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Broncos To Re-Sign DT D.J. Jones

March 9th, 2025 at 11:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

11:25pm: The Broncos have their nose tackle locked up on a second contract, with DNVR Sports’ Zac Stevens reporting the deal is done. Fowler’s update turned out to be on-point, as 9News’ Mike Klis confirms it is a three-year, $39MM pact. Considering his run-oriented skillset, this represents a big win for Jones, though guarantees will tell the full tale. If nothing else, this continues a spree of Broncos extensions and re-signings, as Sean Payton is signing off on paying players acquired by GM George Paton.

11:14pm: Nary a word about D.J. Jones appeared on the PFR pages during his Broncos contract. That is generally a good sign for a lineman. Jones stayed mostly healthy on his three-year Denver deal and was a key role player on some solid defenses, including last season’s. The Broncos may not let him hit free agency.

The veteran defensive tackle is close to a deal to stay in Denver, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. The sides are nearing an agreement on a contract that would be worth around $13MM per year. That would mark a raise for Jones, who played out a three-year, $30MM contract. The interior starter expressed interest in staying in Denver after the team’s 2024 season.

Missing only three games in three seasons, Jones operated as a quality run stopper in Denver. The former San Francisco fifth-round pick came up in a rumor about being traded back to the 49ers at the deadline, but no traction came out of that. Jones started all 17 Broncos games, helping the team snap a playoff drought.

ESPN’s run stop win rate metric viewed Jones as elite last season, ranking him second among interior D-linemen against the run. Not much of a statistical presence, Jones instead helped front-seven pieces Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto earn second-team All-Pro acclaim last season.

Jones did post 42 tackles last season and tallied five TFLs in 2023, helping the team recover after a dreadful defensive start. Denver’s NT compiled five sacks in three seasons with the team. The Broncos ranked third against the run and are interested in keeping Jones and Allen together inside. Allen is targeting an extension, having outplayed a $15MM-per-year deal.

Jones’ age (30) may not be working against him much, as a $13MM-per-year deal would be a nice bump. Denver has already been active in extending its current core, paying Patrick Surtain, Garett Bolles, Jonathon Cooper and Quinn Meinerz last year. The team has Bo Nix tied to a rookie contract through at least 2026, but it is still on the hook for the second leg of Russell Wilson dead money ($30MM-plus) this year.

The Broncos are carrying just more than $40MM in cap space, which would stand to go to some needs in free agency. Jones, however, could take up a notable portion of those funds hours before the market opens. Denver has until 11am CT Monday to nix Jones talks with other teams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/25

March 9th, 2025 at 9:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

With free agency less than 12 hours away, here are Sunday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Minnesota Vikings

Both players were set to be restricted free agents. With the low-end tender costing $3.26MM this year, neither team appeared likely to tender their respective RFAs. Fraboni was not set to be tendered, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. Fraboni has been Denver’s long snapper for the past two full seasons, arriving during the 2022 season.

Wright has been the Vikings’ punter for the past three years. He averaged a career-high 48.9 yards per punt in 2023 and checked in at 46.5 last season. Wright will earn $1.75MM on a one-year contract, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.

Commanders To Re-Sign TE John Bates

March 9th, 2025 at 9:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders certainly seem to approve of their 2024 tight end setup. After re-signing Zach Ertz, the team is keeping its blocking tight end as well.

John Bates is sticking around, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, who notes the young Ertz complement is staying on a three-year deal. Washington has used Bates as a supplementary TE piece for four seasons, having drafted him in the 2021 fourth round.

This was among the Commanders’ priorities, ESPN.com’s John Keim adds, and a sufficient offer will keep the four-year vet off the market. Bates, 27, could have tested free agency had he remained unattached by 11am CT Monday. But the warp-speed roster-building missions regularly involve quick changes during the legal tampering period; Bates will sit that out and stay in Washington.

Bates staying represents a notable commitment to tight end, as the Commanders also drafted Ben Sinnott in last year’s second round. Ertz is more placeholder/Jayden Daniels security blanket, but Bates joins Sinnott in being signed through 2027. Bates played 516 snaps to Sinnott’s 311 last season. The 6-foot-6 tight end has 25 career starts under his belt, complementing the likes of Ertz and Logan Thomas during his rookie-contract years.

The Ron Rivera-led regime drafted Bates, whereas Sinnott and Ertz arrived under Adam Peters. That makes this commitment a bit more interesting. Sinnott-Bates has the makings of a long-term TE duo, while Ertz — heading into an age-35 season — is probably year-to-year at this point.

