News & Info/Headlines

The free-agent signing period rolled on today with a number of (lower-level) moves. Here's a rundown:

In Los Angeles. ... The Rams have a new backup quarterback, as the club agreed to terms with former Jaguar Blake Bortles on a one-year contract.

Bortles conducted a visit with the Rams on Monday, which resulted in the deal.

The former No. 3 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, Bortles spent the first five years of his career with Jacksonville, reaching the No. 2 spot in franchise history in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Now in Los Angeles, as Myles Simmons of the team's official website notes, Bortles slots in as an experienced No. 2 signal-caller behind Jared Goff. Bortles has played in 75 games (starting 73), completing 59.3 percent of his passes for 17,646 yards with 103 touchdowns and an 80.6 career passer rating.

Bortles threw for 35 passing touchdowns back in 2015 as a second-year player, and helped lead the Jaguars to the AFC Championship game in 2017.

Bortles is one of only 15 quarterbacks to surpass 100 touchdown passes (he has 103) since he entered the league in 2014, but he also leads all signal-callers in interceptions (75) and all players in turnovers (94) during that span.

Still, he's a clear upgrade over the Rams' incumbent QB2, Sean Mannion. ...

In Minnesota. ... The Vikings announced they have re-signed running back Ameer Abdullah.

Abdullah, 25, returns to Minnesota after the Vikings claimed him off waivers in Week 10 of last season.

The Lions selected Abdullah in the second round of the 2015 draft. They cut him Nov. 6, 2018, after he played 35 games with 22 starts in his career with the Lions.

The Vikings used Abdullah as their primary kick returner for the final seven games of last season, and he averaged 25.8 yards on 10 returns.

For his career, Abdullah has averaged 27.5 yards on 59 kickoff returns. ...

In New York. ... Cody Latimer is returning to the Giants.

The receiver, who announced his return on social media, joins Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Corey Coleman and Jawill Davis on the team’s receiving corps as the Giants try to find a way to make up for the departure of Odell Beckham.

Latimer played 209 snaps on offense and 21 on special teams last season. He was limited to six games, including two starts, because of a hamstring injury. Latimer, 26, made 11 catches for 190 yards and a touchdown in his first season with the Giants after four seasons with the Broncos. The Broncos made Latimer a second-round pick in 2014. He has 46 catches for 635 yards and four touchdowns in his career.

In Oakland. ... As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper reminded readers, the Raiders have added three new receivers to their roster since the start of free agency and they moved to hold onto a member of last year’s receiver group on Monday.

The team announced that they have re-signed Dwayne Harris. No terms were divulged in the announcement.

Harris only played 54 offensive snaps last season, but was a big contributor to the team on special teams. Harris was the primary kickoff and punt returner in Oakland last year and tied Andre Roberts with a league-leading 14.1 yards per punt return. Harris also returned a punt for a touchdown for the fourth time in his career.

Harris also caught six passes for 40 yards, ran twice for 12 yards and averaged 22.9 yards per kickoff return. ...

In Washington. ... Brian Quick is back with Washington. Quick’s agents announced his return in a tweet on Monday.

Quick was cut from the team last November when running back Byron Marshall was activated from injured reserve. Quick originally came to Washington as a free agent in March 2017 and was released in early September when the team dropped to 53 players. He returned 10 days later after an injury to Cam Sims. Quick caught nine passes for 94 yards in 17 games over the last two seasons.

He entered the league as a Rams second-rounder in 2012 and notched career highs with 41 catches and 564 yards during the 2016 season.

Jamison Crowder signed with the Jets last week, which leaves Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson as the top wideouts in Washington. ...

In New York. ... The Jets agreed to terms with tight end Daniel Brown on Monday, according to Brown’s agent (via PFT).

Brown appeared in 14 games last season but played mostly special teams. He saw 23 snaps on offense without a target and 223 on special teams.

He signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He spent time on their practice squad and active roster in two seasons, appearing in eight games with one start in 2015-16. Brown had six catches for 64 yards for Baltimore.

The Bears claimed him off waivers Oct. 24, 2016.

In 34 games with Chicago, Brown made five starts and caught 29 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. ...


In Houston. ... Tight end Darren Fells has found a new team.

Fells was released by the Browns earlier this month after they were unsuccessful in their attempt to trade him to another club. PFT has learned, via a league source, that Fells has agreed to a one-year contract with the Texans.

Fells made a late switch from basketball to football and signed his first NFL contract with the Seahawks in 2013 when he was 26 years old. He made his first regular season experience with the Cardinals the next year and has gone on to play in 70 games with Arizona, Detroit and Cleveland.

Fells has developed a strong reputation as a blocker along with making 68 catches for 830 yards.

Houston also has Ryan Griffin, Jordan Thomas and Jordan Akins at tight end.