once again. The Texans have agreed to send the 29-year-old to the Cowboys, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Schefter’s ESPN colleague, Jeremy Fowler, first reported that the two sides were working on a deal, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that Dallas is giving up a 2023 fifth-round choice (No. 161) and a 2024 sixth-rounder in the swap (Twitter links).
Cooks is under contract through 2024, and he is due a fully-guaranteed $18MM base salary in 2023. That number — along with the Texans’ ask of a second-round pick — became an obstacle in trade talks involving Cooks at last year’s trade deadline, as interested clubs wanted Houston to pay down a significant portion of Cooks’ salary. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the Texans will pay $6MM of Cooks’ $18MM salary to facilitate the deal (Twitter link).
Cooks, a first-round pick of the Saints in 2014, was traded to the Patriots in March 2017, to the Rams in April 2018, and to the Texans in April 2020. In six of his nine professional seasons, the Oregon State product has topped 1,000 receiving yards, and his career 13.7 yards-per-reception rate is indicative of his status as a vertical threat. Over his first two seasons with the Texans, Cooks averaged roughly 85 catches and 1,100 yards per year.
However, things began to go south in 2022. Clearly frustrated by the Texans’ lack of competitiveness during his tenure in Houston, Cooks publicly expressed his frustration that he was not dealt to a winning club at the deadline, and he stepped away from the Texans for a week, missing the team’s Week 9 contest against the Eagles. At the time, he also made reference to organizational changes that upset him — which may have included the dismissal of former EVP Jack Easterby — and he said, “I don’t know everything that goes through [GM Nick Caserio’s] head.”
Even though Cooks remained on the Texans through the end of the 2022 campaign, it was reported in January that Houston was expected to accommodate his standing trade request this offseason. And the Cowboys, who made a push for Cooks at the deadline in an effort to supplement a WR corps that was clearly missing Amari Cooper — who was traded himself in March 2022 — finally got their man. ESPN’s Ed Werder says multiple teams were in pursuit of Cooks and appeared close to acquiring him, but Dallas was Cooks’ preferred destination (Twitter link).
Cooks, who has 58 receptions of 25+ yards downfield since he entered the league in 2014 — second only to Tyreek Hill during that span, as Werder tweets — should serve as a quality complement to CeeDee Lamb in a potentially explosive offense in Dallas. Although it appears that the team is parting ways with tight end Dalton Schultz, the Cowboys have 2022 fourth-rounder Jake Ferguson on the roster and could further supplement the position in a TE-rich draft. Lamb, Cooks, and Michael Gallup form a quality WR trio, and franchise-tagged Tony Pollard is a terrific weapon in the backfield.
The Texans, meanwhile, gain additional draft capital to aid in their rebuilding efforts in exchange for a player who wanted out. Houston — which coincidentally signed former Cowboy Noah Brown a few days ago — presently houses Robert Woods, Nico Collins, and 2022 second-rounder John Metchie III atop its WR depth chart.
Browns To Bring Back QB Josh Dobbs
8:17pm: The deal will save the Browns some at their QB2 spot. Dobbs agreed to a one-year deal worth $2MM fully guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
6:26pm: Josh Dobbs spent much of last season in Cleveland, but he ended up in two other cities to close the campaign. Following Jacoby Brissett‘s Washington exit, the Browns are bringing his former understudy back.
The Browns are signing Dobbs to a one-year deal, according to his agent (on Twitter). This will be the second time in Dobbs’ career he will have reunited with a team. The ex-Steelers draftee enjoyed multiple stints in Pittsburgh as well, but he is now positioned to become Deshaun Watson‘s backup.
Originally added in April 2022 to back up Brissett while Watson served a suspension, the length of which being unknown at the time Dobbs signed. Dobbs ended up playing that role for 11 games. Brissett proved durable in Cleveland; Dobbs did not take a snap with the Browns last year. But he outplayed Malik Willis with the Titans, helping Tennessee provide Jacksonville a Week 18 scare despite being down many pieces on offense.
