Buccaneers Re-Sign Leonard Fournette
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The Buccaneers are keeping the band together. On Friday, GM Jason Licht struck a new one-year deal with running back Leonard Fournette (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Fournette is set to earn $3.25MM with the chance to reach $4MM via incentives. Apparently, that was enough for Fournette to say no to the Seahawks and other suitors.
The former No. 4 overall pick found his way to the Bucs after the Jaguars dropped him last summer. Serving as Ronald Jones‘ backup for much of the year, Fournette shined as the starter from Week 15 onward. In the regular season, Fournette averaged 3.8 yards per carry in 13 games. He also reeled in 36 passes for 233 yards, giving him 600 all-purpose yards for the year. He saved his best for the playoffs, collecting four touchdowns and 448 yards from scrimmage in four games.
The Buccaneers’ high-powered passing offense certainly had something to do with his resurgence. With the Jaguars’, Fournette faced stacked boxes on 39% of his carries from 2017-19. In Tampa, he’s got tons of offensive weapons around him to keep defenses honest.
Some wondered if the Buccaneers would be able to keep their core in tact after their Super Bowl victory. But, in the last month, they’ve held on to Fournette, Chris Godwin, Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, and other key pieces. Next, the Bucs will look to re-sign wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Giants Sign Zach Fulton
The Giants have signed guard Zach Fulton, per a club announcement. Details of the deal were not disclosed. 
Fulton was cut by the Texans, just before he was set to collect a $1MM bonus on March 22. The veteran was in set to enter the final season of a four-year, $28MM deal. Before his release, Fulton started in at least 13 games across his three Texans seasons. This past year, he was first-string for all 16.
Fulton didn’t set the world on fire in Houston, but the Giants see him as an experienced hand who can help to fortify their offensive line. Last year, Pro Football Focus had him tied as the No. 42 guard in the NFL last year — good enough for a starter. And, in 2019, PFF ranked him as one of the best pass-blocking guards in the league, though his weak run-blocking marks brought down his overall score.
The former Chiefs sixth-round pick should have an opportunity to make an impact in New York that Kevin Zeitler is out the picture.
Cowboys Sign Damontae Kazee
The Cowboys have agreed to terms with free agent safety Damontae Kazee, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson says it will be a one-year deal (Twitter link).
Kazee visited with Dallas yesterday, and even though he followed through on his plan to visit the Lions today, it didn’t take him long to strike an accord with the Cowboys. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys’ medical staff was satisfied with Kazee’s recovery from the Achilles tear he suffered in October, and once he passed that test, Dallas was quick to extend a contract offer.
Dallas has been looking for a true free safety for a long time, and it hopes it has found what it’s looking for in the 27-year-old Kazee, whose 10 interceptions from 2018-19 were tied for the most in the NFL. The fit was a good one, as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, was Kazee’s head coach for the first four years of his career in Atlanta, and secondary coach/pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was his position coach in 2020.
Kazee follows longtime Falcons teammate Keanu Neal from Atlanta to Dallas, so Quinn will have several familiar faces at his disposal. Interestingly, Kazee got his first real chance to start at safety due to Neal’s season-ending injury in early 2018, but Neal is expected to play some linebacker in Dallas, and Kazee clearly feels he will have enough snaps to re-establish himself as a ball-hawking playmaker in the defensive backfield.
In addition to Kazee, the Cowboys auditioned Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker yesterday. The club ended up signing Kearse, and with Kazee now in the fold as well, Hooker will probably need to look elsewhere for his next opportunity.
On a related note, Ed Werder of ESPN.com says that Neal’s double-duty role as an LB/S hybrid could eat into linebacker Jaylon Smith‘s snaps, but that Smith’s roster spot is not in jeopardy (Twitter link). That jibes with a report that was published late last month.
Seahawks Re-Sign Carlos Dunlap
The Seahawks are putting the money they are about to save from Jarran Reed‘s imminent departure to good use. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was among those to report, Seattle is re-signing defensive end Carlos Dunlap to a two-year, $16.6MM contract with $8.5MM in guarantees (Twitter link).
Seattle acquired Dunlap in a trade deadline deal in October in an effort to boost its struggling pass rush. And Dunlap delivered, contributing five sacks and six tackles for loss in his eight games with the ‘Hawks. However, he was due to carry a $14.1 cap charge in 2021, and that was just too much for the team to stomach with the salary cap decreasing by about $16MM.
As such, the Seahawks released the longtime Bengal several weeks ago, but even before the release, we heard that Seattle could look to cut Dunlap and then re-sign him to a less expensive contract. And that’s exactly what happened.
