Raiders Sign DT Vernon Butler
The Raiders are adding a veteran defensive lineman. The team has inked defensive tackle Vernon Butler to a contract, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).
It’s a one-year deal for Butler. ESPN’s Field Yates tweeted earlier today that Butler was set to visit Las Vegas.
Butler was a first-round pick by the Panthers back in 2016, but he didn’t do a whole lot during his first three seasons with the organization, collecting two sacks in 38 games. Naturally, the organization didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. The defensive tackle finally started some games during the 2019 season, and he popped a bit, finishing with six sacks.
Butler ended up getting a two-year contract from the Bills in 2020, and he started 10 of his 24 games during his time in Buffalo. The 27-year-old had 29 tackles and no sacks during his two seasons with the team, but he still managed to find himself playing on nearly half his team’s defensive snaps. Butler also started all three of the Bills’ playoff games in 2020.
Broncos, CB K’Waun Williams Reach Deal
With Bryce Callahan a free agent, the Broncos entered the second week of free agency with a slot cornerback need. They are signing one of the most experienced options available.
Longtime 49ers inside cover man K’Waun Williams is nearing a deal with the Broncos, per Brandon Krisztal of KOA (on Twitter). The sides are closing in on a two-year agreement, per Krisztal and Denver7’s Troy Renck (Twitter link). It appears this deal is done. It is a two-year, $7MM pact, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The contract will likely check in a bit lower, with Klis adding $7MM is the max value here (Twitter link).
This bolsters a Denver secondary that has two outside starters entrenched in Patrick Surtain and Ronald Darby. Williams spent the past five seasons in San Francisco and has been one of the NFL’s better slot corners over the past several years. Williams will turn 31 this summer, but the 5-foot-9 defender worked as the 49ers’ primary slot patrolman throughout his five-year Bay Area tenure. Prior to that, Williams spent time with the Browns.
The Broncos did not have to worry about their slot position for many years, with All-Decade defender Chris Harris manning that post. Harris departed as a free agent in 2020. While Harris is back in free agency, he is two years older than Williams. Broncos GM George Paton also said recently the door was open for Callahan to return, per Renck (on Twitter). This Williams pact being finalized seemingly closes that door. Callahan is coming off an injury-prone Denver stint, though the longtime Vic Fangio charge was also a top-tier slot corner when healthy.
Williams played 72% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps last season and was a reliable cog for the franchise’s Super Bowl LIV-qualifying squad two years prior. Williams’ numbers worsened in 2021, with his passer rating in coverage and completion percentage allowed both increasing from 2020. He did notch a key interception against the Cowboys in the 49ers’ first-round win. The Broncos may not be done at cornerback, but this agreement fills a key positional need before the draft.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/22/22
Here are today’s minor moves around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: FB Khari Blasingame
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: OT Fred Johnson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: CB Luq Barcoo, OLB Elijah Lee
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-Signed: QB Sean Mannion
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-Signed: DT Montravius Adams
Packers To Sign DL Jarran Reed
Jarran Reed is set to play for a third team in three seasons. The former Seahawks and Chiefs defensive lineman is signing with the Packers, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The Bengals also met with Reed recently, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com adds, but he will head to Wisconsin.
The six-year veteran visited the Packers on Tuesday and will join a defensive line also housing Kenny Clark. This marked the third straight offseason in which Reed hit free agency. The Seahawks locked him up on a short-term deal in 2020, but that relationship quickly deteriorated and has led to a nomadic journey for the talented interior D-lineman.
Seattle gave Reed a longer-term deal, but an unusual development led to his exit. Reed refused to restructure his two-year, $23MM pact in 2021, leading to the Seahawks cutting him. The Chiefs gave Reed a one-year, $5.5MM deal and used him as a 17-game starter.
A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Reed zoomed onto the extension radar after a 10.5-sack 2018 season. A six-game suspension stalled Reed’s momentum in 2019, when he finished with just two sacks. He recorded 6.5 in 2020 and 2.5 last season, adding two forced fumbles and 12 QB hits during his one Chiefs campaign. Reed has also tallied three postseason sacks over the past two seasons.
Reed, 29, has been a highly durable player throughout his career. Excepting the suspension-induced hiatus, he has never missed more than one game in a season. The Packers will look to Reed as a supporting-caster, with Clark, Rashan Gary and Preston Smith set to spearhead their pass rush post-Za’Darius Smith. This will be Reed’s first run in a 3-4 defense, though these transitions have become less notable given the increased usages of sub-packages.
