49ers Re-Sign DB Dontae Johnson, DL Jordan Willis
The 49ers are bringing back two key defenders. The 49ers have re-signed defensive lineman Jordan Willis and defensive back Dontae Johnson.
[RELATED: 49ers Re-Sign RB Jeff Wilson]
Willis made a name for himself in the playoffs, blocking a key punt that was returned for a game-tying touchdown in the 49ers’ playoff win over the Packers. Prior to that, the 26-year-old found himself in 10 regular season games, collecting 15 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble. He was suspended for the first six games of the season after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Johnson has had two long stints with the 49ers, with his latest run beginning in the 2019. The former fourth-round pick also spent the first four seasons of his career in San Francisco. Johnson has appeared in 103 games (28 starts), including a 2021 campaign where he collected 30 tackles and one forced fumble in 16 games (three starts).
Earlier today, the 49ers re-signed running back Jeff Wilson to a one-year deal.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/22
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Detroit Lions
- Released from NFI list: TE Jordan Thomas
Houston Texans
- Waived: LB Josh Watson
New York Jets
- Re-Signed: FB Nick Bawden
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, LB Dylan Cole
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: CB Danny Johnson
Titans S Kevin Byard Reworks Contract
Kevin Byard has helped the Titans open up a chunk of cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the All-Pro safety has agreed to a restructured contract.
Specifically, the Titans converted $10.96MM of Byard’s salary into a signing bonus. This move ended up opening $8.7MM in cap space.
Byard reestablished himself as one of the league’s top safeties in 2021, earning his second career All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod. In 17 games, the 28-year-old finished with 88 tackles, 13 passes defended, and five interceptions. Byard has 23 interceptions in 97 games (88 starts), all with the Titans. He was a third-round pick by the organization in 2016.
The safety inked a five-year, $70.5MM deal ($31MM guaranteed) with the Titans in 2019. He restructured his deal last offseason to save the Titans some extra money, and for the second year in a row, Byard has helped Tennessee open some space.
Chiefs Trade Tyreek Hill To Dolphins
6:54pm: Like Adams’ Raiders contract, Hill’s deal being backloaded inflated the AAV. A nonguaranteed $43.9MM salary in 2026 bumped this contract over $30MM per year, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Hill’s Miami extension is closer to a three-year deal worth $75MM. The Dolphins are giving Hill $52.5MM fully guaranteed at signing, and another $19.7MM — his 2024 base salary — will be guaranteed in March 2023. Like his lofty 2026 salary, Hill’s 2025 base ($21.8MM) is nonguaranteed. Even at $25MM per year, Hill’s contract compares favorably to Adams and Hopkins’ pacts for short-term value.
11:37am: It’s happening. On Wednesday, the Chiefs agreed to trade Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal will send a first-round pick and more to Kansas City, bringing one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers to Miami. 
The Dolphins will send a 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2023 fourth-round pick, and a 2023 sixth-round pick to Kansas City in the deal (Twitter link via PFT). It’s a haul that’s somewhat similar to the trade that moved Davante Adams to the Raiders.
Hill will also ink a contract extension that will position him as the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, ahead of Adams, as agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Once finalized, it’ll be a four-year, $120MM megadeal with $72.2MM guaranteed (Twitter link). SI’s Albert Breer adds (on Twitter) that extension talks between Hill and the Chiefs broke down because he wanted to top Adams’ deal, something that Kansas City “balked at”.
The ink has barely dried on Adams’ contract, a five-year, $140MM whopper that gave him $28MM/year, $22.75MM guaranteed at signing, and $42.9MM in effective guarantees. DeAndre Hopkins previously held the mantle at $27MM/year, Adams topped Hopkins at $28MM, and Hill is now the king of the mountain with $30MM per annum.
The Dolphins are now armed with Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Cedrick Wilson, Devante Parker, and Trent Sherfield at wide receiver, giving them one of the most talented WR units in the NFL. That should be plenty to keep defenses honest against quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and open up more running opportunities for Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, and Myles Gaskin.
The Jets were also in talks to acquire Hill this week, and they were willing to give up the No. 10 overall pick in a package for him (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). The Jets were also willing to give Hill a top-level extension, but, ultimately, the Dolphins had the winning bid. Schefter adds that New York made an offer of picks 35, 38 and 69 in exchange for Hill and No. 103 (Twitter link). He also states that the Chiefs were willing to accept it, had New York been Hill’s preferred destinaiton.
Kansas City, meanwhile, now has a massive hole to fill in their offense. Without the speed of Hill to serve as a compliment to Travis Kelce, their wide receiver room is in need of an addition. To that end, they already signed JuJu Smith-Schuster earlier in free agency, but his skillset is much different than Hill’s. Expected to target a wideout in this April’s draft as early as the first round (where the Chiefs now hold the 29th and 30th overall selections) before this trade, Kansas City now faces even more pressure to do so if they are to maintain their highly-productive passing game.