Illustrating his role on last year’s Commanders team, Bates caught just eight passes despite the above-referenced snap share. He caught 20 passes as a rookie and 19 in 2023, but the Boise State alum will continue to make his living as a blocker.

Raiders To Re-Sign DL Adam Butler

March 9th, 2025 at 9:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adam Butler revived his career with the Raiders, who plucked him off the scrap heap after a 2022 season spent out of football. Despite arriving during the Raiders’ Patriot Way experiment, the ex-New England defensive lineman still has a place in Las Vegas.

The Raiders are re-signing Butler on a three-year, $16.5MM deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Butler had been seeking a raise from his low-end 2024 terms, and Rapoport adds $11MM will come guaranteed to stay with the team under Pete Carroll.

This marks a significant raise for Butler, who played out a one-year deal worth $1.8MM in 2024. Butler, 31 in April, has proven to be a solid interior rusher; he has five sacks in each of the past two seasons. Carroll had expressed interest in bringing back several of the team’s in-house FAs — accumulated under multiple GMs over the past four years — and Butler will be a less expensive piece to retain compared to Tre’von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs, Robert Spillane and perhaps Malcolm Koonce.

A regular in New England from 2017-20, Butler picked up a Super Bowl ring and followed Brian Flores to Miami in 2021. The Dolphins’ next regime did not keep Butler around, cutting him in August 2022. He ended up sitting out that season and landing a reserve/futures deal with the Raiders. Not unlike ex-Pats teammate Jermaine Eluemunor, Butler elevated his stock during a stop in Vegas.

Despite little fanfare during a 4-13 Raiders season, Butler was among the few players to land in the top 20 in pass rush win rate and top 10 in run stop win rate. Butler ranked sixth in the latter category, matching his career high (set in 2023) with eight tackles for loss. Butler primarily worked as a reserve for both Patriots Super Bowl teams he was on in the late 2010s, but he broke through as a Raiders starter last season. After no starts in 2023, Butler made 16 in ’24. He will attempt to build on that and continue in Patrick Graham’s system in 2025.

Trey Smith Signs Chiefs Franchise Tender

March 9th, 2025 at 8:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

It does not appear Trey Smith will consider a holdout. He signed his franchise tender Sunday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This will guarantee the Pro Bowl guard’s $23.4MM salary.

The Chiefs naturally want this to be a placeholder, and an extension would reduce that $23.4MM cap hold. Kansas City did trade Joe Thuney to Chicago, but the team agreed to terms with Nick Bolton earlier today. This will still leave the Chiefs with work to do on the cap front.

One of just two players tagged this year (along with Tee Higgins), Smith now has a clear path to an extension. The Chiefs broke up their highly paid guard tandem — shortly after it became a high-priced duo — by sending Thuney to the Bears. Smith will be in line to join Creed Humphrey and Jawaan Taylor as a starting O-lineman on a high-end contract. Taylor may well be going into his final year with the team, as the RT has not justified his $20MM-per-year contract, pointing to Smith and Humphrey being the Chiefs’ pillars up front moving forward.

While the Chiefs viewed Bolton as a high priority, they have plenty of work left to do. Before the Bolton money is factored in, OverTheCap lists Kansas City as being more than $9MM over the cap. Even the Saints, who restructured Derek Carr‘s deal yet again, have passed them for available funds. Kansas City could turn to a Patrick Mahomes restructure for a fourth time, though. Regardless of how the Chiefs get there, they need to reach cap compliance by 3pm CT Wednesday. They will also need to carve out spending room to add talent, as left tackle is expected to be an area of emphasis.

Smith, 25, has been the Chiefs’ starting right guard since his 2021 rookie season. He climbed from sixth-round pick, who fell in the draft because of a blood clot issue, to Pro Bowl level. Well regarded by both Pro Football Focus and ESPN’s win rate metrics, Smith is positioned to enjoy his prime protecting Mahomes in Kansas City. The Chiefs will need to be ready for a monster payday to make that happen, and the Thuney trade will arm Smith’s camp with more leverage.

The Chiefs could not come to terms with Orlando Brown Jr. by the July 2022 tag deadline, as the now-Bengals LT declined a six-year offer he deemed light on guarantees. Kansas City gave Humphrey a center-record (by a wide margin) $18MM per year last summer. Smith is positioned to outdo Landon Dickerson‘s $21MM-per-year guard record. The Chiefs will have until July 15 to work out a deal.

