The Latest on NFL free agency Thursday (all times EDT)
10 p.m.
A person with direct knowledge of the contract tells The Associated Press that the New York Jets and cornerback Brian Poole have agreed on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the deal.
Poole played his first three NFL seasons with Atlanta, but the Falcons did not tender him a contract as a restricted free agent - making him an unrestricted free agent and free to sign elsewhere.
The 26-year-old Poole has four career interceptions and five sacks. Signed in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of Florida, he had his best season last year when he set career highs with three interceptions, three sacks and 74 total tackles.
Poole will likely replace Buster Skrine as the Jets’ nickel corner. Skrine signed with Chicago as a free agent after four seasons in New York.
- Reporting by Dennis Waszak Jr. in New York.
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7:15 p.m.
The San Francisco 49ers have signed free-agent wide receiver Jordan Matthews to a one-year contract.
The addition of Matthews on Thursday gives the 49ers a veteran receiver to take the place of Pierre Garcon. The Niners declined an option on Garcon’s contract earlier this offseason to make him a free agent.
Matthews is a cousin of former 49ers great Jerry Rice and has always wanted to play for the team. He was a second-round pick by Philadelphia in 2014 and has 270 catches for 3,255 yards and 22 TDs in five seasons with the Eagles and Buffalo.
Matthews averaged 75 catches a year his first three seasons before being slowed by injuries in 2017 with the Bills and a lack of opportunities last season with the Eagles after returning to Philadelphia.
-Reporting by Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California.
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7:05 p.m.
The Detroit Lions have signed offensive lineman Oday Aboushi and safety Andrew Adams.
The Lions announced the moves Thursday night, not long after introducing three other free-agent signings earlier in the day: defensive end Trey Flowers, cornerback Justin Coleman, and tight end Jesse James.
Aboushi spent the 2018 season with the Arizona Cardinals, playing in eight games and making six starts. He’s entering his sixth NFL season.
Adams spent the 2018 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing in 13 games and making four starts. He played in two seasons for the New York Giants prior to that.
-Reporting by Noah Trister in Detroit
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6:15 p.m.
The Carolina Panthers have released offensive tackle Matt Kalil and re-signed offensive tackle Daryl Williams to a one-year, $7 million contract.
Kalil missed last season with a knee injury. The post-June 1 designation saves the team $7.25 million in salary cap space.
Kalil, who played his first five seasons with Minnesota, started every game for Carolina in 2017.
Williams, a second-team All-Pro in 2017, played only one game in 2018 due to a knee injury. He was a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 2015. He has played in 40 games, including 29 starts.
- Reporting by Charles Odum.
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5:50 p.m.
The Chicago Bears have signed former Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to a one-year contract.
Dix has 14 interceptions over five seasons with Green Bay (2014-18) and Washington (2018). He made the Pro Bowl in 2016 after picking off five passes and breaking up seven. The Packers dealt him to Washington at the trade deadline last season.
Clinton-Dix fills a vacancy in Chicago left by Adrian Amos, who signed with Green Bay on Tuesday.
Led by one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses, the Bears won the NFC North at 12-4 in coach Matt Nagy’s first season after four straight last-place finishes.
-Reporting by Andrew Seligman.
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5:40 p.m.
The Chiefs have agreed with defensive end Alex Okafor to an $18 million, three-year deal, a person familiar with the terms tells The Associated Press.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Okafor must still pass a physical, said incentives could drive the total value to $24 million.
The 28-year-old Okafor began his career in Arizona before spending the past two seasons with New Orleans. He started all 16 games and had 36 tackles and four sacks last season, and the Saints reworked his contract to give him a $400,000 bonus even though he was one sack shy of the incentive.
He is a prototypical defensive end in a 4-3 system, and that is what the Chiefs are switching to under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
-Reporting by Dave Skretta.
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5:40 p.m.
The Bengals signed former Giants cornerback B.W. Webb to a three-year deal.
Webb also has played for Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, New Orleans and Cleveland. He had one interception last season in 13 starts for the Giants.
The Bengals could lose cornerback Darqueze Dennard, who is an unrestricted free agent.
-Reporting by Joe Kay.
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5:30 p.m.
The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with running back Kenjon Barner, who played a combined nine games with Carolina and New England in 2018.
Barner will add depth behind Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith after Tevin Coleman signed as a free agent with San Francisco.
Barner, a sixth-round pick by Carolina in 2013, had 19 carries for 71 yards with the Patriots last season. He did not have a carry in four games with Carolina, where he worked as a return specialist. He made one start with Philadelphia in 2017, when he also worked on punt and kickoff returns.
-Reporting by Charles Odum.
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5 p.m.
Defensive tackle Malcom Brown has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with the New Orleans Saints after spending all four of his previous NFL seasons with the New England Patriots.
