Texans Re-Sign WR Chris Conley
Chris Conley is sticking around Houston. The veteran wideout has agreed to a one-year deal with the Texans, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter).
The 29-year-old caught on with the Texans last offseason, and he ended up collecting 22 receptions for 323 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (10 starts). Conley also saw some time on special teams, garnering the most ST snaps since his rookie campaign.
Following a four-year stint with the Chiefs to start his career, Conley had his best performance with Jacksonville in 2019. He finished that season with career-highs in receptions (47), receiving yards (775), and touchdowns (five).
Conley was one of three Texans wideouts set to his free agency along with Danny Amendola and Chris Moore.
Panthers Restructure OL Pat Elflein’s Contract
While much of the focus in Carolina is on the Panthers’ pursuit of Deshaun Watson, the team continues to open up some additional cap space. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Panthers have restructured offensive lineman Pat Elflein‘s contract.
[RELATED: Panthers Preparing “Aggressive” Offer For Deshaun Watson]
The front office converted $4.86MM of the player’s 2022 compensation into a signing bonus, creating an additional $2.4MM in cap space. Per Yates, the team is now “closing in” on close to $30MM in cap space.
The Panthers added Elflein on the first day of free agency in 2021, with the lineman inking a three-year, $13.5MM deal. He started all nine of his games during his first season with the organization, but he missed a chunk of the season while dealing with a hamstring issue.
The 27-year-old started his career with the Vikings, starting 43 of his 44 games. He split the 2020 season between the Vikings and the Jets.
Buccaneers Rework Vita Vea’s Contract
The restructures keep coming, and this time it’s the Buccaneers opening up a chunk of cap. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Buccaneers have restructured the contract of nose tackle Vita Vea.
[RELATED: Buccaneers Place Franchise Tag On Chris Godwin]
Specifically, the team restructured the veteran’s base salary, opening up $7.64MM worth of cap space. Greg Auman of The Athletic has more details (via Twitter), noting that the organization reduced Vea’s salary from $10.6MM to $1.12MM, leading to the player getting a $9.46MM bonus.
The Buccaneers barely had any breathing room over the cap heading into the offseason, and that was before they slapped wideout Chris Godwin with the franchise tag. The team will surely have more cap-saving transactions, but they’ll still be hard pressed to afford all of their impending free agents, a group that includes Carlton Davis.
Vea has spent his entire four-year career in Tampa Bay, and the former first-round pick signed a four-year, $73MM extension with the Buccaneers back in January. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2021 after finishing with 33 tackles, four sacks, and 12 QB hits.
Saints Restructure CB Marshon Lattimore’s Contract
The Saints entered the offseason with one of the worst cap situations in the NFL, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Saints opened up a significant chunk of cap space after restructuring cornerback Marshon Lattimore‘s contract.
Specifically, the team converted Lattimore’s base salary into a signing bonus, opening up a whopping $18.45MM in cap space. Per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (on Twitter), the Saints are now about $5MM over the cap.
It’s another step forward for the cap-crunched Saints, who previously reworked the deals of defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Tanoh Kpassagnon. The team also restructured Alvin Kamara‘s deal yesterday, opening up another $8MM in space. Once the team manages to get the under the cap, they’ll have some interesting questions to answer, including a resolution on a potential long-term deal for standout safety Marcus Williams.
It hasn’t even been a year since Lattimore signed a lucrative five-year, $97.6MM extension with New Orleans. He earned another Pro Bowl nod (his fourth) in 2021 after finishing with 68 tackles, 19 passes defended, and three interceptions in 16 starts.
Bills Rework P Matt Haack’s Contract
The Bills have reworked their punter’s contract. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter), the Bills have signed Matt Haack to a revised contract.
The deal will reduce Haack’s 2022 salary to $1.135MM, and it will also void the final year of his contract. As a result, the punter will hit free agency next offseason.
According to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (on Twitter), the Bills also removed the $1MM base salary that would have been guaranteed on March 18. As a result, the Bills can set themselves up for a punting competition if they so desire.
Haack spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dolphins before inking a three-year deal with the Bills last offseason. His averages went down during his first season in Buffalo, as he averaged only 42.9 yards on his punts (with his previous career-low being at 44.5). While he wasn’t called on all that much during the postseason, he did see that average jump to 43.8 yards on four punts.
Blake Martinez Takes Pay Cut To Stay With Giants
The negotiations between the Giants and linebacker Blake Martinez have resulted in a new deal. Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports that the veteran will be staying with the team, but at a reduced salary. 