Falcons, Jake Matthews Agree On Extension

March 9th, 2025 at 7:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Michael Penix Jr. ascent no longer makes Jake Matthews a blindside blocker, the Falcons are planning for the veteran tackle to help guide the young quarterback during his rookie-contract years.

Despite turning 33 earlier this year, Matthews has scored a fourth NFL contract. The Falcons are giving Matthews a two-year, $45MM deal, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports. This does not look to be a wait-and-see agreement for 2026, as Garafolo adds Atlanta is guaranteeing its longtime left tackle $38MM at signing.

Matthews already was signed through the 2026 season, as the Falcons huddled up with him on a three-year, $55.5MM extension in 2022. GM Terry Fontenot authorized that extension, but Atlanta’s plan has changed significantly since. After keeping Matthews in the fold to help post-Matt Ryan, the Falcons bailed on their Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder experiments to both sign Kirk Cousins and draft Penix eighth overall. The Cousins part of that backfired, via a benching, and the veteran is trying to engineer a release. Cousins remains on the Falcons’ roster, for now, but Penix will be taking the reps with Matthews during the offseason program.

While the Falcons have long-term O-line pieces in Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, Matthews goes back to a previous era for the franchise. He and Grady Jarrett are the last players remaining from Atlanta’s Super Bowl LI roster. The Falcons chose Matthews in the 2014 first round (sixth overall), installing him as a Ryan blindside protector. Matthews blocked for the former MVP for eight seasons, earning first extension (five years, $72.5MM) in 2018. As the cap has climbed by more than $100MM since, Matthews continues to cash in.

Jake’s father, Hall of Fame O-lineman Bruce Matthews, displayed some of the greatest longevity in NFL history. The former Oiler/Titan mainstay played 19 seasons. Jake has logged 11 but has missed only one career game; that came all the way back in 2014. The Falcons have been able to count on Jake Matthews for more than a sixth of their existence. Pro Football Focus graded the LT stalwart as the league’s 15th-best tackle last season. Though, the third-generation NFL player has just one Pro Bowl (2018) on his resume.

This extension stands to reduce Matthews’ 2025 cap number, which was previously at $21.77MM. The Falcons came into Sunday in the red in terms of cap space, residing more than $5MM over before this Matthews payday. This could point free agent center Drew Dalman out the door. We placed Dalman 14th among free agents this year. He appears certain to become an eight-figure-per-year player soon. The Falcons having Matthews and Lindstrom as their O-line anchors, with McGary and Matthew Bergeron as other starters under contract, would keep them in decent shape if Dalman departs. They would need a center replacement, though.

Broncos To Re-Sign QB Jarrett Stidham

March 9th, 2025 at 6:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

After seeing their Bo Nix draft choice create considerable promise, the Broncos relegated Jarrett Stidham from a starter competition to 17-game backup. But the team is planning to extend its Stidham partnership.

Nix’s 2024 backup is staying in Denver, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This will be Stidham’s second Broncos contract, after he initially arrived on a two-year deal to back up Russell Wilson. Stidham is staying on a two-year, $12MM deal, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. This is a slight raise for the former Patriots draftee, who played out a two-year, $10MM contract. Stidham, 28, will see $7MM guaranteed, per the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel.

Stidham became contract protection for a second straight year, closing out the 2023 season as a two-game Broncos starter. As the Broncos moved to protect against Wilson’s injury guarantee from vesting, they made the move at the same juncture (Week 17) the Raiders did when they moved him into their 2022 starting lineup. Stidham replaced Derek Carr for two games but did not stick around, signing with the Broncos. Rather than bail after Nix won last year’s job and delivered a strong rookie season, Stidham will remain as a mentor.

A six-year veteran, Stidham had entered camp taking first-string reps. But with Nix making a Division I-FBS QB-record 61 starts at Auburn and Oregon, Stidham — Nix’s Auburn QB1 predecessor — never looked like a real threat to hold off the rookie for too long. As it turned out, Nix impressed in the preseason and Sean Payton gave his handpicked passer the job. Stidham’s second Broncos contract will overlap with the two additional seasons in which Nix must stay on a rookie deal.

Stidham went 1-3 as a starter during his 2022 and ’23 two-fers, delivering an impressive performance in a Raiders shootout loss to the 49ers. He guided the Broncos to a win over the Chargers in Week 17 of the 2023 season as well. Those are Stidham’s only four career starts, but the former fourth-round pick has made a nice career as a backup. Stidham did beat out Zach Wilson to become Nix’s backup throughout last season, and with this contract, the former No. 2 overall Jets pick may need to head elsewhere in free agency.

