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Roundup: Drake To Raiders, Fuller A Dolphin & Other Moves
Day two of the 2021 free-agent signing period was busy. Although we still have a number of high-end skill players looking for homes, plenty also found their next team -- even if they aren't the fantasy-friendliest of destinations in all cases.

The prime example was Las Vegas, where, as NFL.com's Nick Shook framed it, "The Raiders already have one Alabama running back, so why not add another?"

This after the team signed Kenyan Drake to a two-year, $14.5 million deal. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the deal is for $11 million, but incentives can push it to the $14.5 million mark.

The move prompted ESPN.com's Dan Graziano to write what fantasy football managers were thinking: "If anyone out there has any idea what the Raiders are doing, please hit me up on Instagram or something, because I am totally lost."

They used a first-round pick on another Alabama running back, Josh Jacobs, two years ago and seem to like using him as their lead back, but last season they spelled him with Devontae Booker on passing downs. So earlier this week, they let Booker leave and sign with the Giants for $2.25 million a year.

Now they sign Drake for literally twice that much the day after they traded their starting center and one of their starting guards.

Whatever the case, the Raiders will be Drake's third team in his relatively short NFL career, following stints with Miami and Arizona. It was with the Cardinals that Drake truly flourished, gaining 1,598 yards on the ground on 362 carries between half of the 2019 season and 15 games played in 2020. In 23 games with the Cardinals, Drake's rushing totals surpassed his output over 54 games in Miami, proving the importance of fit.

Drake also caught 53 passes for 308 yards in his season and a half with the Cardinals, serving as the team's lead running back in Kliff Kingsbury's spread offense.

The Raiders plan to increase Drake's involvement in the latter, which makes the matter of fit additionally intriguing. Jon Gruden sees Drake as a jack of all trades in his offense, figuring prominently in the passing game, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Such a role would make his tandem with Jacobs easier to project.

As the first Raider in franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, Jacobs remains the proverbial bell cow in this backfield, but it opens the door for more personnel variety (i.e., two-back sets) that can create misdirection and confusion for opposing defenses.

But it's also a limiting factor for managers in PPR leagues holding out hope that Jacobs' target share and receptions might increase this year. ...

The money seems to be a bit much for a secondary or tandem back, but the Raiders appear set on their intentions with their Alabama backfield. We'll see if it works out as imagined.

Meanwhile, the Raiders also re-signed tight end Derek Carrier, who barely played on offense but was a valuable member of their special teams, and they reportedly issued an ultimatum to Marcus Mariota.

Rapoport reported the Raiders asked Mariota to take a pay cut down to $3 million this season. If he refuses, the team plans to release the veteran quarterback.

Mariota is due $10.725 million this season.

As NFL.com put it, "Read this as a last call for clubs to trade for Mariota before setting him free on the open market. ..."

In Miami. ... The Dolphins added much-needed game-breaking speed to their receiver corps.

Will Fuller is signing a one-year deal with the Dolphins. The deal is for more than $10 million with significant upside, Rapoport noted.

NFL.com's Kevin Patra noted that when healthy, Fuller offers blazing speed to stretch the field. He averaged a whopping 11.7 yards per target in 2020, tops in the NFL (minimum 60 targets), per NFL Research. Deshaun Watson had a 136.0 passer rating when targeting Fuller last year, best among all QB-receiver duos with at least 60 targets.

Patra added, however, the issue with Fuller isn't talent or on-field impact. It's been staying on the field. He's never played a full 16-game slate and hasn't played more than 11 tilts the past four seasons. On his way to a massive season in 2020, he generated career highs with 53 catches for 879 yards and eight TDs through 11 tilts.

Fuller was suspended for six games last year for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing policy. He missed the final remaining five games in Houston and will miss the first game of 2021.

In Miami, Fuller is an ideal complement to DeVante Parker. Parker and Fuller on the same field will provide nightmares for defensive backs.

Fuller is the type of field-stretching talent that makes life easier on all his teammates. He opens up underneath routes for fellow receivers and can get open for bombs to score in quick order. He should be a boon to young signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa.

If he stays on the field for 15 games in 2021, Fuller should hit free agency again next season with an even better market.

Right now, however, that "if" is in bold.

Still, as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler points out, a one-year deal eliminates most of that risk. If it doesn't work, move on.

Fowler added, "It's time to take the constraints off Tagovailoa and let him air it out and learn from mistakes. Fuller can help with that."

Hard to argue that point. ...

In Los Angeles. ... The Chargers have found their replacement for Hunter Henry.

Veteran tight end Jared Cook agreed to terms with Los Angeles on a one-year deal worth $6 million. The contract includes $4.5 million in fully guaranteed money, per Rapoport.

Cook spent the last two seasons with the Saints, where he caught 80 passes for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns combined between the campaigns. While productive, his time in New Orleans might be remembered for how it ended -- a catch and fumble in the NFC Divisional Round that swung the game in favor of the visiting Buccaneers, who rode that momentum to an upset victory and a sprint to a win in Super Bowl LV.