The Dunlap re-up comes on the heels of Benson Mayowa‘s new one-year deal and Kerry Hyder‘s three-year accord. We heard earlier this evening that the club was set to trade or release Reed, and while Seattle certainly would have liked to retain its DT, Pete Carroll & Co. believe Dunlap is more valuable to the Seahawks at this point.
Dunlap, 32, has 87.5 career sacks to his credit, and he will have a good chance to hit the century mark with the Seahawks. There was no reported interest his services after he was released, but as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets, he wanted to return to Seattle all along. So both sides are probably pretty happy this evening.
Rams To Sign DeSean Jackson
Mar. 25: Financial details are in. Per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (via Twitter), Jackson’s one-year deal will include a $2.75MM base salary. D-Jax also has significant playing-time incentives, as he will earn $103K for each game that he is on the active gameday roster and an additional $1.25MM if he plays at least 50% of the Rams’ offensive snaps and the team “improves” (presumably, that means that LA wins more than the 10 games it won in 2020).
There are also $1MM in playoff incentives, so Jackson’s deal will max out at roughly $6.75MM. His cap number, though, checks in at $3.26MM.
Mar. 21: Sean McVay’s offense is adding another big name. The Rams are signing free agent receiver DeSean Jackson, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal.
McVay personally reached out to help recruit Jackson, Garafolo notes in a follow-up tweet. Financial terms weren’t immediately available, and they’ll be interesting to see considering Jackson is now 34 and has only played eight total games over the last two years. As many were quick to point out, this fills a big need for Los Angeles as they had been lacking a speed receiver since trading away Brandin Cooks.
Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are both very quality options, but neither of them are deep threat field-stretchers. Jackson’s presence, assuming he’s able to stay healthy, should now open up a lot of things underneath for everybody else. Matthew Stafford is going to have a very solid group of receivers to throw to in his first year with the Rams.
Jackson started his career with the Eagles in 2008, then had stops in Washington and Tampa Bay before heading back to Philly for the past two years. The three-time Pro Bowler could be a big addition if he’s got anything left in the tank, and as recently as 2018 with the Bucs he still led the league in yards per reception at 18.9.
The Eagles released him in a cost-saving move last month, and we hadn’t heard of any known interest in Jackson since then. He had 14 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown in five games last year.
The Cal product is certainly nearing the end of his career, but hopefully he can still make a few of his patented splash plays in 2021. With the moves he’s made this offseason, McVay’s offense is trending toward looking more like the exciting and electrifying units we saw in his first couple of years as coach.
Seahawks To Part Ways With DT Jarran Reed
The Seahawks are expected to part ways with defensive tackle Jarran Reed, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It appears that Reed himself broke the news in a since-deleted tweet.
Per Schefter, Seattle is looking for a trade partner but will release the 28-year-old if it cannot swing a deal. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com is hearing the same thing, and RapSheet adds that Reed was seeking a long-term deal, while the Seahawks were hoping he would convert some of his 2020 salary into a signing bonus in order to reduce his $13.5MM cap number (Twitter link). Although those types of restructures are common and generally not difficult to execute, since they guarantee the player previously un-guaranteed money, Rapoport says the situation went to a “bad spot” when Seattle wouldn’t agree to an extension.
Moving on from Reed will create $8.5MM of cap space, though it will saddle the club with a $5MM dead cap hit. Clearly, however, Seattle values the cap savings more than their 2016 second-rounder at this point.
Reed had a breakout campaign in 2018, piling up 50 tackles and 10.5 sacks. But he was suspended for the first six games of the 2019 season after violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and he managed just 2.5 sacks that year. His sack total increased to 6.5 last season, and he played a full 16-game slate, but Pro Football Focus was not high on his work. PFF graded him as the 89th-best interior defender out of 125 qualifiers, and he did not receive high marks for either his run defense or his pass rushing abilities.
The Seahawks signed Kerry Hyder several days ago and brought back Benson Mayowa, but Reed’s departure will still leave a pass rushing void (despite his low PFF score). 2020 trade acquisition Carlos Dunlap is still on the market after being released by Seattle several weeks ago, so perhaps the ‘Hawks will circle back to him. They could also ask 2019 first-rounder L.J. Collier to handle more snaps at DT with Reed out of the picture.
Patriots Re-Sign FB Jakob Johnson
The Patriots have re-signed exclusive rights free agent Jakob Johnson, per a team announcement. As an ERFA, Johnson could not negotiate with any other club, so this was mostly a foregone conclusion.
