Jets To Sign CB D.J. Reed
After bypassing a dire need at cornerback last year, the Jets are diving in early. They are signing D.J. Reed, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
Reed will come over from the Seahawks — on a three-year deal worth $33MM (including $21MM guaranteed, per Jordan Schultz on Twitter) — but has experience with Robert Saleh. The 49ers drafted Reed in the 2018 fifth round. He played two seasons in San Francisco, providing some system intel as he rejoins Saleh in New York.
A torn pectoral muscle sustained in early August 2020 led Reed from the Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest. The 49ers waived Reed with an injury designation, and the Seahawks claimed him. Reed elevated his profile in Seattle, starting 22 games over the past two seasons in a similar defensive system to the one Saleh deployed with the 49ers. The 5-foot-9 corner intercepted four passes during his Seahawks stay and allowed a career-low 67.8 passer rating when targeted last season.
The Seahawks hoped to re-sign Reed, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets, but did not want to go to the $11MM-per-year level to do so. Gang Green also had Darious Williams and Donte Jackson on its radar, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com adds Stephon Gilmore was not (Twitter link).
As of now, Reed stands to step in as the Jets’ No. 1 cornerback. They used Bryce Hall and Brandin Echols as their primary starters last season, one in which Saleh’s defense ranked 32nd in both points and yards allowed.
Texans To Sign S M.J. Stewart
The Texans may have found their Justin Reid replacement. The team has signed safety M.J. Stewart to a one-year, $3MM deal (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network).
[RELATED: Texans To Re-Sign Maliek Collins]
Stewart, 26, was a second round pick of the Buccaneers in 2018. He only played two seasons in Tampa Bay, however, and was waived in August 2020. Injuries played a role in the decision to move on from the former Tar Heel, who had originally been drafted as a corner.
The Browns claimed Stewart off waivers, where he played in 29 games, including three starts. He totalled 69 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defensed in Cleveland, while also seeing significant special teams duties. More notably, however, was the improvement he showed in pass coverage compared to his time in Tampa. Stewart had a career year in that regard in 2021; he allowed a completion percentage of 63%, and a passer rating of 84.7.
In large part due to his newfound effectiveness defending the pass, Stewart received an impressive PFF grade of 83.8. That outweighs Reid’s evaluation by a considerable margin, which gives this deal the potential to be one of the more valuable under-the-radar deals of the offseason. At a minimum, the Texans will have some experienced depth on the back end.
Broncos To Re-Sign LB Josey Jewell
The Broncos continue to fill starting spots along their defense. They are bringing back multiyear linebacker starter Josey Jewell, Mike Klis of 9News reports.
Jewell is staying in Denver on a two-year deal worth $11MM. This comes a few weeks after the Broncos were connected to another Jewell contract. Denver had both its long-term linebacker starters — Jewell and Alexander Johnson — on track for free agency.
Both Jewell and Johnson missed most of last season; the former went down in Week 2 with a torn pectoral muscle. Denver selected Jewell in the 2018 fourth round and continued to use the Iowa product in a prominent role, giving him 30 starts in four seasons on his rookie deal. Jewell, 27, made 113 tackles in 16 starts during the 2020 season.
While Johnson was the slightly higher-regarded linebacker during the duo’s time together in Denver, he is three years older. Denver is not expected to re-sign Johnson, per Klis, who adds 2021 third-round pick Baron Browning is ticketed to play alongside Jewell as an off-ball linebacker starter. Jewell also stands to be a relatively low-cost signing, given his recent injury. The Broncos now have Jewell, D.J. Jones and Randy Gregory in the fold on their front seven.
Buccaneers To Add WR Russell Gage
Despite rostering Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers have agreed to terms with Russell Gage. The ex-Falcons wideout will join the Bucs’ deep receiving stable, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
It’s a three-year deal worth $30MM, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The deal contains $20MM in guaranteed money.
Coming off back-to-back 700-yard seasons, Gage looks set to step into Tampa Bay’s WR3 role — one vacated by Antonio Brown — behind the two Pro Bowlers. This move arms the Bucs with a proven complementary weapon while further depleting a Falcons receiving corps that has seen its crew decimated over the past several months.
Since June 2021, the Falcons have seen their Gage-Julio Jones–Calvin Ridley trio gutted by the Jones trade, Ridley’s in-season exit and subsequent gambling suspension and now this impending transaction. Atlanta has some critical work to do at the receiver position this offseason. Gage’s 770 receiving yards — in just 14 games — were by far the most among Falcons wideouts last season.
The Bucs used their franchise tag on Godwin for the second straight year, keeping their younger Pro Bowl receiver in the fold for Tom Brady‘s third season with the team. While Brady famously advocated for Brown, constant turmoil notwithstanding, the mercurial standout burned the Bucs for that faith late last season. Gage is now set to step into a much higher-profile NFC South role.
Falcons To Re-Sign Younghoe Koo
The Falcons are set to retain one of the league’s best kickers. According NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the team is re-signing Younghoe Koo to a five-year, $24.25MM extension (Twitter link). He adds that there is $11.5MM in guaranteed money. 
[RELATED: Falcons Eyeing Deshaun Watson]
At an average value of $4.85MM per season, the deal ranks second in the league amongst kickers, behind only Justin Tucker‘s at $5MM. It marks quite the raise for Koo, who was a pending restricted free agent.
Coming into the league as a UDFA, Koo started his career with the Chargers. After only four games there, and a brief stint on the Patriots’ practice squad, he landed in Atlanta. That has certainly turned into a worthwhile decision for both sides.
