News & Info/Headlines

Free Agent Roundup: AP Back With Skins; Another WR For Oakland & More
The official start of today's new year often means some of the previously reported signings and/or agreements fell through. That happened today (see the Saints below for more on that), but all the high-profile moves from earlier this week became official. In addition, there were new moves.

In Washington. ... The Redskins re-signed RB Adrian Peterson to a two-year deal worth $8 million. With Derrius Guice coming off a torn ACL, Peterson will continue to provide a solid veteran option at the position as he comes off a bounce-back, 1,000-yard campaign in 2018.

Peterson broke the news himself, telling Josina Anderson of ESPN that he would remain with Washington.

“It will be a two-year deal,” Peterson said. “I feel like we made some good moves to get to where we are trying to go.”

Peterson, who will turn 34 on March 21, ran 251 times for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns while also catching 20 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown.

With 13,318 yards, Peterson is the eighth-leading rusher in NFL history. He moved up five spots on the all-time list last season, passing Marshall Faulk, Jim Brown, Tony Dorsett and Eric Dickerson. He has 106 rushing touchdowns for his career, tied Brown for fifth.

He was the clear No. 1 back last season, but things could play out differently this year depending on Guice's rehab.

And where does he stand now?

"We're right there," Guice said last month in a blog on the team's official website that is chronicling his comeback. "We just take it week to week. I’m still strong as an ox. We’re getting it back."

In that blog, Guice first explained how the infections that stemmed from his surgery -- infections that set him back two months -- really made him question why he was facing so much adversity so early into his career.

"I had to play catch-up, so I had to work a lot harder and spend a lot more hours here, getting rehab in the weight room, catching up on my running and stuff," Guice said. "It was tough, when I already started over in August, and then I had to start over again in December. It was kind of like, what’s going on?"

Once he got past those troubles, though, the 2018 second-rounder has been a fixture at the franchise's facility. That constant work has helped him get back to full strength in his arms and put him in a place where he's able to sprint at 100-percent in a straight line.

Guice wrote that he wasn't not doing any lateral movements at full speed yet and he still wants to keep building up his legs, but with more than four months until training camp, he's got the time to do so.

In light of all that, retaining Peterson makes sense.

But, as NFL.com's Adam Schein recently suggested, fantasy owners should take a closer look at his 2018 production.

Over the first seven weeks of last season, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry and eclipsed 90 yards rushing in five games. In the last nine weeks of the year, that average dropped to 3.6 yards per carry and he eclipsed 90 yards just twice.

And again: He turns 34 next week. ...

In Los Angeles. ... The Chargers landed Philip Rivers a veteran backup quarterback when Tyrod Taylor agreed to a two-year contract with the club.

The Chargers were in the market for a backup to Rivers after spending the 2018 season with Geno Smith in that position. Cardale Jones was also on the roster. L.A. could still be in the market for a young developmental backup as the eventual replacement whenever Rivers walks away from football.

Worth noting, head coach Anthony Lynn knows Taylor well, having spent two seasons together in Buffalo.

Taylor started 46 games over the past four seasons with the Bills and Browns, including three last season before being replaced by Baker Mayfield in Cleveland.

As NFL.com's Kevin Patra suggested, while he was an up-and-down, full-time starter in Buffalo for three seasons, Taylor represents high-end backup insurance for the Chargers. Signing in L.A. to play behind Rivers, who hasn't missed a start since taking over in 2006, signals that there wasn't much interest in teams signing Taylor to compete for a starting gig.

Inking with a potential Super Bowl contender, however, is a stellar destination.

And if Rivers does go down, the Chargers now have a backup who has proven he can win games.

The Miami Dolphins were one possible landing spot rumored for Taylor to compete for a starting gig and likely serve as a bridge quarterback. Instead, the 29-year-old will head to a different warm-weather destination on the coast to work behind Rivers, where he might be viewed as a potential long-term replacement for the x-year old starter (or at least find himself in another bridge situation).

Where that leaves the Dolphins remains to be seen ....

In Oakland. ... As Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith reported it, Antonio Brown wasn’t the only wide receiver who officially became a Raider today.

The Raiders also signed wideout Tyrell Williams.

Smith went on to note that Williams' signing comes as no surprise; Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports reported a week ago that the Raiders were poised to make a serious run at signing Williams, and adding Brown didn’t change that.

Williams signed with the Chargers as an undrafted rookie out of Western Oregon in 2015 and had a breakout season in 2016, catching 69 passes for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. He hasn’t been quite as effective the last two years (Williams caught 41 passes for 653 yards and five touchdowns for the Chargers last year), but he’s certainly a starting-caliber receiver and should be a solid addition to Jon Gruden’s offense alongside Brown and Jordy Nelson.

Indeed, Williams' ability to stretch the field, as evidenced by his career 16.3 yards average per catch, should also free up Brown with underneath routes and other receivers in the intermediate passing game.

