The Texans have agreed to a 1-year, $4 million deal to keep TE Pharaoh Brown on the roster. Brown quietly led all Houston TEs with 34 targets last season. We'd still bet on Brevin Jordan 1st among Texans receiving TEs for 2022, but it could be a crowded position group once again. Houston previously re-signed TE Anthony Auclair, but he has served primarily as a blocker.
The Jets are signing former Buccaneers S Jordan Whitehead to a 2-year, $14.5 million deal, according to multiple reports. Whitehead spent most of the past 4 years in Tampa Bay's starting lineup, including all 44 of his appearances over the past 3 years. This money says he'll land in the starting lineup with his new team -- likely in place of Marcus Maye, who is also an unrestricted free agent after playing last season on the franchise tag. Whitehead has been a solid tackle collector with the Bucs and should be in a good spot for more of the same with the Jets. S Mike Edwards looks like the best current bet on Tampa Bay's roster to replace Whitehead. We'll see whether the Bucs make further moves at the position, though.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars are releasing LB Myles Jack. He's still just 26 and had remained a starter for Jacksonville, but Jack's contract has outweighed his contributions. His release will save the team $8.35 million in cap space. Expect Jack to land at least a shot at a starting job elsewhere.
The Jets have agreed to a 3-year, $33 million deal with CB D.J. Reed, according to multiple reports. that position's the former Seahawk as the Jets' top corner. Reed spent just 1.5 of his 4 seasons in Seattle as a starter after arriving with some question as to whether he'd play safety or corner. In 2021, however, Pro Football Focus graded him 16th-best in coverage among 129 CBs who played at least 200 snaps. Reed won't turn 26 until November and will be well worth a look in CB-required IDP leagues.
Former Falcons WR Russell Gage is expected to sign with the Buccaneers, according to multiple reports. That ensures Atlanta will lose its 2nd leading receiving from last year and likely delivers Tampa Bay's new slot man. Gage went from running out of the slot on two-thirds of his routes each of the previous 2 seasons to just half the time last year. WR Chris Godwin, meanwhile, has seen his slot rate grow every season. According to Pro Football Focus, he spent 70% of pass snaps in the slot last year. So we'll see whether the Gage signing pushes Godwin back outside or injects Gage into Antonio Brown's spot (about 21% slot). That could depend, in part, on whether Godwin's torn ACL allows him to start the 2022 season on time. Either way, Gage's arrival challenges the target-share ceilings for Godwin and Mike Evans vs. what they might have been with Brown gone and a lesser replacement.
Update: ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that it's a 3-year, $30 million deal with $20 million guaranteed.
The Broncos are signing LB Josey Jewell to a 2-year, $11 million deal (with $6 million guaranteed), according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. Jewell saw some fluctuation in his role over his 1st 3 years with the team before tearing a pectoral muscle in Week 2 last season and missing the rest of the year. This contract points to Jewell retaining a starting gig for at least 2022. There have been reports of QB Russell Wilson recruiting former Seahawks teammate Bobby Wagner to Denver, but we'd bet on 2nd-year LB Baron Browning occupying the other off-ball LB post for the Broncos this season. Jewell figures to present some sleeper-type upside in LB3-4 range of IDP drafts this summer.
The Falcons have agreed to a 5-year, $24.25 million deal with K Younghoe Koo -- including $11.5 million guaranteed -- according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Koo has hit 64 of 68 FG attempts over the past 2 seasons and led the NFL in made FGs in 2020 despite missing a game. No word yet on who besides TE Kyle Pitts will actually help Atlanta get into FG range in 2022.
The Ravens have agreed to a 5-year, $70 million deal with S Marcus Williams, according to multiple reports. Williams will get $37 million guaranteed. Williams takes over the FS spot in Baltimore and leaves a significant hole in New Orleans' secondary. He's not a strong IDP option.
RB James White has re-signed with the Patriots for $5 million over 2 years, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That's not enough money to guarantee that White will make the 2022 roster. But he's available through the end of drafts right now and is thus a low-risk option with significant PPR upside. White caught 40+ passes in 6 straight seasons before the hip injury that knocked him out in his 3rd game last season. White was averaging 4 receptions per game when he went down.
In a surprise, DE Randy Gregory will be getting his 5-year, $70 million deal from the Broncos instead of the Cowboys, according to NFL Network. Gregory has been in Dallas since arriving as a 2nd-round pick in 2015. He had his most effective season yet in 2021 and should settle in on the edge opposite Bradley Chubb with his new squad. Gregory will turn 30 in November.