Since trading Davante Adams to the Raiders, the Packers have used some of the freed-up funds to address other areas. They have since signed Reed and reached agreements to bring back Rasul Douglas and Robert Tonyan.
Cowboys Re-Sign P Bryan Anger
After it was thought he would be heading elsewhere, the Cowboys are set to retain their punter. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter) that Bryan Anger is signing a three-year, $9MM contract with Dallas. The punter received a $2.4MM signing bonus and will have a 2022 cap hit of $2.2MM, per ESPN’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). The team has confirmed the move. 
Anger, 33, joined the Cowboys on a one-year deal last season. He was actually one of the team’s final cuts before the season started, but they brought him back in time to play every game. The $3MM-per-season average of this contract is a sizeable raise from the $1.075MM he played for in 2021.
The Cal alum was a third round pick of the Jaguars in 2012. He played for four seasons in Jacksonville, leading the league in average yards per punt in 2014. That was followed by a three-year stint in Tampa Bay, where he was used less frequently but maintained a high degree of effectiveness and consistency. He spent 2019 and 2020 with the Texans.
This past campaign, Anger enjoyed a career year. He set a new personal mark in terms of punting average (48.4 yards). As well, he broke the Cowboys’ franchise record for net average at 44.6 yards per punt. That performance earned him his first career trip to the Pro Bowl, along with second team All-Pro honors.
From a financial standpoint, that led some to believe Anger would be on the move again. Before free agency began, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reported (via Twitter) that he was “unlikely to return to Dallas”. Now, however, the team has found the money to keep one of their best players from last year in the fold.
Cardinals To Sign Nick Vigil
The Cardinals are bringing in a veteran to their linebacking corps. The team is signing Nick Vigil, reports Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (on Twitter). It’s a one-year, $1.77MM deal with $1.22MM guaranteed, according to Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Vikings To Sign LB Hicks]
Vigil was a third round pick of the Bengals in 2016. He spent four seasons in Cincinnati, becoming a full-time starter in his second campaign there. His final season in the Queen City was his most productive, as he totalled 111 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception.
That level of play earned him a one-year contract with the Chargers. He was given a much smaller role in Los Angeles, however, playing less than one-third of the team’s defensive snaps. He moved on to the Vikings last season, again on a one-year pact. Filling in as an injury replacement, he started 12 of 16 contests and made 85 tackles.
By signing with the Cardinals, Vigil could step in as a replacement for Jordan Hicks, whom the team released before free agency started. The move saved them a healthy amount of cap space, while opening the door to more playing time for 2021 first rounder Zaven Collins. Given the lack of experience he has, however, a veteran addition to complement him and Isaiah Simmons – the team’s top pick the year prior – makes sense. Vigil will join his third different team in as many years, but he should have a role on one of the conference’s top rosters.
Vikings Agree To Deal With Za’Darius Smith
After being released by the Packers, Za’Darius Smith will remain in the NFC North. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the pass rusher is signing a three-year, $42MM deal with the Vikings (Twitter link). He adds that the contract’s maximum value is $47MM. Minnesota has confirmed the signing.
Smith was let go by the Packers after three seasons with the team. Green Bay made it clear early in the offseason that he would only be brought back at a reduced cost. That led him to free agency for the second time in his career. Many pointed to a reunion in Baltimore – where he spent the first four seasons of his career – as a distinct possibility.
A deal seemed to be done between those two sides, which would pay the 29-year-old $35MM over four years. One day after a number of other edge rushers on the market found new homes, however, it came out that Smith was in fact not signing with the Ravens.
Still on the open market, Smith garnered interest from both the Cowboys and Vikings. The latter met with Smith yesterday, opening the door to a deal. On the lookout for a compliment to fellow 2015 draftee Danielle Hunter, Smith will represent a significant addition to Minnesota’s pass-rush department.
At a annual average value of $14MM, the Vikings’ deal is a raise of $5.25MM per season over that offered by Baltimore. While it comes in at a rate notably lower than the compensation the likes of Von Miller and Chandler Jones have received this offseason, it’s not far off the $16.5MM average of his previous pact in Green Bay. With a lucrative new contract in place, he can now face his former team twice per year.