The 27-year-old has become of the top kickers in the game over three seasons with the Falcons. In 2021, he ranked third in the league with a field goal percentage of 93.1%. For the first time in Atlanta, he was also perfect on extra point attempts, going 30-for-30. Over the course of his career, Koo has only missed 14 total kicks out of 191 combined attempts.
While there are plenty of question marks surrounding the Falcons’ offense, they will at least be retaining a core element of their scoring for the foreseeable future.
Patriots Re-Sign James White
The Patriots have re-signed veteran running back James White (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The deal, which will be formally inked on Wednesday, is a two-year pact worth $5MM. White will also get $500K guaranteed as a part of the deal. 
Even though he’s at the age of 30, White has matched his previous annual value on the nose. The Patriots re-upped White on a one-year, $2.5MM deal last year, retaining the longtime Patriots passing-down back for yet another season. Unfortunately, a hip injury capped his 2021 at just three games.
Part of the three 2010s Patriots Super Bowl-winning teams, White has been an essential part of the Pats’ offense for most of his career. Succeeding the likes of Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen as Bill Belichick-era passing-down backs, White is now set to come back for a ninth New England season and, perhaps, a tenth, depending on how things go from here.
White posted 994 all-purpose yards in 2019, but saw less time in 2020, his last healthy season. Still, White had 49 grabs for 375 yards and a touchdown that year to lead all Pats RBs in receiving.
Bills To Sign J.D. McKissic
The Bills are set to sign J.D. McKissic (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Once finalized on Wednesday, it’ll be a two-year, $7MM deal for the former Washington running back. 
McKissic can also earn an extra $1MM in incentives, according to Schefter, which would boost the total value to $8MM. That’s a solid haul for the 28-year-old (29 in August), considering the ups and downs of his early career.
McKissic enjoyed a breakout season in 2017, when he compiled 187 rushing yards and one touchdown on 46 carries for the Seahawks. He also added another 34 receptions for 266 yards and two scores for good measure. After that, he lost much of his 2018 to injury.
The former undrafted free agent out of Arkansas State has rebounded well in recent years. After a productive 2019 with the Lions, he’s posted averages over 4.3 yards per carry in two D.C. seasons. Now, he’ll look to bring more of the same to the AFC East.
Ravens To Sign Marcus Williams
The Ravens have agreed to terms with Marcus Williams. The standout safety will leave New Orleans and head to Baltimore on a whopping five-year, $70MM deal (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler). NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds that the contract includes $37MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link). 
Williams, 26 in September, played on the tag last season after attempts to reach a long-term agreement came up short. The Saints still wanted to hammer out a long-term extension this time around, but their cap situation did not cooperate.
Last year, Williams posted a career-high 74 tackles to go along with two interceptions and eight pass breakups. He also made some serious strides in coverage, allowing a sub-50% completion rate for the first time in his career. Williams also added two interceptions, bringing his career tally to 15.
Baltimore was likely to be in the market for a new safety. They were frequently named as a potential suitor for Tyrann Mathieu, among other options who were available. With incumbent DeShon Elliott a pending free agent, it is not surprising the Ravens have made the investment in Williams. The former is a well-respected member of the defense, but injuries have been a constant throughout his four-year career. That, coupled with Williams’ skillset lending itself more naturally to a true free safety role, make this a logical move.
With Williams in place, the Ravens’ secondary still includes All Pro corners in Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. At an average of $14MM per season, on the other hand, this deal adds considerably to the finances Baltimore has invested on the back end of its defense. It will also eat up nearly all of the cap space the team had manufactured recently, leaving them just short of the cap ceiling. Still, the deal should help give a boost to the team’s disappointing pass defense from last season.
Texans To Re-Sign Maliek Collins
The Texans are keeping Maliek Collins. On Tuesday, the defensive tackle agreed to return on a two-year deal worth $17MM (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The pact also includes $8.5MM guaranteed, giving Collins security heading into his seventh pro season.
[RELATED: Falcons Eyeing Texans’ Watson?]
Collins, a three-technique tackle, emerged as a key contributor in Lovie Smith‘s defense last year. The two sides were said to have mutual interest and, as expected, they’ve hashed out a deal in advance of the official start to free agency.
The Texans snagged Collins on a one-year, $5MM deal last year. This time around, they were willing to go significantly higher. At one point in time, Collins seemed like a lost cause. However, he’s clearly bounced back from his iffy Raiders run.
Last year, Collins notched a career-high 29 tackles with nine tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks.
Steelers To Sign James Daniels
The Steelers have made another big splash in the offensive line market. The team is signing guard James Daniels to a three-year, $26.5MM contract, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link).
Daniels will see $8.75MM fully guaranteed on this deal, per Spotrac (on Twitter), essentially covering the 2022 season. His cap numbers come in at $4.1MM for 2022 before spiking to $11.1MM in each of the contract’s final two seasons.
[RELATED: Steelers To Re-Sign Chukwuma Okorafor]
The 24-year-old began his career with the Bears. He started 48 of 54 games during that four-year span, establishing himself as a serviceable starter. The former second round pick set a career high in terms of snaps played this past season, with 1,122.
2021 was also his best campaign from an analytical perspective. He earned a PFF grade of 71, making him a solid option in this year’s free agent market. In Pittsburgh, he will join a team that’s been in need of upgrades throughout the offensive front. He will also be re-joining former Bears teammate Mitch Trubisky, who is reportedly joining the Steelers to compete for the starting quarterback role. The pair spent three seasons together in Chicago.
This is the third notable move the Steelers have made regarding their o-line recently. They reached an agreement with Mason Cole yesterday, meaning the unit could look very different when the 2022 season begins. That will likely be a welcome sign for Pittsburgh, as the team continues to re-shape its offense in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era.