Former Washington RB J.D. McKissic plans to sign a 2-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. McKissic will get $7 million, with a max value of $8 million. He clearly arrives as primarily a receiving back, which means we should expect a target dip for Devin Singletary ... at least. We'll see what else Buffalo does with a backfield that also leaned on Zack Moss and Matt Breida at times last season. Singletary sits 24th among RBs in Underdog best-ball ADP right now, going early in Round 7. Expect that to come down further. He's OK to consider low in RB3 range, though. As for McKissic, he's no more than a later-round consideration -- especially in an offense that has ranked near the bottom of the league in RB target share for 3 straight seasons.
The Cowboys are bringing S Malik Hooker back on a 2-year, $8 million deal, according to multiple reports. Hooker operated as the 3rd/4th safety in his 1st season with Dallas on a 1-year deal that paid him just $920,000. The new contract points to Hooker likely elevating to a starting role in 2022. Expect him to take over Damontae Kazee's spot. We'll see whether the team retains Jayron Kearse for the other safety spot. Hooker has yet to prove useful for most IDP formats -- even when he was healthy with the Colts.
The Packers are tendering WR Allen Lazard at the 2nd-round level. That means any team would need to surrender a Round 2 selection to Green Bay if it wants to sign the restricted free agent. We'd bet on Lazard sticking with the only team he has played for. We'll see whether the Packers at more to the position this offseason. Lazard looks fine as a late-round pick in current best-ball drafting.
DE Randy Gregory is re-signing with the Cowboys on a 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $28 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Dallas stuck with Gregory through some early-career drug issues, and he finally enjoyed his best season yet in 2021. Gregory delivered a career-high 17 QB hits over 12 games and ranked 12th in Pro Football Focus pass-rushing grade among 209 edge players. He'll join fellow re-signee Demarcus Lawrence in continuing to book-end the Cowboys' D-line.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that former Jaguars WR D.J. Chark is signing a 1-year deal with the Lions. The contract will pay $10 million guaranteed, with a max value of $12 million (per ESPN's Adam Schefter). Chark suffered a broken ankle in Week 4 of last season, which is almost certainly why he's landing only a "prove it" deal in his 1st crack at free agency. Detroit presents obvious opportunity in an offense that was light on WR talent last season. Amon-Ra St. Brown was the only Lions wideout to exceed 71 targets or reach 50 catches. We'd bet on St. Brown beating Chark in targets this season, but Chark adds a significant challenge to St. Brown on that front and lowers the fantasy ceiling for the 2nd-year WR. Getting Jared Goff as his QB, though, also limits the ceiling for downfield threat Chark.
ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin reports that the Browns plan to meet with QB Deshaun Watson on Tuesday and pursue a potential trade. Watson has also already met with the Saints and Panthers, while Houston has declined the Colts' request to jump into the process. Should the Browns win out, QB Baker Mayfield would certainly make for a sensible trade piece. We'll see how the rest of this plays out.
The 49ers have agreed to a 3-year, $40.5 million deal with CB Charvarius Ward. He spent the past 3 seasons starting for the Chiefs but totaled just 4 INTs over that span. He has been a solid tackle collector for IDP squads and will remain worth consideration for CB-required formats.
The Chiefs have agreed with S Justin Reid on a 3-year, $31.5 million deal (with $20 million guaranteed), according to multiple reports. Still just 25 coming off his 4th pro season, Reid posted career-low fantasy production in 2021 amid injury and team issues. In K.C., he should occupy an upside IDP spot next to S Juan Thornhill. His arrival also almost certainly means that Tyrann Mathieu is heading elsewhere in free agency.
Former Rams DT Sebastian Joseph-Day is expected to sign a 3-year, $24 million deal ($15 million guaranteed) with the Chargers, according to Chris Carlin of ESPN New York. Joseph-Day lost 10 games to a chest injury that required surgery last season but otherwise played every game for the Rams over the past 2 years. He'll help rebuild a Chargers front that the team clearly believed needed attention after 2021. Joseph-Day delivered nice tackle production in 2021 before his injury but hasn't otherwise been a special IDP contributor. Don't expect to see him high in our 2022 IDP rankings.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Saints and Chiefs have "expressed the most interest" in WR Jarvis Landry since the Browns released him. We'll see where this one goes.
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