Bears Sign OL Dakota Dozier
Dakota Dozier is switching NFC North teams. The Bears are signing the offensive lineman, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Bears To Sign OL Lucas Patrick]
Dozier spent the past three seasons with the Vikings, including a 2020 campaign where he started all 16 games without missing an offensive snap. Despite his role, he was cut following the 2021 preseason. He ended up spending the majority of last season on Minnesota’s practice squad, with his six appearances all coming on special teams. The Vikings told the lineman after the season that they wouldn’t be re-signing him, per Tomasson.
The former fourth-round pick spent the beginning of his career with the Jets, starting seven of his 38 games in four years with the organization.
In Chicago, Dozier will likely compete for a backup role on the offensive line. Chicago added fellow lineman Lucas Patrick on a two-year deal last week.
Seahawks Sign CB Justin Coleman
Justin Coleman is back in Seattle. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Seahawks have agreed to terms with the free agent cornerback. Coleman is signing a one-year deal.
Coleman had two previous stints with the Seahawks. He spent time on their practice squad as a rookie, and he returned to the organization via trade in 2017. Coleman ended up spending two seasons with the organization, seeing time in all 32 games (10 starts). Coleman had three interceptions and two sacks during his two years in Seattle.
Since leaving Seattle, Coleman has had stints with the Lions and Dolphins. He made his NFL debut with the Patriots, and he earned a Super Bowl ring during the 2016 season.
The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with Miami last offseason. He got into 16 games (four starts) for the Dolphins, collecting 27 tackles, three passes defended, and two interceptions while appearing in 35 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
Cowboys Re-Sign DT Carlos Watkins
The Cowboys are re-signing players from both sides of the ball. According to Clarence Hill Jr. (on Twitter), Dallas has re-signed defensive tackle Carlos Watkins and tight end Jeremy Sprinkle.
After spending the first four seasons of his career in Houston, Watkins joined the Cowboys last offseason. He ended up starting 14 of his 15 games last year, collecting 32 tackles, one sack, and one highlight-worthy pick-six.
In total, the 28-year-old has seen time in 57 career games, collecting five sacks and 14 tackles for loss.
Sprinkle also joined the Cowboys last offseason following four seasons with Washington. The tight end ended up starting four of his 17 games, hauling in three receptions for 31 yards. Sprinkle also had a consistent role on special teams. His best offensive season came in 2019 when he hauled in 26 receptions for 241 yards and one touchdown.
Giants Sign DT Justin Ellis
Justin Ellis is heading to the NFC. The defensive tackle is signing with the Giants, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Ellis is inking a one-year deal.
The 2014 fourth-round pick spent the first five-plus seasons of his career with the Raiders, earning All-Rookie Team honors in 2014. Ellis found himself in and out of the starting lineup during his stint with the Raiders, as he started 42 of his 66 games. This included a 2017 campaign where he started 14 of his 16 games and finished with 48 tackles and 0.5 sacks.
Ellis joined the Ravens in 2019 and ended up inking three separate contracts with the team. During his three seasons in Baltimore, the defensive lineman compiled 41 tackles while starting eight of his 34 games.
He’ll already have some familiarity with New York’s defensive system. Ellis played under current Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale when the two were in Baltimore.
Panthers Re-Sign DB Rashaan Melvin
Rashaan Melvin will be back in Carolina next season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the defensive back is re-signing with the Panthers.
Melvin had transformed into a true NFL journeyman, and a two-year stint with a team is a rarity. The 32-year-old will have a chance to make it two-straight years with the Panthers following a 2021 campaign where he collected 16 tackles in 10 games (two starts).
Since going undrafted out of Northern Illinois in 2013, the linebacker has also had stints with Buccaneers, Dolphins (two stints), Ravens, Patriots, Colts, Raiders, Lions, and Jaguars. Melvin started a pair of playoff games for Baltimore in 2014.
The defensive back sat out the 2020 campaign, but he actually had a career year as recently as 2019. Melvin finished that season with 12 starts in 13 games, collecting a career-high 68 tackles to go along with 11 passes defended.
Texans Sign FB Andy Janovich
Andy Janovich is off to Houston. The Texans are signing the veteran fullback, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Janovich is inking a one-year deal.
Janovich has appeared in 77 career games for the Broncos and Browns over the last six years. This year, he just missed the cut as a Pro Bowler, winding up as an alternate for the game. With his 29th birthday just around the bend in May, Janovich is regarded as one of the league’s best fullbacks.
However, in an attempt to save some extra cash, the Browns declined the 28-year-old’s option. The move made Janovich a free agent. This is the first known interest in Janovich, but it can be assumed that multiple teams reached out on the fullback.
With some NFL teams shying away from utilizing traditional fullbacks, it will be interesting to see what kind of deal Janovich commands. The fullback inked a three-year, $5.7MM extension with the Broncos in 2019 before getting traded to Cleveland five months later.