Vikings K Greg Joseph Signs RFA Tender
Greg Joseph will be staying in Minnesota for at least one more year. The kicker has signed his RFA tender, as announced by his agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network). 
The 27-year-old has found himself on a number of both 53-man and practice squad rosters since entering the league in 2018. Originally signed by the Dolphins as a UDFA, his first action came with the Browns. He made 17 of 20 field goal attempts in Cleveland, along with 25 of 29 extra points.
He wasn’t able to retain his starting spot during the following training camp, though, which had him on the move again. After a stint on the Panthers’ practice squad, he made two appearances with the Titans. The FAU alum then spent the entire 2020 campaign with the Buccaneers; he didn’t make any appearances in Tampa Bay, but still capped off the season with a Super Bowl ring.
That led to his deal with the Vikings last offseason. Coming in as the replacement for Dan Bailey, Joseph played in all 17 games in 2021. He made 33 of 38 field goal attempts, good for a success rate of 86.8%. He also converted 36 of 40 extra points. That level of success led to the Vikings tendering him, and he will now spend multiple seasons with the same team for the first time in his career.
Chargers To Sign LB Troy Reeder
Troy Reeder is changing teams, but not locations. Pro Football Network’s Mike Kaye reports that the linebacker is signing a one-year deal with the Chargers.
Reeder, 27, joined the Rams as a UDFA in 2019. In three seasons there, he started 25 of 49 games, taking on a greater role with each passing year. The 2021 campaign saw him make a career-high 91 tackles and add two sacks, as well as a pair of interceptions. He was not tendered as an RFA, though, leaving him open to sign elsewhere.
That became a much greater possibility, of course, when the Rams signed Bobby Wagner. The longtime Seahawk represents a sizeable addition to what was seen as one of the few weak spots on the reigning champions’ roster. Now, Reeder will join a revamped Chargers defense looking to improve on its 30th overall ranking against the run last season.
To that end, the Chargers have already signed former Ram Sebastian Joseph-Day. Reeder now represents another face which will be familiar to head coach Brandon Staley, who was previously the Rams’ defensive coordinator. He will join a linebacking corps which also includes 2020 first rounder Kenneth Murray, another player known for his size and aggression.
Reeder should see significant playing time, either as a starter or key backup in the middle of the Chargers’ defense. If the team’s other additions on that side of the ball (most notably Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson) play to their potential, he could find himself playing in a second straight Super Bowl.
Bears Sign LB Matthew Adams
Former Colts seventh-round pick Matthew Adams will follow Matt Eberflus to Chicago. The Bears signed the veteran linebacker to a one-year contract Saturday.
Despite his final-round draft status, Adams played four seasons with the Colts — all during Eberflus’ defensive coordinator stay — and served as a defensive part-timer and near-full-time special teams contributor. Adams joins defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad as ex-Colt defenders to commit to Chicago since Eberflus’ HC hire.
Part of the 2018 draft class that sent Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard, Braden Smith and Nyheim Hines to the Colts, Adams played 58 games for the team. The Colts used the ex-Houston Cougar as a nine-game starter over his first two seasons but kept him strictly on special teams from 2020-21. Adams played 79% of Indianapolis’ special teams plays in 2021, making 10 tackles.
Chicago has added a few auxiliary players at linebacker this offseason, signing ex-Raider Nicholas Morrow along with journeymen backups Joe Thomas and Noah Dawkins. Entering his fifth season, Roquan Smith stands to anchor this group — one that lost six-year cog Danny Trevathan following a March release.
Ravens Re-Sign Calais Campbell
Calais Campbell is returning to Baltimore. The Pro Bowl pass rusher is re-signing with the Ravens, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a two-year deal for Campbell, and the defender is now expected to finish his career in Baltimore. Per Josina Anderson on Twitter, the deal has a max value of $16.5MM, and the deal contains $6MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link).
While Campbell left the door open to retire following the 2021 campaign, he later confirmed that he wanted to stick around for at least another season. Ravens GM Eric DeCosta later admitted that he was trying to convince Campbell to re-sign with the Ravens, and it sounds like the organization ultimately got their way.