The end result?

Derek Carr now has an impressive array of wide receivers, and this team looks a whole lot better now than it looked last week. ...

In Tampa Bay. ... The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have agreed to terms with RB Peyton Barber, who led the team in rushing in 2018, on a one-year deal. The agreement was struck shortly before the start of free agency; had no deal been in place, the team could have extended a tender offer to Barber to make him a restricted free agent.

Barber took over the Buccaneers' starting job in the backfield in 2018, his third season after initially arriving as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2016. He started every game last year and produced a team-high and career-best 871 yards on 234 carries.

Despite his undrafted status, Barber made the active roster as a rookie and has remained there ever since. He has played in 47 of a possible 48 games over the last three seasons, logging 21 starts. Barber's three-season totals include 397 carries for 1,517 yards (3.8-yard average) and nine touchdowns, along with 41 receptions for 234 yards and another score. He fell just shy of recording 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 2018, adding 20 catches for 92 yards to finish at 963 overall.

His six touchdowns tied for third on the team.

With the disappointing 2018 draft pick Ronald Jones, Jacquizz Rodgers, Shaun Wilson and recently-signed Andre Ellington currently installed in Tampa's running back room, Barber is currently the No. 1 by default. ...

Meanwhile, according to Tampa Bay Times beat man Rick Stroud, the Bucs can thank the Browns trade for Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., for their latest addition.

After Cleveland locked up that deal, Tampa Bay was able to convince Browns receiver Breshad Perriman to agree to a one-year, $4-million contract.

Tampa Bay also agreed to terms with kicker Cairo Santos, who started the last nine games for the Bucs last season and made 14 of 18 field goals and 22 of 23 extra points.

Santos' only weakness was kickoffs and the Bucs solved that problem earlier Tuesday when they agreed to terms with 49ers punter Bradley Pinion. Santos came aboard after the Bucs released kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who went 11 of 15 in field goal tries and 23 of 27 on PATs.

Meanwhile, Stroud believes Perriman would seem to be a good replacement for Adam Humphries, who agreed to a three-year deal Wednesday with the Titans. The Central Florida star, who was first-round pick by the Ravens in 2015, planned to re-sign with the Browns before their trade for OJB.

While he's not the same type of receiver that Humphries was, expect Perriman to be a role player behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Last season, Perriman caught 16 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. ...

In Green Bay. ... The Packers will be retaining Geronimo Allison on a one-year deal. According to CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora, Allison would have been a coveted restricted free agent had he not been re-signed.

Allison appeared to be on his way to a breakout year four games into the 2018 season. He caught 19 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns after catching 35 passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns over his first two professional seasons. And while injuries slowed his roll last season, he'll get a chance to regain his momentum -- albeit on a crowded depth chart -- with the Packers this season.

The Packers are also re-signing Marcedes Lewis to a one-year deal, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

Lewis, 34, joined the Packers last May after 12 seasons in Jacksonville. He made three catches for 39 yards, with the majority of his snaps spent as a blocker. Jimmy Graham remains the Packers top target at the position after catching 55 passes for 636 yards last season.

In his 13 seasons, Lewis has made 378 receptions for 4,541 yards and 33 touchdowns. ...

In New England. ... According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Phillip Dorsett is heading back to the Patriots on a one-year deal.

Dorsett gets an opportunity to prove-it and hit free agency next year.

To be clear, the top priority in free agency for Dorsett was finding a team that would provide him the opportunity for consistent snaps and targets. He won't necessarily get them in New Egland, but he'll give it another try.

The fifth-year pro got off to a strong start in the 2018 season, but his playing time diminished following Julian Edelman’s return from suspension and the team’s trade for Josh Gordon. Dorsett assumed a more active role in the playoffs, securing a 29-yard touchdown catch at the end of the first half in the AFC Championship.

He finished with 32 receptions for 290 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season. He found the end zone in each of the Patriots’ first two postseason games.

The Patriots also agreed to a two-year deal with special teamer and running back Brandon Bolden. Bolden spent last season with the Dolphins after six with New England. He'll continue to work primarily on special teams, so his fantasy value is minimal. ....

In Jacksonville. ... As the NFL's new year officially opened, Blake Bortles' tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars officially ended.

Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014 NFL Draft by the Jaguars, was released as expected, the team announced Wednesday, effectively ushering in the Nick Foles era.

A starting signal-caller since his rookie season, Bortles' struggles matched the franchise's as Jacksonville was 24-49 in games he started. Hence, when the predictable signing of Foles, a free agent who led the Eagles to the franchise's only Super Bowl win, came to fruition, the official departure of Bortles was inevitable.