Earlier this week, the two sides discussed a re-working of his deal, as part of the wider need for the Giants to shed 2022 expenses. Martinez was due to make $8.525MM (the amount the team would save with a release), but carry a cap hit of just over $14MM. That led to the possibility he could be let go, but now he will stay in the Big Apple – unlike a number of veterans who have been cut in recent days.
The 28-year-old joined the Giants in 2020 after four seasons in Green Bay, including three as a starter. Between 2017 and 2019, the former fourth rounder totalled 443 tackles, nine sacks and a pair of interceptions. He delivered a similar performance in his first campaign in New York with 151 stops, two forced fumbles and five pass deflections.
Unfortunately, a torn ACL limited Martinez to just three games in 2021. His absence was felt on a Giants defense that allowed 129 rushing yards per game, which ranked 25th in the league. With him still in the fold, however, much of the cap gymnastics general manager Joe Shoen faced upon his arrival has taken place. The biggest remaining question on the roster now pertains to James Bradberry. Given the team’s need to cut costs, the highly regarded cornerback has been the subject of trade interest from a number of teams. Much of what Schoen does in free agency will depend on the organization’s handling of Bradberry’s contract.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/22
Here are today’s minor roster moves around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Assigned from waivers: RB Darrynton Evans
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-Signed: LB Joe Bachie
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: WR Robert Foster
- Waived: CB Reggie Robinson and RB Ito Smith
Houston Texans
- Re-Signed: QB Jeff Driskel and OL Carson Green
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-Signed: OT Jackson Barton
New York Giants
- Waived: TE Kaden Smith
- Re-Signed: WR David Sills
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-Signed: S Miles Killebrew
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-Signed: LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/11/22
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Browns: RB D’Ernest Johnson
- Chiefs: CB Deandre Baker
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: TE Donald Parham
- Jaguars: DE Jamir Jones, LB Chapelle Russell, RB Mekhi Sargent
Non-tendered:
- Bengals: OLB Wyatt Ray
Dolphins Place Second-Round RFA Tender On CB Nik Needham
As the Dolphins transition to a new regime, they did well to ensure Nik Needham will be part of their 2022 squad. Miami placed a second-round RFA tender on Needham.
Friday’s tender decision ties Needham to a $3.9MM salary for 2022. Barring an extension agreement, Needham will play for that amount. It marks a nice raise for the fourth-year cornerback, who earned $850K in base salary last season.
Needham caught on with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and has played extensively, even as the Dolphins added reinforcements at his position. The Dolphins signed Byron Jones to a then-cornerback-record deal in 2020 and drafted Noah Igbinoghene in that year’s first round. In 2021, they signed Justin Coleman. Needham still logged a 60% defensive snap rate in 2020 and played 54% of Miami’s defensive plays last season.
A UTEP product, Needham has intercepted six passes in three Dolphins seasons. He took one of those INTs back for a touchdown, this coming last season. Needham allowed a 73.4 passer rating when targeted last season, by far the lowest figure of his career. Unless an extension is reached, Needham will be set for unrestricted free agency in 2023.
Raiders, DE Maxx Crosby Agree On Extension
Not long after reports of extension talks surfaced, Maxx Crosby will see a big raise. The Raiders locked down their Pro Bowl pass rusher Friday, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (on Twitter). The Raiders announced the extension agreement.
Crosby agreed to a four-year, $98.98MM extension; the deal includes $53MM guaranteed. This is a considerable development for a player who entered the NFL as a Day 3 pick from a mid-major program.
This contract bumps Crosby into the upper echelon of edge rushers. At nearly $25MM annually, the former fourth-round pick is now the league’s fourth-highest-paid defensive player. Crosby’s deal tops Aaron Donald‘s, with only T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa and Myles Garrett‘s contracts coming in ahead of his.
This is obviously a major commitment from the Raiders, who saw Crosby quickly usurp draft classmate Clelin Ferrell as their cornerstone defensive lineman. An Eastern Michigan product, Crosby is just 24 and already has 25 sacks on his resume. He played a big part of Las Vegas clinching a playoff berth in Week 18, dominating against the Chargers to cement the team’s first postseason appearance in five years.
Crosby’s extension agreement ties him to the Raiders through the 2026 season. The Raiders are transitioning to a new regime, with Patrick Graham set to take over the defense. Friday’s contract terms certainly illustrate the Dave Ziegler–Josh McDaniels duo’s faith in Crosby, acquired in Jon Gruden‘s second draft running the Raiders. The team still has Yannick Ngakoue under contract for one more season, while Ferrell and Carl Nassib are also signed through 2022.