The Packers signed WR Sammy Watkins to a 1-year deal. It's worth "up to" $4 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. We'll wait to see all the details of the contract, but it's clearly a cheap deal that doesn't guarantee Watkins a big role. The 28-year-old was phased out of Baltimore's offense during the 2021 season, finishing with just 27 catches for 394 yards and 1 score. He's finished with fewer than 700 receiving yards in 6 straight seasons. Watkins finds plenty of opportunity in Green Bay's current WR corps -- although the Packers are likely to add to the position in the draft later this month.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne said he's "85-90%" recovered from last August's Lisfranc injury to his left foot. He's still limited in some of his weight-room work but is doing "the majority of the stuff" in Jacksonville's offseason conditioning program. Etienne expects to receive full clearance by training camp. We'll keep a close eye on his health this summer -- as well as how he'll be deployed in new HC Doug Pederson's offense.
Stephen Holder of The Athletic writes that TE has been a “focus” of the Colts’ “pre-draft preparation.” Jack Doyle retired in March. Mo Alie-Cox returned on a 3-year deal last month, but he hasn’t played more than 55% of the snaps in a season (2021). Second-year man Kylen Granson brings a receiving profile but stands just 6’2 and caught only 11 passes as a rookie. Holder noted that Indy relied heavily on 2 TE sets last year, while OC Marcus Brady returns for another season. The Colts are currently slated for 7 picks in the 2022 draft, with the first selection on tap at 42nd overall.
The Raiders and QB Derek Carr agreed to a 3-year, $121.5 million contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That makes Carr the league's 5th-highest-paid QB and keeps him in Vegas through the 2025 season. WR Davante Adams is signed through 2026. Carr has finished between QB13 and QB16 in each of the last 3 seasons and has upside beyond that in 2022.
The Falcons on Tuesday announced that they have signed TE Anthony Firkser. The former Titan never reached 40 receptions in a season across 4 years with Tennessee, and actually saw his receptions per game and yards per catch dip in 2021. We're not expecting fantasy significance from Firkser in Atlanta, where #2 TE Hayden Hurst finished just 37th at the position in PPR scoring last year.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins had surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder in March, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Higgins is expected to be ready "well before training camp," so this shouldn't be an issue for his 2022 outlook.
Chargers TE Donald Parham has signed his exclusive-rights tender, meaning he'll be back with the team for the coming season. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that Parham is "healthy and expected to compete for the starting tight end job." Parham's 2021 season ended with the scary concussion against the Chiefs on Dec. 16. We'll be watching to see what role he's expected to fill this season, but it's tough to imagine he truly has a shot at the top job after the Chargers guaranteed $8 million of TE Gerald Everett's 2-year deal.
Texans HC Lovie Smith says he's a fan of QB Davis Mills. "If you look at all of my comments about Davis, I am a believer in him and what he's going to do," Smith said Monday, according to NFL.com. "If you just go back and look at the plays that he made, throwing the ball downfield last year, so many good things that he did, and that's as a rookie." Smith also sounds confident in Mills leading the 2022 offense. "The improvement that you see from year one to year two is normally a big improvement, and that's what we're gonna get from him." Words don't necessarily mean commitment, of course. And we'll see whether Houston adds a QB at any stage of the upcoming NFL Draft. But combine Smith's comments with what had to be considered an impressive debut for a 3rd-round pick in a bad offense, and we're betting Mills leads Houston's offense for at least the coming season. He's available very late in early fantasy football drafts and not highly rated in dynasty right now.
Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins was killed after being struck by a dump truck in South Florida early Saturday morning. He was there working out with some Steelers teammates. The 15th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Haskins would have turned 25 in May.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that RB Melvin Gordon is "in discussions with the Ravens on a potential deal." Rapoport adds that Baltimore "still has a need at RB." That bit is interesting because it could either be Rapoport's quick-hand assessment of the situation (many of which can be lacking) -- or it could be a belief by the Ravens that he's been fed by a source. We're certainly not adjusting any fantasy outlooks until such a signing actually happens. But if Gordon does join the Ravens, it would obviously be bad news for J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. It would also seem to lower Gordon's ceiling vs. other potential landing spots -- though might be similar to Denver in that category. A Gordon signing could also signal a Baltimore plan to lean further back to the run than we might have expected, following a significant shift toward the pass with their 2021 offense.