Cook has played for five teams in his 12 years in the NFL, catching 505 passes for 6,673 yards and 41 touchdowns, carving out a very solid professional career. His 2020 season saw Cook post his lowest receptions and yardage totals since his one-year stint in Green Bay in 2016, though, lending some justification to the thought his best days might be behind him.

Still, Cook has produced over 8 yards per target, more than two touchdowns in each season, and over 60 percent catch completion rate over the past four seasons.

Beyond that, Cook will bring a veteran presence and a dozen years' worth of professional experience to the Chargers, where he'll be expected to serve as second-year quarterback Justin Herbert's best friend as a pass-catcher and security blanket.

If anything, Cook goes from one productive offense to another, landing with the NFL's sixth-best passing offense in 2020 and joining promising youngster Donald Parham to give the Chargers a strong pair of red-zone threats at the position. ...

In New York. ... Former Vikings tight Kyle Rudolph reached agreement with the Giants

Rudolph gives the Giants another playmaker at the tight end spot to pair with Evan Engram.

The Vikings released Rudolph earlier this month, ending his 10-season run with the franchise. He had three years left on his contract at the time of his release and said he wouldn't accept a pay cut and wanted a bigger role in the Vikings' offense.

Rudolph caught 28 passes on 35 targets in 2020, his lowest output since the 2014 season. He churned up 334 receiving yards and one touchdown, the latter of which was a career low for the former second-rounder. He missed the final four games of the season with a Lisfranc sprain.

Rudolph gives the Giants another playmaker at the tight end spot to pair with Evan Engram. His acquisition does not affect Engram's status with the team despite a now crowded tight ends room, a team source told ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan.

Rudolph and Engram are joined by Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo.

In addition, after the Giants were forced to turn to Colt McCoy in a key stretch of games in 2020, they'll have a new break-glass-in-case-of-emergency QB in 2021: Mike Glennon.

Glennon spent the 2020 season with the Jaguars -- his fifth team in as many years -- where he would initially serve as the backup to Gardner Minshew, but ended up making five starts. Glennon posted an 0-5 mark as a starter, yet he nearly led the lowly Jaguars to wins over Cleveland and Minnesota, bringing some excitement to the drab Jags and keeping himself in the consciousness of NFL teams looking for a backup quarterback.

This year, Glennon will sit behind Daniel Jones, who enters a prove-it season with the Giants in 2021. ...

In the other New York. ... As Profootballtalk.com's Myles Simmons suggested, the Jets may or may not reconsider their reported interest in wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster now.

This after the team agreed to terms on a one-year, $5.5 million deal with wide receiver Keelan Cole.

Cole entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Kentucky Wesleyan and spent his first four seasons with the Jaguars. Cole was a restricted free agent last year, and Jacksonville placed a second-round tender on him. He delivered a 55-catch, 642-yard, five-touchdown season in 2020.

In all, Cole has made 159 receptions for 2,242 yards with 12 touchdowns.

He's also served as a part-time kick and punt returner, taking one punt 91 yards for a touchdown last season. He's averaged 27.0 yards on eight kick returns in his career. ...

In Buffalo. ... Mitchell Trubisky joined the Bills the team announced.

Trubisky spent the last four years in Chicago, where the Bears made the disastrous decision to trade up to No. 2 overall to select him in a draft in which Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were the next two quarterbacks selected. Although the Bears got to the playoffs twice in four years with Trubisky as their starter, the team never lived that pick down.

Now, as PFT's Michael David Smith notes, Trubisky will head to a team where he has no chance of competing for the starting job and can instead just focus on getting better. Trubisky likely becomes the No. 2 quarterback behind Allen, with Jake Fromm and Davis Webb competing to be the No. 3 quarterback.

Trubisky's deal is expected to be worth $2.5 million, Rapoport reported.

While other destinations might have offered Trubisky a chance to compete for a starting spot, the Bills make sense to revamp his career out of the limelight.

Allen is the clear-cut starter who is in line for a massive contract extension. There is no question who the alpha is.

However, given Allen's playing style, injury is also a possibility. Upgrading the backup spot from Matt Barkley to Trubisky is a solid move for Bills GM Brandon Beane. If Buffalo needs a sub due to injury, the former first-round pick can be a placeholder for a game or two without changing Buffalo's offense.

"Athletically, he can do a lot of things that Josh can do," Beane said Thursday of signing Trubisky.

In the meantime, Trubisky can work on improving his mechanics and learning from the sideline with no pressure. Bills coordinator Brian Daboll has helped Allen improve leaps and bounds in three seasons. Trubisky tutoring under the offensive mind could be beneficial as he attempts to refurbish his career.

Beane noted that the team views Trubisky as a short-term backup, believing the QB has the talent to get poached in a year.

"We don't expect him to be here long term," he said. ...

Also in Buffalo, the Bills announced that Taiwan Jones has signed a one-year deal to remain with the team.

Jones only played four offensive snaps last year, which illustrates that the running back's biggest asset is his work on special teams. That has been the case throughout his career, which began with the Raiders and featured a one-year stop in Houston between Bills stints.