“It just felt like the right move,” Campbell told Anderson (via Twitter). “I feel like we started something special and we have unfinished business there.”
A former Cardinals second-round pick, Campbell has excelled for three different franchises. He already rewarded the Jaguars as a 30-something free agent, spearheading the team’s “Sacksonville” D-line to the Super Bowl precipice in 2017. After three Pro Bowl seasons in Jacksonville, Campbell landed in Baltimore via trade in 2020.
In his two seasons with Baltimore, Campbell has started 26 of his 27 games while collecting 5.5 sacks. The 35-year-old delivered another strong season in 2021, helping a Ravens team that had to play without Derek Wolfe‘s for the entire year. Campbell ultimately finished the season with 49 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 12 QB hits.
A six-time Pro Bowler, former All-Pro, Walter Payton Man of the Year winner, 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team, Campbell is also in search of his 100th career sack. He currently sits at 93.5, although he has transitioned more and more into a run-stopper than a pass rusher in recent years.
Browns To Sign Josh Dobbs
After a pair of visits with other AFC teams, quarterback Josh Dobbs is landing in Cleveland. The Browns are signing him to a one-year deal (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).
[RELATED: Dobbs Visited Ravens, Patriots]
Dobbs was drafted in the fourth round by the Steelers in 2017. He made five appearances in Pittsburgh one year later, but was then traded to the Jaguars the following September. While he ended up back with the Steelers in 2020, he ultimately lost out to Mason Rudolph as the team’s backup to Ben Roethlisberger.
The 27-year-old garnered a notable amount of interest in free agency, working out with Baltimore and New England. The former only currently has two QBs on the roster, so a signing with the Ravens wouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. Instead, he will join a different Steelers’ AFC North rival.
In Cleveland, Dobbs will join a QB room which is – at least for the time being – rather crowded. The Browns have Deshaun Watson at the top of the depth chart, and added experienced depth by signing Jacoby Brissett to replace Case Keenum. The elephant in the room remains Baker Mayfield, whom the team has been widely expected to trade but has expressed a willingness to keep.
Regardless of how the rest of the Browns’ roster shakes out at the position, Dobbs will provide the team with another depth option amongst its signal-callers.
Bears To Sign CB Tavon Young
The Bears are making another addition to their secondary. According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the team is signing slot cornerback Tavon Young to a one-year, $1.365MM deal (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Bears Sign DB Cruikshank]
Young, 28, had been with the Ravens since they drafted him in 2016. During his time there, he established himself as effective member of the team’s secondary. While his tenure overlapped with Pro Bowlers such as Eric Weddle, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, he carved out a role for himself as the slot corner.
Young’s play earned him a three-year extension in 2019. Valued at just under $26MM, the deal made him the highest-paid slot CB in the league. In the two seasons immediately following that signing, however, he played in only two games; the 2019 campaign was the second in his relatively brief career (the other being 2017) that he missed in its entirety, primarily due to knee injuries.
The former fourth rounder was able to return to full health, as he played all 17 games in the 2021 season. During his four campaigns in Baltimore, he totalled 127 tackles, four interceptions and four sacks. That tenure came to an end last month, though, as he was cut in a cost-saving move.
Young should be able to step in to the starting slot role in Chicago, where, if he can stay healthy, he will likely provide solid value relative to the modest contract. Without many experienced options behind the aforementioned Humphrey and Peters, the Ravens are expected to turn to the draft for Young’s replacement, or at least depth at the position.
Jets Waive OL Alex Lewis
More than seven months after announcing his retirement, guard Alex Lewis has officially been let go by the Jets. The team is waiving him with a reserve/left squad designation, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 
Lewis announced his retirement this past August, signalling that his playing days were over. While there was uncertainty surrounding his decision to step away from the Jets, injuries likely played a part. In the time leading up to that, he agreed to take a pay cut, reducing his salary by almost $3MM. That would’ve given him a better chance at making the lineup out of training camp, but the point ultimately became moot.
