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As we close out the month of March, this year's free-agent signing period has slowed to a crawl. Moves are still being made, but they are fewer and much farther between after we got off to a fast start early in the month.

But again, deals are getting done and we've collected up a handful to cover this week. ...

We'll get the ball rolling tonight in New York, where the Jets -- after spending some $140 million in free agent contracts this offseason on players who have never worn their uniform -- on Thursday apparently took care of one of their most respected, hardest-working players.

Exactly how he was taken care of, however, remains a bit unclear. ... Laveranues Coles entered this offseason with two remaining years on his contract worth $11 million but wanted an extension to ensure he'd finish his career as a Jet.

According to New York Post staffer Mark Cannizzaro, terms were not immediately available, but Coles had either two or three years added to his contract.

ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas, on the other hand, reports that Jets guaranteed the $11 million remaining on the final two years Coles' contract without extending it.

Yasinskas cited an unnamed league source in his version. Cannizzaro offered no source (but go ahead and assume it's somebody close to the situation).

Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith, also citing an unnamed source, subsequently reported that Yasinskas has it right. Yasinskas went on to note that Coles had been seeking a contract extension, but guaranteeing the remaining two years was an apparent compromise between the team and the receiver.

And as Smith suggested, there's no reason to think that simply extending the length of Coles' contract would have been enough to satisfy him, unless additional guaranteed money accompanied the extension.

Adding extra years to a player's contract doesn't give him any security unless guaranteed money accompanies those extra years.

While we'll undoubtedly find out which of the conflicting reports is more accurate soon enough (the guarantee sounds a bit more credible at this point), it's safe to say Coles is happier than he was last week.

Coles earlier this offseason was critical of the Jets because he felt they were not going to honor his wish for an extension and he threatened to sit out the off-season conditioning program, which began last week. He didn't show up when the program began, a damaging blow considering his role as captain and one of the more popular players in the locker room.

When the Jets let Coles know they would work something out, he appeared at the conditioning program on Monday.

Coles, 30, has been a team captain and is one of the most respected leaders in the Jets' locker room. He appeared in 12 games last season, catching 55 passes for 646 yards with six touchdowns. Coles caught 91 passes for 1,098 yards in 2006.

And as Cannizzaro correctly pointed out, Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, who was awarded a new contract before last season, are the lifeblood of the Jets receiving corps and the Jets could not afford to break that up. ...

In Houston. ... Former Jacksonville quarterback Quinn Gray signed a one-year contract with the Texans on Monday, giving the team another experienced backup behind starter Matt Schaub.

Gray, an unrestricted free agent, was Jacksonville's backup last season and threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a meaningless regular-season finale against Houston. He will be the Texans' No. 3 quarterback behind Schaub and Sage Rosenfels.

Entering last season, Gray was the third quarterback in Jacksonville until the team released Byron Leftwich before the opener. Gray spent the rest of the year as the backup to David Garrard, starting four of the eight games he played and finishing with career highs in yards passing (986), passer rating (85.6) and touchdowns (10).

Gray appeared in 11 games over four seasons with the Jaguars.

Gray's arrival has led to increased speculation about Rosenfels' future with the Texans.

According to ESPN.com insider John Clayton, Gray's signing doesn't change the Texans' stance on trading Rosenfels. They want a second-round choice from the Vikings, who have offered a third for Rosenfels.

Clayton went on to advise readers that Minnesota is hoping the Texans might change their position during the draft and surrender Rosenfels for a No. 3. ...

In St. Louis. ... The Rams signed wide receiver Reche Caldwell on Tuesday. According to Clayton, Caldwell agreed to a one-year, $645,000 contract with the Rams.

A six-year veteran, Caldwell made 15 receptions for 141 yards last season with the Washington Redskins.

Caldwell had a minimum salary offer to stay with the Redskins and he also had an offer from Carolina.

He will be re-united with the new Rams' offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who held the same position with the Redskins in 2007.

Caldwell had a breakout campaign with the New England Patriots in 2006, hauling in 61 catches for 760 yards and four touchdowns. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the San Diego Chargers.

At this point, it appears Caldwell will compete for the No. 3 spot behind Torry Holt and Drew Bennett. ...

In Seattle. ... The Seahawks have signed former Pro Bowl kicker Olindo Mare to a two-year contract to likely replace departed free agent Josh Brown, a key to the Seahawks' four consecutive NFC West championships who signed a $14.2 million, five-year contract with the rival St. Louis Rams last month.

Mare chose the Seahawks over the Broncos, who reportedly offered the veteran kicker a contract after he completed a two-day visit Wednesday.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed the length of the deal in an e-mail to Associated Press sports writer Gregg Bell on Thursday evening.

Rosenhaus declined to confirm terms, but the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and NFL Network insider Adam Schefter reported it's worth $3.5 million.

Mare spent 10 years with Miami and is the Dolphins' all-time leader in field goals (245), scoring (1,048 points) and field-goal accuracy (.809). He was 10-for-17 on field goals for the New Orleans Saints last season.