With Bortles under center, the team's best season was 2017, when the Jaguars advanced all the way to the AFC Championship Game. However, the team's defense was its calling card, as Bortles seemingly did just enough, though he would show flashes of brilliances such as 370-plus-yard performances against the Steelers and Patriots in the playoffs.

This past season, with Bortles at the helm the majority of the time, the Jaguars' offense was usually inept at best, muddling to 302 total yards per game, bad enough for 27th in the NFL.

So now, the Jaguars move on with a former Super Bowl MVP looking to rekindle the promise of 2017. The good news for Bortles is there's likely to be a market for him and a fresh start awaiting.

In Cleveland. ... The Browns aren't done adding pieces on offense. Following Tuesday night's trade for Beckham, the Browns are signing ex-Kansas City Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris to a two-year contract, according to multiple local reports.

Cleveland GM John Dorsey is plenty familiar with the 6-7 Harris from his time in Kansas City. Dorsey signed the undrafted free agent to the practice squad in 2013 and watched Harris grow into a solid rotational player.

A stellar blocking tight end, Harris pairs well with Browns dynamic starter David Njoku. After spending years playing second-fiddle to Pro Bowler Travis Kelce, Harris moves to Cleveland where he'll continue a similar role behind a similarly athletic tight end.

In five seasons on the K.C. roster, Harris participated in 71 games, including 33 starts, compiling 57 receptions for 605 yards and six touchdowns. The big-bodied TE should also play a key special teams role.

Harris provides a stellar pass and run blocker with limited pass-catching ability, but could play a role in the red zone as a big target in two tight-end sets.

As NFL.com noted, the addition of Harris continues the trend of Dorsey bringing his blueprint from the Chiefs to the Brown. The toast of Cleveland has helped construct two of what should be the most dynamic offenses in the NFL in 2019. ...

In Miami. ... The Dolphins have signed tight end Clive Walford to a one-year deal, a source told Profootballtalk.com.

A third-round pick by the Raiders in 2015 and the second tight end drafted that year, Walford has 70 career catches for 768 yards and six touchdowns. The Raiders released Walford last March after the return of Jon Gruden. He signed with the Jets, was released in September, signed briefly with the Colts, was released in December, and then returned to the Jets. Although he was drafted four years ago, he had only three years of service for free agency purposes. That ultimately didn’t matter, given that the Jets opted not to exercise their prerogative to extend an RFA tender.

Now he'll join the mix in Miami with second-year men to be Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe, fellow free-agent signeee Dwayne Allen, Nick O'Leary and A.J. Derby.

Also worth noting. ... The Dolphins declined to tender wide reciever Leonte Carroo today; he becomes an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team. ...

In Buffalo. ... Pro Bowl returner Andre Roberts has agreed to terms with the Bills, Dianna Russini of ESPN reports.

Roberts, 31, is leaving the Jets after one season. He made first-team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl as a returner, averaging 29.4 yards per kickoff return and 14.1 yards per punt return.

He scored two return touchdowns and another as a receiver.

Roberts also has played with Arizona, Washington, Detroit and Atlanta in his nine years in the NFL. ...

In New Orleans. ... The previously reported deal with Teddy Bridgewater has not come to frutition (with some reporting there never was an agreement between the two sides).

Bridgewater is visiting the Dolphins tonight; I'll follow up as needed. ...

Meanwhile, the Saints will keep Wil Lutz for the long haul as they have agreed to a five-year contract with their kicker.

The 24-year-old was a restricted free agent and was never a threat to leave New Orleans. The Saints made sure he'll be around for years to come.

Lutz hit 28 of 30 field goal attempts in 2018, with a long of 54 yards, and nailed 52 of 53 extra point tries. Lutz has improved his field goal accuracy in each of his three seasons in New Orleans (82.4 as a rookie in 2016, 86.1 in 2017, 93.3 in 2018). His career 87.0 field goal conversion rate is the highest in team history.

The Saints don't have to worry about their kicker situation for the next handful of years.

Also in New Orleans. ... Receiver/return man TommyLee Lewis wasn't given a tender by the Saints; he become an unrestricted free agent. ...

In Seattle. ... Pro Bowl kicker Jason Myers signed with the Seahawks, giving the team a standout at the position.

As Profootballtalk.com notes, Myers was 33-of-36 on field goals and 30-of-33 on extra points for the Jets last season, and he should be an upgrade in Seattle over Sebastian Janikowski, who was showing his age last season. The 27-year-old Myers had a career year with the Jets after spending three years with the Jaguars, and there’s certainly a possibility that he’ll regress in 2019.

But he should help Seattle improve its disappointing special teams.

In Dallas. ... Fullback Jamize Olawale has agreed to terms to re-sign with the Cowboys. While he only had two receptions and didn’t carry the ball for the Cowboys, a lead blocker in a scheme with Ezekiel Elliott is still important, and now they have him taken care of for another year. He was acquired in a trade with the Raiders last offseason.