Between Cleveland and Nashville, Dobbs wound up in Detroit. But the Titans signed him off the Lions’ practice squad soon after the Lions picked him up. Ryan Tannehill ended up being lost for the season at that point, requiring more help in Tennessee. Despite being with the team barely a week, Dobbs overtook Willis as the Titans’ starter for the season’s final two games. In Week 18, he completed 20 of 29 passes for 179 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Jaguars.
The Browns have restructured Watson’s contract, adding a void year (2027) to it and spiking the starter’s cap numbers from 2024-26 into a new financial stratosphere. Watson is now tied to $63.9MM cap numbers in those seasons, and although the 2022 trade pickup’s 2023 cap figure dropped from $54.9MM to $19.1MM, it still makes sense for the Browns to add a low-cost backup. It should be expected Dobbs’ deal will check in south of Brissett’s 2022 money ($4.65MM).
Dobbs’ relevant NFL work almost all came in January. Despite arriving in the league as a 2017 fourth-round pick, Dobbs threw only 17 passes over his first five seasons. But the quarterback/rocket scientist worked in Kevin Stefanski‘s system for eight months last year and finished the season with some surprising contributions to the AFC South race. Although the Browns have former Vikings third-rounder Kellen Mond in their quarterback room, Dobbs’ role last year points to the elder passer having the leg up for the 2023 QB2 gig.
Seahawks Release DT Al Woods
Al Woods‘ third Seahawks stint is over. The team announced the release of the veteran nose tackle Monday night. Woods has been a regular starter during this latest Seattle run.
The Seahawks continue to make changes on their defensive line. They have moved on from Quinton Jefferson and Shelby Harris, and the team has signed Dre’Mont Jones and brought back Jarran Reed. The Woods cut saves $3.67MM in cap space, moving the team near $15MM.
Woods’ third Seattle stay lasted two seasons, and the mammoth D-tackle started 30 games for the team during that stretch. The former fourth-round Saints pick, however, played for the Seahawks during the 2011 and 2019 seasons as well. Overall, the LSU product has enjoyed quite a run for himself. Woods, who will turn 36 on Saturday, has played 155 career games.
Generously listed at 330 pounds, Woods has patrolled the middle of a few teams’ defensive lines during his 13-season career. He has played for the Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Titans, Colts and Jaguars. Woods opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, and the Jaguars moved on early in Urban Meyer‘s tenure. But the Seahawks gave him another opportunity soon after.
The Seahawks made Woods a defensive captain last season, and Pro Football Focus ranked him 32nd among interior D-linemen during the team’s surprise journey to the playoffs. Woods played on 39% of Seattle’s defensive snaps last season. While that was down from his 52% snap rate in 2021, the team prioritized his return — on a two-year, $9MM deal — despite new DC Clint Hurtt bringing a scheme change from Ken Norton Jr.‘s tenure.
Woods totaled 39 tackles (five for loss) and a forced fumble last season. He began the year on a good note, helping Seattle thwart two Denver goal-to-go situations in what turned out to be a pivotal win for playoff-qualification purposes. But Woods will be one of the parts being shipped out as Jones and Reed enter the equation. He could well have the opportunity to continue his career in 2023.
Woods, Harris and Jefferson are gone, and Poona Ford remains unsigned. Seattle still has four-year contributor Bryan Mone on its offseason roster, but its D-line room is undoubtedly unfinished as the second week of free agency starts.
49ers, OL Jon Feliciano Agree To Deal
Jon Feliciano will leave New York for San Francisco. The former Bills and Giants starter is joining the 49ers, according to Newsday’s Kim Jones (on Twitter). This is a one-year agreement.
The 49ers are giving Feliciano $2.5MM fully guaranteed, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. The team included another $1MM via incentives. The base is down a bit from Feliciano’s 2022 Giants pact — a one-year, $3.25MM deal — but that agreement moved the veteran blocker into position to be a starter. This one looks like it will be for a swingman role.
Following Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen from Buffalo to the Big Apple, Feliciano rebounded from two injury-prone seasons with the Bills by starting 15 Giants contests last season. The team showed interest in re-signing both Feliciano and Nick Gates, but both will be elsewhere in 2023. Gates signed with Washington last week.