Patriots To Re-Sign TE Austin Hooper

March 9th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Patriots have made a big-ticket outside addition in the form of edge rusher Harold Landry, but the team is also making an internal move ahead of free agency. Tight end Austin Hooper will remain in New England for 2025.

Hooper has a one-year deal in place, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact has a base value of $5MM and can top out at $7MM. He will continue to operate in a tandem with Hunter Henry after doing so in 2024. Hooper will see $4MM guaranteed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

After playing out his rookie contract with the Falcons, Hooper bounced around the NFL. He saw time with the Browns (2020-21) followed by one-year stints in Tennessee and Vegas. That was followed by another one-year commitment in 2024, this time by the Pats. Hooper produced 45 catches, 476 yards and three touchdowns in his debut New England campaign.

That came on a $3MM deal which included $2.41MM in guarantees. Hooper has earned a raise on another-one-year pact based on his 2024 play. Henry remains in place as a result of the three-year, $27MM deal he inked last offseason, and after setting new career highs in catches and yards last season he will be counted on to remain a key member of New England’s passing game moving forward. Hooper, 30, represents an effective complement, though.

Adding at the receiver position remains an obvious priority for the Patriots this offseason, and the list of remaining free agents includes Chris Godwin, who has been linked to strong New England interest should he depart the Buccaneers. New England will still have plenty of cap space left once the Landry and Hooper deals are official, and it will be interesting to see if the team moves quickly in making another skill-position move in the coming days.

Cowboys To Re-Sign Markquese Bell

March 9th, 2025 at 6:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Playing multiple positions for the Cowboys over the past two years, Markquese Bell will be staying in town. A day before the legal tampering period launches free agency, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports Bell is re-signing with Dallas.

Bell, who has played both safety and linebacker with the Cowboys, is staying on a three-year deal that can max out at $12MM. Most of Bell’s first two seasons will be guaranteed, Fowler adds. This deal comes as Bell was to be a restricted free agent.

The Cowboys acquired Bell as a UDFA out of Florida A&M and deployed him as a backup in 2022. After the first of Demarvion Overshown’s major injuries (an ACL tear) occurred in 2023, Dallas slid Bell into a linebacker role primarily. Bell was certainly undersized for the position but made 94 tackles (three for loss) and forced two fumbles.

Dallas did transition Bell back to safety last season, as Overshown returned and Eric Kendricks arrived in free agency. Bell did not factor into Dallas’ defense much during Mike Zimmer’s return, as he finished with just six tackles. Bell missed eight games as well, so it will be a bit interesting to see the base value of this deal.

The Cowboys still roster safety starters Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker. Barring another return to linebacker, Bell will be in position as a top backup and special-teamer heading into his age-26 season.

Patriots, Harold Landry Agree To Deal

March 9th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Harold Landry was among the many veterans (including several edge rushers) released in recent cost-shedding moves. As a result, he was free to sign with an interested team at any time prior to the start of free agency.

Landry has done just that. He and the Patriots have a three-year agreement in place, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The deal is worth $43.5MM and includes $26MM in guarantees. With a maximum value of $48MM, this pact is a clear indication of the Patriots’ willingness to spend big this offseason.

A second-round pick in 2018, Landry had spent his entire career with the Titans until his release. He played a total of six years with the team, having missed the 2022 campaign due to an ACL tear. Landry proved to still be highly effective upon returning from the injury, though, notching 10.5 sacks in 2023 and adding another nine this past season.

Given his time spent in Tennessee, Landry is of course a familiar face for new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. It comes as little surprise the Boston College product has elected to reunite with his former coach during his first foray into free agency. Expectations will be high for strong production on the part of the 28-year-old given the lucrative nature of this commitment.

The Patriots relied heavily on Matt Judon for three years before trading him last offseason. New England ranked last in the NFL in sacks in 2024 without him in the fold, so at least one notable splash in the EDGE market was expected. Landry will be tasked with replacing Judon’s production and experience with the Patriots as Vrabel and Co. aim to fortify the Pats’ offensive and defensive lines.

2023 second-rounder Keion White operated in a rotational capacity during his rookie season, but in 2024 he took a step forward with five sacks. A starting role should again await him next year, but Landry will in place as a fellow first-team option for 2025 and beyond. A draft investment along the edge would not come as a surprise, but if one is not made early in April a Landry-White tandem will be tasked with handling much of the load next season.

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