Chiefs To Sign WR Corey Coleman
Journeyman receiver Corey Coleman appears to have found his latest home. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the veteran is signing with the Chiefs (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: WR Robinson To Visit Raiders]
Coleman, 27, was a first round pick of the Browns in 2016. He started 18 of 19 contests in Cleveland, totalling 789 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries were an issue however, which, coupled with underwhelming production, led to him being traded to Buffalo in August 2018.
He was cut by the Bills one month later, which began a lengthy stay on the practice squads of the Patriots and Giants. He played eight games in New York during the 2018 campaign, but he only registered five catches. The Baylor alum did spend time as the team’s kick returner, though. He stayed in the Big Apple through the following season, but a torn ACL took away his chance of cementing himself as a starting-caliber player.
He signed another one-year deal with New York in March 2020, but was once again cut before the campaign began. After spending all of 2021 away from football, he will now attempt a comeback in Kansas City. The Chiefs have already made one notable addition to their receiving corps, signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal. He will add an accomplished complimentary option to their passing attack, but Coleman could find a role further down the depth chart.
Buccaneers To Re-Sign Leonard Fournette
One day after a visit with the Patriots, Leonard Fournette has decided to stay in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are re-signing the running back to a three-year, $21MM deal (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). He adds that the contract has a maximum value of $24MM. 
[RELATED: Patriots Meet With Fournette, Work Out Butler]
An ESPN report further details that the deal includes $9MM in guaranteed money. Fournette, 27, has spent the past two years in Tampa Bay after his time in Jacksonville came to an end. He was clearly willing to test the open market, given his visit in New England, but a return to the Buccaneers – especially given the unretirement of Tom Brady – was the most logical move in the eyes of many.
Fournette didn’t have the bell-cow type of workload he was used to as a Jaguar during his early days with the Buccaneers. However, he took over the starting role from Ronald Jones in 2021, and seized the opportunity. The former fourth overall pick averaged a career-high 4.5 yards per carry, and ranked sixth in the league amongst RBs with 1,266 scrimmage yards.
Keeping Fournette was also likely a necessary move, given the state of Tampa’s depth chart at the position. The aforementioned Jones, along with Giovani Bernard, are both unrestricted free agents, so this signing fills a roster hole. Along with the extension of receiver Chris Godwin, it also marks another sign of continuity in the Bucs’ offense, which – to much more of an extent than many thought – will look very similar in 2022 to what it has in the past two seasons.
Restructured Deals: Packers, Broncos, Bills, Patriots, Giants
As free agency continues, teams will keep finding ways to open up additional cap. We’ve had a handful of reworked contracts in recent days, which we’ve compiled below:
- The Packers opened $10.15MM in cap space by restructuring the contracts of wideout Randall Cobb (which was previously reported) and safety Adrian Amos, per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). ESPN’s Rob Demovsky tweets that Green Bay turned $5.88MM of Amos’ $7MM base salary into a signing bonus and added four void years.
- The Broncos opened up some space via a pair of restructured deals. Wideout Tim Patrick converted $6.9MM of his roster bonus into a signing bonus, creating around $4.6MM in cap space, per Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (on Twitter). The Broncos also converted receiver Courtland Sutton‘s $10.5MM roster bonus into a signing bonus, saving $7.875MM in 2022 cap space, per Klis (on Twitter).
- The Panthers converted $11.765MM of wideout Robby Anderson’s 2022 pay into a signing bonus, creating $5.88MM in cap space, per Yates (on Twitter). Staying in the NFC, Yates also tweets that the Eagles converted $14.88MM of cornerback Darius Slay’s salary into a signing bonus, creating $11.90MM in 2022 cap space.
- The Giants converted $2.63MM of kicker Graham Gano’s salary into a bonus, creating $1.753MM in cap space, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter). The team also added a void year to the contract, something GM Joe Schoen was trying to avoid (per Raanan).
- After getting traded to the Bills, quarterback Case Keenum agreed to rework his contract. Per Yates (on Twitter), Keenum reduced his base salary to $3.5MM. Another AFC East team, the Patriots, also got into the game, reducing defensive end Henry Anderson‘s base salary from $2.5MM to $1.25MM (per Yates).
- Yates passes along three more restructures (on Twitter): the Vikings opened $6MM in cap space by reworking safety Harrison Smith‘s contract, the Bills opened $5.172MM via linebacker Matt Milano‘s contract, and the Titans opened $6.45MM via linebacker Zach Cunningham‘s contract.