After going into last season with startlingly inexperienced first-string interior offensive line, the 49ers stuck with the Aaron Banks–Jake Brendel–Spencer Burford trio. But supplanted starter Daniel Brunskill still played a steady role as a swingman and rotational presence. Brunskill has since rejoined Ran Carthon in Tennessee. Feliciano now looks like he will be San Francisco’s inside swing player.
Feliciano, 31, has experience at both center and guard, lining up as the Giants’ pivot but playing guard alongside Mitch Morse with the Bills. The former fourth-round Raiders pick has lasted eight NFL seasons, going from Oakland backup to starter on each of his New York teams. Feliciano has made 54 NFL starts.
The Bills gave Feliciano an extension after his 16-game 2019 season, but after injuries shortened his 2020 and ’21 slates, the team made him a cap casualty in 2022. Employing a Buffalo-imported power structure, the Giants gave him another opportunity. Pro Football Focus did not think much of Feliciano’s first season as a full-time center starter, ranking him 31st at the position. But he played a key role for a resurgent Giants team and has fared better at guard in the past.
The Titans gave Brunskill a two-year, $5.5MM pact, which represents a nice bump from his 49ers rookie deal. The NFC West franchise will move on to another low-cost veteran option. Considering Brunskill played 519 offensive snaps despite starting only two games, this Feliciano addition could prove pivotal for the 49ers’ O-line next season.
Falcons Expected To Sign CB Mike Hughes
MARCH 20: This visit is expected to lead to an agreement, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Falcons have bolstered their defense on all three levels this offseason. Hughes and Bates are joining the secondary, while Kaden Elliss is coming over at linebacker. Fellow ex-Saint David Onyemata will also follow new DC Ryan Nielsen from New Orleans. Hughes plans to sign a two-year contract with the Falcons, Fowler tweets.
MARCH 17: Mike Hughes may have a few potential destinations for 2023, though the former first-round pick is likely to play for a fourth team in four seasons. The Falcons are on the radar to be that team, with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) they will host Hughes this weekend.
Although Hughes is taking a visit after a number of cornerbacks have reached agreements, he is not only on the Falcons’ radar. Other teams are interested, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets, adding that Wilson’s Atlanta visit will begin Friday.
Jerry Gray‘s presence on Atlanta’s staff could lead Hughes to Georgia. The veteran secondary coach was on Mike Zimmer‘s staff for six seasons; this span included Hughes’ first two NFL slates. Gray spent the past three seasons in Green Bay but joined Arthur Smith‘s assistant cadre this offseason.
Going into his age-26 season, Hughes has both bounced around in recent years and played regular roles while doing so. The Vikings traded the former No. 30 overall pick to the Chiefs in 2021. Following a bounce-back season in Kansas City, Hughes caught on with the Lions via a one-year, $2.25MM deal.
Hughes has experience both outside and in the slot, playing the latter role well with the Chiefs. Pro Football Focus rated Hughes as a top-30 corner during his Chiefs one-off. Last season did not go as well; Hughes allowed a 73.2% completion rate, was charged with giving up four touchdowns and permitting 9.2 yards per target. Those numbers resembled his 2020 season in Minnesota, which led the Vikings to bail on him in a late-round pick-swap trade.
The Falcons lost five-year contributor Isaiah Oliver to the 49ers, and 2022 pickup Casey Hayward is both coming off an injury-shortened season and heading into an age-34 campaign. He should not be considered a lock to be back. The team was linked to big-name corners ahead of free agency but decided to allocate resources elsewhere — most notably Jessie Bates‘ four-year, $64MM deal — thus far.
Even if Hughes ends up elsewhere, the Falcons will need to make at least one notable addition their AJ Terrell-fronted position group. Atlanta ranked 25th against the pass last season. Marcus Peters, Shaquill Griffin, Rock Ya-Sin, Anthony Brown and Bryce Callahan are some of the other notable corners still available.
Eagles To Sign S Justin Evans
After seeing his first game action since 2018, Justin Evans will parlay his 2022 Saints work into a deal with the Eagles. Philadelphia will add the veteran safety, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter).