Lewis, 29, began his career with the Ravens in 2016. He started 18 of 20 games in Baltimore, occupying the left guard spot. After just two years, however, he was traded to the Jets. The former fourth rounder played that same position during his first year in New York, making 12 starts. He was limited to just 544 snaps in 2020, but earned a career-high PFF grade of 66.6.
In Lewis’ absence last season, the Jets used first-round rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker at left guard. Doing the same is an option moving forward, but it is expected free agent signee Laken Tomlinson will occupy that spot starting in 2022. Meanwhile, the team can proceed knowing that the situation with Lewis has officially come to an end.
Commanders Cut CB D.J. Hayden
Former first-round pick D.J. Hayden played in one game with Washington last season and stayed on via a reserve/futures contract in January, but the Commanders are cutting ties with the veteran cornerback.
Washington released Hayden on Friday. While Hayden has bounced around during his nine-year career, he carved out steady roles for his original team (the Raiders) and worked as a Jaguars slot corner for three seasons.
The Jags gave Hayden a three-year, $19MM deal in 2018, signing the former top-15 pick after his year in Detroit. Hayden helped the 2018 Jags stay near the top tier defensively, playing 72% of their defensive snaps alongside Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. That talented Jacksonville group steadily splintered, and Hayden saw a 2020 injury wrap his career with the team. After spending time on the workout circuit, Hayden caught on with Washington in 2021.
The Commanders have used Kendall Fuller both outside and in the slot since reacquiring him in 2020, and the team used a third-round pick on Benjamin St-Juste last year.
Eagles Sign WR Devon Allen
A two-time Olympic finalist in the 110-meter hurdles, Devon Allen will give football another try. The Eagles signed the U.S. track and field standout Friday, providing Allen an opportunity to resume a career that has been on hold for a while.
Allen last played football in 2016, when he suited up at Oregon, but was far better on the track and elected to turn pro in that sport. The former Marcus Mariota target has been a mainstay in the 110 hurdles for the past six years, but he totaled 684 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns as a freshman with the Ducks — on a 2014 team that played for a national championship. Allen, 27, ventured back to his alma mater last week to participate in the Ducks’ pro day and clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
“It’s now or never because I don’t want to get too old,” Allen said last week. “I don’t want to turn 30, 31, and then try and get into the NFL. I know the skill gap is still there from college to the NFL, but I think when I did play college and when I did play at a pretty good level, I would consider myself talented enough to play in the NFL.”
Although Allen has three U.S. national hurdle titles on his resume, he narrowly missed the Olympic podium in 2016 (fifth) and 2021 (fourth) and has seen Grant Holloway usurp him as Team USA’s top high hurdler. Allen entered the professional track ranks after an ACL tear ended his Oregon football run in 2016.
This signing is closer to a flier than a legitimate attempt for the Eagles to upgrade at receiver, but the team has been patient this offseason. Philadelphia has added Zach Pascal but pursued bigger names — from Allen Robinson to Christian Kirk to DeVante Parker — in free agency. The team has two first-round picks in the upcoming draft but has used first-rounders on wideouts in each of the past two years.
Browns To Re-Sign S Ronnie Harrison
Although the Browns have highly paid safety John Johnson and former second-round pick Grant Delpit under contract through 2023, they are re-signing another key member of this position group.
Ronnie Harrison is rejoining the team on a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This will be Harrison’s third year in Cleveland. The Browns initially acquired Harrison in a 2020 trade with the Jaguars and have used him steadily since doing so.
Even with Johnson added in free agency and Delpit back after a rookie-year-nullifying injury, Harrison saw his snap rate increase in 2021. The Alabama alum played 75% of Cleveland’s defensive snaps last season, bettering Delpit’s snap rate alongside Johnson. The Browns used their three top safeties frequently, and it appears that will be the plan again in 2022.
Harrison made 58 tackles and intercepted a pass in his second Browns season. The former third-round pick missed five games in 2021. Harrison’s passer rating when targeted did balloon from 81.2 in 2020 to 113.0 last season, and he was charged with giving up a whopping six touchdowns — five more than he ceded in any previous season. Pro Football Focus graded Delpit as the slightly superior defender in 2021, but Harrison certainly brings considerable experience and is only entering his age-25 season.