The Texans have agreed to a 2-year extension with WR Brandin Cooks. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Houston will pay Cooks just less than $20 million per season through 2024. Clearly, this means he's not going anywhere in trade (at least this offseason). Cooks finished 21st among PPR wideouts last season and is going much lower than that in early 2022 fantasy football drafts.
The Bills and WR Stefon Diggs have agreed to a 4-year, $104 million extension with $70 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Tyreek Hill is the only WR with more guaranteed money in his contract. This extension tacks on to Diggs' old deal and keeps him under contract with Buffalo through the 2027 season. Diggs will be 34 at that point, so he's basically tied to QB Josh Allen for the rest of his career.
The Falcons on Monday agreed to a 1-year deal with LB Rashaan Evans. A 2018 first-round pick of the Titans, Evans never lived up to that billing. Although he started 11 of the 12 games he was available for last year, Evans' playing time dipped to 60%. He might find himself competing with Mykal Walker for the #2 LB role in Atlanta, after Foye Oluokun left for Jacksonville in free agency. But there's also still room for the Falcons to add a better prospect in the NFL Draft.
The Eagles traded the 16th, 19th and 194th overall picks of this month's draft to the Saints in exchange for the 18th, 101st and 237th overall picks, plus a 2023 1st-rounder and a 2024 2nd-rounder. The big takeaway here is that New Orleans is evidently higher on the top of this year's class than Philadelphia. The Saints now have 3 of the first 49 picks of this year's draft. The Eagles still hold the 15th and 18th overall picks -- plus a pair of 1st-rounders next year. That's notable because next year's QB class looks much stronger than this year's. "The Eagles' actions this offseason continue to suggest that while they like quarterback Jalen Hurts, they're not married to him as the long-term starter," ESPN's Tim McManus writes.
The Dolphins traded WR DeVante Parker and a 2022 5th-round pick to the Patriots for a 2023 3rd-rounder. Parker was on the outs after Miami traded for WR Tyreek Hill and signed WR Cedrick Wilson. In New England, Parker will battle for outside snaps with WRs Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Parker has the most raw talent of that trio but has mostly disappointed since the Fins selected him 14th overall in the 2015 draft. Also hurting Parker's 2022 fantasy outlook is that the Patriots ranked 28th in pass rate and 27th in situation-neutral pass rate last year. They figure to throw more in QB Mac Jones' 2nd season, but this will still likely be a run-leaning offense.
The Texans signed RB Marlon Mack to a 1-year deal. Mack tallied 1,999 yards and 17 TDs on 4.5 yards per carry across his 2nd and 3rd NFL seasons. But he tore his Achilles in the 2020 opener and totaled just 28 carries for 101 yards behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines in Indianapolis last year. If somewhere close to 100%, though, Mack might just be the best in a Houston backfield currently sporting only Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman and Dare Ogunbowale. We'll see if the Texans add more in the draft. Mack just turned 26 last month.
RB Giovani Bernard is re-signing with the Buccaneers on a 1-year deal for the "veteran salary benefit," according to ESPN's Jenna Laine. That means just less than $1.3 million for the 10th-year veteran. Bernard carried just 8 times while adding 29 targets over 12 regular-season games last year, losing 4 to hip and knee injuries late in the season. He's expected to work behind Leonard Fournette and Ke'Shawn Vaughn on the depth chart.
The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud believes there will be more of a "commitment to run the football" from the Bucs under new HC Todd Bowles. Tampa ranked 2nd in pass rate and 3rd in situation-neutral pass rate last season, so there's certainly room for more running. But we're not expecting a massive shift with QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich back in the fold.
The Rams have agreed to a 5-year, $50 million deal with LB Bobby Wagner, according to multiple reports. The pact has a reported max value of $65 million. We'd be surprised if the veteran LB sticks with L.A. for 5 years and the contract gets anywhere close to either of those numbers. But the Rams clearly want Wagner to be their top off-ball LB for at least the next year or 2. This move should keep Wagner well within LB1 range for IDP drafts in 2022.
After listening to new Giants HC Brian Daboll speak at the NFL owners' meetings on Tuesday, insider Zack Rosenblatt came away believing that RB Saquon Barkley will be a bigger part of the passing game this season. "Saquon is a unique guy," Daboll said. "If you go back I’ve watched all of his tape all the way back from his rookie year when he had (91) catches. He’s a versatile player ... I’m excited to work with him.” After averaging 5.7 catches per game as a rookie, Barkley has sunk to 3.5 per game over the last 3 seasons. Look for that number to rebound this season, assuming good health for Barkley.
Search