The Saints gave Evans, a former Buccaneers second-round pick back in 2017, another chance after injuries sidetracked his career. Evans logged 392 defensive snaps with New Orleans last season and, despite the lengthy stay off the field, made four starts for a top-10 defense.
Philly will bring Evans into the fold after losing both its 2022 safety starters. The Raiders added Marcus Epps early in free agency, and the Lions agreed to terms with C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Sunday night. The Eagles will be starting over on their back line, though bringing back James Bradberry and keeping Darius Slay at cornerback will help the defending NFC champions’ cause here.
New Orleans took a league-minimum flier on Evans last year, adding the Texas A&M product nearly 18 months after the Bucs cut ties with him. While Evans was still with Tampa Bay during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, a foot injury sustained during the 2018 season led to his on-field Bucs run ending. An Achilles injury sent Evans back to IR in September 2019, and the Bucs cut the cord late in the 2020 season. Evans, 27, was out of football in 2021.
The first in a wave of DBs the Bucs drafted on Day 2 from 2017-20, Evans did not pan out on the level Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield Jr. have. Rather than a big free agency deal, Evans played for $1MM in New Orleans. Pro Football Focus graded Evans outside the top 60 during his comeback season, but he showed renewed health after injuries threatened his career. Evans made 29 tackles, forced a fumble and logged a 39% defensive snap rate with the Saints.
The Eagles should not be expected to carry Evans into the season as a starter, but Howie Roseman‘s team has some work to do after passing on re-signing Epps or Gardner-Johnson. The latter decision proved surprising given a pre-Super Bowl LVII report indicating Philly wanted CJGJ back, but as the versatile defender surveyed his options last week, the team allocated money to Bradberry and Slay.
Texans To Sign RB Devin Singletary
Just as one notable addition has been reported on the Texans’ offense, another has emerged. Houston has agreed to a deal with running back Devin Singletary, as first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that the one-year pact has a maximum value of $3.75MM (Twitter links).
The deal includes a base value of $2.75MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. Of this figure, $2.5MM will be guaranteed. There are $375K worth of incentives in the former Bills back’s deal.
Singletary, 25, essentially spent all of his four-year Bills career as the team’s lead back, though that tile led to a lower usage rate than it would have on most other teams. Now, he will head to Houston in what will be a timeshare in the backfield along with impressive 2022 fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce, who staked his claim to the top of the depth chart with a productive rookie campaign.
[RELATED: Texans To Add TE Dalton Schultz]
This free agency period, as expected, has not treated running backs especially well. As the top back available, even Miles Sanders did not hit the $7MM-per-year threshold. None of the non-Sanders contingent has surpassed $6MM per annum, but most of the starter-level backs who hit the market have now found homes. Singletary will attempt to carve out a steady role alongside Pierce in Houston.
The Bills used a second-round pick on James Cook last year and traded for Nyheim Hines, and Brandon Beane said the team plans to add another running back. The team showed interest in Jamaal Williams, but last season’s rushing touchdowns leader landed with the Saints. Buffalo may turn back to the draft to find a Cook complementary runner. Singletary’s four-year Buffalo tenure will end with 56 starts; his Houston run looks set to involve a rotational role.
Part of this year’s supply-and-demand crunch, the likely Pierce change-of-pace option is coming off a productive Buffalo stay. Singletary held off the likes of Cook and Zack Moss to remain the primary back during the Bills’ AFC East three-peat. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry and cleared 800 in total in each of the past two seasons, adding three playoff touchdowns in 2021. Josh Allen still operated as the Bills’ primary goal-line option — much to the chagrin of Singletary or Moss fantasy GMs — but the team’s 5-foot-7 back still totaled 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons. The former Florida Atlantic star is just 5-foot-7 and has yet to clear 200 receiving yards in a season, but ahead of his age-26 campaign, he should still have some tread on his tires.