He had six tackles in the regular season and recovered a fumble by Chiefs returner Mecole Hardman in the AFC Championship Game. For his career, Jones has 68 tackles, five fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. ...

In Detroit. ... As ESPN's Adam Schefter put it, "Like father like son," Breshad Perriman is signing with the Lions on a one-year, $3 million deal.

Perriman now will play for the same team that his dad Brett starred for. ... Perriman signed with the Jets in free agency last offseason and endured an injury-riddled 2020 season. The 27-year-old was productive when healthy, though, catching 30 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.

And though there was mutual interest between Perriman and the Jets, Detroit, who currently has little at the position beyond second-year man Quintez Cephus, moved in and locked the speedy wideout up. ...

Also. ... Matt Prater signed with the Cardinals on Wednesday and the Lions are expected to have a replacement kicker in the fold soon.

Pelissero reports that the team is finalizing a deal with Randy Bullock that may be wrapped up as soon as Thursday night.

Bullock appeared in 12 games for the Bengals last season. He made 21-of-26 field goals and 24-of-25 extra points. Bullock was with the Bengals since 2016 and has also played for the Giants, Steelers, Jets, and Texans since entering the league in 2012. ...

In Houston. ... The Texans are continuing their run of adding former New England Patriots to their roster.

According to Pelissero, the Texans are signing former Patriots wide receiver Donte Moncrief to a one-year deal.

Last year was Moncrief's only season with the Patriots. He appeared in just six games with the team in a minor role that saw only 25 snaps in total on offense, via Pro-Football-Reference.

The Texans have also acquired tackle Marcus Cannon and tight end Ryan Izzo in trades with the Patriots as well as signed former Patriots defensive end Derek Rivers this offseason.

Moncrief is a seven-year veteran that was a third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2014. After four years with the Colts, Moncrief has played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots over the last three seasons.

The team also signed former Bengals wideout Alex Erickson on Thursday. Erickson has been a standout on special teams for the Bengals during his five seasons with the team. He's primarily served as Cincinnati's punt returner throughout his time in Cincinnati. He also returned kickoffs his first three years with the team before deferring to Brandon Wilson in that role the last two years.

The former undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin had just 198 snaps as part of the Bengals Offense last year. He caught 12 passes for 139 yards in 16 games played last season. His career-highs came in 2019 with 43 catches for 529 yards.

Houston released tight end Darren Fells and punter Bryan Anger.

Fells, 34, logged 55 receptions, 653 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons with the club. Houston will replace Fells with Ryan Izzo, whom the Texans acquired from the Patriots for a 2022 seventh-round pick. ...

The Texans now have added 23 players in trades or free agent signings as well as re-signing cornerback Vernon Hargreaves. ...

In Los Angeles. ... The Rams announced today that they agreed to terms with tight end Johnny Mundt on a one-year deal.

The 26-year-old Mundt posted four catches for 53 yards while playing in all 16 regular season games last year, also contributing on special teams and as a valuable blocker in the run game.

Mundt originally joined the Rams as an undrafted free agent signee out of the University of Oregon in 2017, spending the majority of that season on Los Angeles' practice squad. He has nine catches for 84 yards over the last three seasons.

In Washington. ... Kyle Allen is officially back with the Football Team for the 2021 season.

Field Yates of ESPN reports Allen signed his exclusive rights free agent tender on Thursday, which was expected because Allen was barred from negotiating with any other team once the tender was in place.

He'll be part of a quarterback group that expanded to include Ryan Fitzpatrick as an alternative to Allen and Taylor Heinicke this week.

Allen came to Washington from the Panthers after Ron Rivera was hired as the Football Team's head coach last year and another player will be making the same move. Center Tyler Larsen also signed with the team. Larsen played 68 games over the last five seasons, but has not started a game since the 2018 season.

In Seattle. ... The Seahawks re-signed fullback Nick Bellore, who was named to the Pro Bowl as a special teamer in 2020. Seattle is also bringing back its starting center, as Ethan Pocic is signing a one-year, $3 million deal. Pocic started 14 games last season and 30 of the last 44 over his four-year career with the Seahawks.

And finally, in Denver. ... The Broncos announced Thursday morning that they have mutually decided to part ways with running back Phillip Lindsay.

The decision comes after discussions with Lindsay's agent, Mike McCartney, regarding the club's restricted free agent tender. The Broncos decided to rescind the tender, which was placed at the lowest level giving Denver the right to match any contract. Rescinding the tender makes Lindsay an unrestricted free agent.

The RFA tender made teams reluctant to offer the running back a deal with the assumption Denver would match the offer. Rescinding the tag puts the Pro Bowl player on the open market with no strings attached.

Despite opening his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Lindsay remains underrated and overlooked. Still, with the restricted free agent tender no longer hovering over his head, Lindsay should find a new home in short order. ...

Remember, yhou can access the full list of moves on our sortable NFL Free Agent Moves page. You'll also be able to follow upcoming moves and other fantasy relevant news in real time in the News & Views section of the site.

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