Mare was released by the Saints after he refused to take a pay cut. As PFT's Smith pointed out, considering that his contract with the Saints called for him to make $1.5 million a year the next two seasons and he'll now make $1.75 million a year, that was the right decision.

Mare has six 100-point seasons. In his Pro Bowl season of 1999, he had a career-high 144 points and set a then-NFL record with 39 field goals.

Mare has played in 168 career games and made 255 of 320 field goals (.797), with a career long of 54 yards. He missed the final three games of last season with the Saints after injuring his leg making a tackle on a kickoff.

Even though he is proven, the 34-year-old may have competition for Brown's job.

Wednesday, knowing Mare was due to Seahawks team headquarters for a visit, team president Tim Ruskell said Seattle was continuing to evaluate kickers available in next month's draft.

"We like a lot of kickers in the college game," Ruskell said. "I could foresee where we have a veteran and a rookie in training camp fighting it out. That would be the perfect world for us. ..."

In Philadelphia. ... The Eagles signed free agent tight end Kris Wilson to a three-year contract Wednesday.

Wilson caught 42 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns in four seasons with Kansas City, where he played tight end, fullback and H-back. The 6-foot-2, 251-pound Wilson had a career-high 24 catches for 180 yards last year while starting 12 games at fullback.

According to the Associated Press, Wilson will play tight end for Philadelphia, which already has three on its roster -- L.J. Smith, Matt Schobel and Brent Celek.

The team placed the franchise tag on Smith, the team's top tight end, earlier in the offseason. Local observers suggest that Wilson's arrival is bad news for Schobel. ...

In Arizona. ... As expected with the finalization of the Larry Fitzgerald contract -- and the subsequent availability of salary cap room -- the Cardinals have begun to re-sign some of free agents who had been left in limbo.

On Tuesday, they re-signed wide receivers Sean Morey and Ahmad Merritt to bring their roster to a league-low 50. Fellow wideout Jerheme Urban signed a two-year deal on Wednesday.

Urban, who along with Merritt be one of the candidates to replace Bryant Johnson as the team's third receiver, had 22 receptions for 329 yards and two touchdowns last season. ...

In San Diego. ... The Chargers on Tuesday re-signed wide receiver Malcom Floyd. Terms were not disclosed.

Floyd, 26, was an exclusive rights free agent.

He appeared in just six games last season, catching seven passes for 97 yards. ...

In Oakland. ... The Raiders signed Erik Meyer and Jeff Otis in moves that doubled the number of quarterbacks on their roster. Neither Meyer nor Otis has played in an NFL regular-season game.

However, both have spent time in training camps.

Otis, 25, was signed by the Raiders last offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Columbia. He was released near the end of training camp and did not appear in any of Oakland's four exhibition games.

Meyer, 25, spent time in camp with the Bengals and Seahawks the past two seasons. Before that, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2001 and the Giants in 2004 and '05 as a pitcher.

Meyer and Otis give Oakland four arms on the roster as offseason camps approach, prompting PFT editor Mike Florio to remind readers that Daunte Culpepper is still looking for work.

At this point, he'd probably settle for a little interest.

In fact, the only time his name has been mentioned came on the first weekend of free agency, when the Randy Moss camp, in what Florio characterized as "an obvious effort to put pressure on the Patriots," leaked that Moss had reached out to Culpepper about possibly reuniting on the same team.

That obviously was never going to happen.

Meanwhile, Culpepper, who maintains his troublesome knee is finally nearing 100 percent, continues to cool his heels. ...

In San Francisco. ... Tight end Billy Bajema signed his one-year, $927,000 tender as a restricted free agent to remain with the 49ers.

As Santa Rosa Press-Democrat staffer Matt Maiocco explained, Bajema, 25, is a three-year veteran and was eligible to negotiate with other teams. If he had signed with another team, the 49ers would have had the opportunity to match the offer sheet to retain his services.

They would have received a seventh-round draft pick as compensation if they declined to match.

Still, Bajema did not take any visits during the signing period.

And as Sacramento Bee staffer Matthew Barrows pointed out, Bajema -- a seventh-round pick in 200 -- has been used exclusively as a blocker the last three seasons. In fact, Bajema hasn't caught a pass since his rookie season, which makes you wonder how he'll be utilized in Mike Martz' offense. ...

And finally, in Indianapolis. ... The Colts have signed president Bill Polian to a contract extension through 2011. Team owner Jim Irsay confirmed through a spokeswoman Wednesday that the extension has been finalized.

The Polian-led Colts have posted a 105-55 regular-season record over the past 10 seasons, reached the playoffs eight times and won the Super Bowl after the 2006 season.

His draft choices include quarterback Peyton Manning, running backs Edgerrin James and Joseph Addai, receiver Reggie Wayne and defensive stars Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders. ...

That's it for this installment. ... Once again, I'll remind those interested in following along more closely to keep an eye on the News & Views and ESPN News Feed sections of the site.

And as always, those looking for something a little more in-depth should keep an eye out here, in the Headline News section.