Although Singletary logged a whopping 301 carries during his dominant sophomore season at the Conference USA school (1,918 rushing yards in 2017), he has never topped 190 in a season as a pro. Barring an injury to Pierce, his Texans workload will likely be light as well. Singletary will join Dare Ogunbowale and Gerrid Doaks as non-Pierce options on Houston’s roster. The team has brought in several veteran backs during GM Nick Caserio‘s tenure — Rex Burkhead, Phillip Lindsay, Mark Ingram and Marlon Mack among them — and Singletary will be the latest. But Pierce, a 2022 fourth-rounder, will almost definitely begin a second season as the team’s ball-carrying centerpiece.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Raiders Sign TE O.J. Howard, DE Jordan Willis
Not long after trading away Darren Waller, the Raiders are set make an addition at the tight end position. Vegas is finalizing a deal with O.J. Howard, reports Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter). A team announcement has confirmed the move.
The veteran visited the Raiders earlier today, as first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). That meeting obviously went well, and Howard can now prepare to join his fourth career NFL team, though Vegas will only be the third he has played for in the regular season. The former first-rounder’s career has not rebounded as hoped following his Buccaneers tenure.
Howard topped 500 yards only once during his five-year stint in Tampa Bay, as the team used a number of other options at the position to supplement him in recent years. It was hoped that a change of scenery would allow him to rebuild his value, and he signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the Bills last offseason. That set him up for a high-priced backup role behind entrenched starter Dawson Knox. Howard’s Buffalo tenure did not last long, however.
The Alabama product struggled in training camp and the preseason, which left his status on the Bills’ roster in question heading towards the fall. The 28-year-old was released as part of Buffalo’s roster cutdowns in August. He wound up joining the Texans, with whom he made 10 starts and 13 total appearances in 2022. Howard made 10 catches for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns, figures which point to him being best-suited as a backup or part of a tandem. Waller has plenty of production the team needs to replace, so this move will likely not be the last they make at the TE spot.
It likely does signal, however, that incumbent Foster Moreau will be headed elsewhere in free agency. The former fourth-rounder had a career-high 33 catches for 420 yards in 2022, but he could be headed to the NFC in the near future. Moreau recently visited the Saints, per ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link). A deal with New Orleans would allow him to continue playing with quarterback Derek Carr.
While Howard is in place on offense, the Raiders are also making a defensive addition on Monday. Per a team announcement, defensive end Jordan Willis has been signed. The veteran has most recently seen time with the 49ers, though he didn’t start any of his 26 appearances in San Francisco. His 7.5 sacks in the Bay Area point to a level of production in a rotational role, and that is likely what awaits the 27-year-old in Vegas.
The Raiders’ offense continues to be reshaped, with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers headlining the team’s additions so far on that side of the ball. While the absence of Waller will be felt, Howard will give Vegas an experienced option in their reconfigured passing attack.
Bills Sign WR Trent Sherfield
The Bills’ wide receiver room continues to change this offseason, with a depth addition being agreed to on Monday. Trent Sherfield is signing a one-year deal to head to Buffalo, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The team has since confirmed the move.
The 27-year-old spent the first three years of his career with the Cardinals, including the 2018 season in which he flashed potential with a 19-210-1 statline. His production dropped significantly after that campaign, however, and he made an intra-divisional move to the 49ers in 2021. His lone season in the Bay Area yielded little in the way of usage or production, so his move to Miami last offseason generated little attention.
Sherfield arrived with the Dolphins after they made a number of changes on offense, including the addition of Tyreek Hill at the WR position. Still, the former enjoyed a career-year in Miami in a number of categories, something made possible by his 58% snap share. Sherfield recorded 417 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 30 receptions, demonstrating his potential as a complimentary receiver within the right scheme fit.
Now, the former UDFA is set to join another AFC East team, with an eye on repeating his success from 2022. The Bills have Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis at the top of their depth chart, but they have moved on from slot man Isaiah McKenzie and brought in returner Deonte Harty as they continue to reshape their secondary options in the passing game. Sherfield will look to carve out a role for himself in Buffalo similar to the one he held last year in Miami. Another productive year could help earn him a more lucrative pact from the Bills or another interested team next offseason.