Johnson, a fullback, joined New England via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program in April 2019. He saw action in four games during the 2019 campaign, but he played in every game in 2020, appearing in 37% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps. He caught eight passes for 35 yards and a score and also served as a significant special teams contributor.
With this re-signing and yesterday’s James White re-up, the Pats will now return most of their 2020 backfield. Damien Harris and Sony Michel are also under contract, but Rex Burkhead — who sustained an ACL tear in November — remains a free agent.
Washington Signs WR Adam Humphries
Washington’s push to add Adam Humphries produced a contract agreement Thursday afternoon. The former Buccaneers and Titans wide receiver signed with Washington. It’s a one-year deal.
This will reunite Humphries and Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington’s recently signed quarterback who played with the slot target during his two seasons in Tampa. This move adds another experienced weapon for a Washington receiving corps that entered the offseason with a clear need alongside Terry McLaurin.
Humphries will follow Curtis Samuel to Washington. Although Washington returns a few of its lower-level wideout investments from last season, McLaurin, Samuel and Humphries represent an intriguing trio. Humphries’ Titans contract did not work out, with the team releasing him last month. Humphries is coming off a concussion-marred season. Washington will offer the six-year veteran a bounce-back opportunity, and Fitzpatrick will have a deeper pass-catching corps than he did during his Miami seasons.
A 27-year-old former UDFA, Humphries posted career-high marks in his most recent season with Fitzpatrick. In 2018, Humphries caught 76 passes for 816 yards and five touchdowns. That season also ended with Fitz averaging a historic 9.6 yards per attempt (in seven starts) and ended up securing Humphries a $9MM-AAV contract.
He did not match these numbers over the course of his two-year Titans tenure, but the Clemson alum also exceeded 600 yards during the 2016 and ’17 seasons with the Bucs. If healthy, Humphries provides an interesting weapon for Washington, where he will also join emerging tight end Logan Thomas as inside options for Fitz.
None of Washington’s complementary wideouts surpassed 500 yards in McLaurin’s first two seasons. Samuel and Humphries have combined to exceed 600 five times in their respective careers. These additions stand to help an offense that ranked 32nd in passing two years ago and 25th in 2020.
Jaguars Re-Sign DL Adam Gotsis
One of the Jaguars’ starting defensive linemen from last season will stay with the now-Urban Meyer-coached team. The Jags re-signed Adam Gotsis on Thursday.
Originally a second-round Broncos pick, Gotsis joined the Jaguars after suffering an ACL tear late in his fourth Denver season. He started 14 of the Jags’ 16 games and will stay in Jacksonville for Meyer’s first season in charge.
The veteran D-lineman recorded 37 tackles, three for loss, and four quarterback hits in his first Jaguars season. With the ACL injury now nearly 18 months behind him, the Australian defender stands to be closer to his top form. Pro Football Focus graded Gotsis as a middle-of-the-road edge player last season, slotting him 73rd at that position.
Gotsis worked as a Broncos starting end, in their 3-4 scheme, for much of his four-season Denver tenure. However, he fell out of favor in Vic Fangio‘s defense during the longtime defensive coordinator’s first season in Denver. Gotsis lost his rotation spot in 2019, but he played in all 16 Jaguar games last season and logged 52% of their defensive snaps. Despite the Jags having changed D-coordinators, moving to Joe Cullen, Gotsis still has a spot on their D-line.
Bills Sign RB Matt Breida
Matt Breida will leave the Dolphins but stay in the AFC East. The Bills are signing the four-year veteran running back, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Breida is expected to sign a one-year deal. The Bills announced the move.
The Dolphins acquired Breida from the 49ers during the 2020 draft but did not receive much production from the elusive back. Breida, however, has rushed for more than 600 yards in multiple seasons — including 814 in 2018 — and is one of the league’s fastest ball carriers. He will join Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in Buffalo.
The 49ers shipped Breida to the Dolphins for a fifth-round pick, but he ended last season with just 254 rushing yards despite having played in 12 games. Miami has since pivoted to former Rams back Malcolm Brown, who will team with Myles Gaskin. The Bills’ backfield suddenly looks crowded, with Breida set to vie for time with recent Day 2 picks.
A former UDFA out of Georgia Southern, Breida played a key role for multiple Kyle Shanahan offenses. He topped five yards per carry in both 2018 and ’19, doing so on 153 carries in 2018. Raheem Mostert ended up usurping Breida in San Francisco, but Breida still helped a 49ers backfield that was without high-end signing Jerick McKinnon for two full seasons. The 26-year-old back will look to re-establish his career in Buffalo.