Brown made 186 tackles and 8 ½ sacks in four seasons with the Patriots after they selected him out of Texas with the 32nd overall pick in the 2015 draft. Brown started 10 of his 11 postseason appearances and had 33 tackles in those games.
The 6-foot-2, 320-pound Brown made 14 starts and posted 39 tackles while helping the Patriots win the Super Bowl last season. He started two of New England’s three postseason games last season.
-Reporting by Steve Megargee.
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4:50 p.m.
The Oakland Raiders have signed defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to a two-year contract.
The Raiders announce the move Thursday to bring Hankins back after he played 15 games for the team last season.
Hankins spent his first four seasons with the Giants and then played for Indianapolis in 2017. He had 36 tackles and two fumble recoveries last season for the Raiders.
-Reporting by Josh Dubow.
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4:50 p.m.
The Chiefs have signed linebacker Damien Wilson to a $5.6 million, two-year contract as they continue to overhaul a defense that was among the worst in the NFL last season.
Wilson was a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2015 draft. He proceeded to make 22 starts and appear in 64 games over the past four seasons, making 98 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks.
The Chiefs envision him as their SAM linebacker in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s new 4-3 system. He will be reunited with linebacker Anthony Hitchens, whom the Chiefs signed away from the Cowboys during free agency last season.
-Reporting by Dave Skretta.
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4:40 p.m.
Tyrann Mathieu has been introduced at the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice facility after signing a $42 million, three-year contract to take over in their rebuilt secondary.
The deal became official one day after the Chiefs released longtime safety Eric Berry.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach says that Mathieu was their highest-rated safety in free agency because of his versatility. They plan to use him in the box, on the blitz and in coverage.
Mathieu arrived in a private plane. Later, he planned to join former LSU coach Les Miles at Sprint Center for the Big 12 Tournament. Miles is now the football coach at Kansas, and the Jayhawks face Texas in the quarterfinals at night.
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4:40 p.m.
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms with linebacker Terrell Suggs and quarterback Brett Hundley on one-year deals.
Suggs is the NFL’s active sacks leader with a 132 1-2 sacks, tied with Leslie O’Neal and Lawrence Taylor for 13th. The 36-year-old Suggs spent his entire 16-year career with the Baltimore Ravens and is their all-time leader in games played (229) and forced fumbles (37). He was the 2003 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, 2011 Defensive Player of the Year when he was an m All-Pro.
Suggs is expected to play opposite Chandler Jones, the NFL’s sacks leader two seasons ago.
The 25-year-old Hundley spent last season with Seattle after three seasons at Green Bay. He has appeared in 15 career NFL games, with nine starts.
-Reporting by John Marshall.
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4:40 p.m.
The San Francisco 49ers have signed cornerback Jason Verrett and are bringing back safety Antone Exum.
Verrett signed a one-year deal with the 49ers after an injury-plagued tenure with the Chargers. Verrett was a first-round pick in 2014 but played only five games the past three seasons because of injuries to his knee and Achilles tendon. Verrett hurt his Achilles tendon on the first day of training camp last year and missed the entire season.
Exum spent the past two seasons with San Francisco and is coming back in 2019 after agreeing to a one-year deal.
-Reporting by Josh Dubow.
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2:25 p.m.
The Seattle Seahawks are keeping a key piece to their offense from last year’s playoff team.
According to a person with knowledge of the deal, the Seahawks have reached agreement on a two-year deal with offensive linemen D.J. Fluker. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity on because the team had not announced the deal.
Fluker was a key influence in Seattle’s resurgence as the top running team in the NFL. The veteran dealt with leg injuries at times during the season, but appeared in 10 games for the Seahawks. Bringing back Fluker is an important signing after losing J.R. Sweezy in free agency.
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1:30 p.m.
The Dallas Cowboys have reached agreements on one-year deals to keep receiver Tavon Austin and add defensive tackle Christian Covington.
Austin missed nine games last season with a groin injury after being acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in a trade during the NFL draft last spring. He was a first-round pick by the Rams in the 2013 draft.
The speedy Austin had eight catches for 140 yards and split punt returns with Cole Beasley, who left Dallas in free agency this week for a four-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.
Covington spent his first four seasons with the Houston Texans. He had 15 tackles in 12 games last year.
-Reporting by Stephen Hawkins.
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12:50 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have added depth at wide receiver, signing former Jacksonville Jaguar Donte Moncrief to a two-year deal. The team also re-signed veteran backup Eli Rogers to a two-year contract.
Pittsburgh is in search of fresh blood at the position after trading star Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders.
Moncrief has 200 receptions for 2,543 yards in five seasons, four with Indianapolis and one with Jacksonville. He caught 48 passes for 668 yards and three scores last season with the Jaguars.
Rogers, who made the team as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2016, missed most of last season while recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee in Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to Jacksonville in January 2018. Rogers, who works mainly out of the slot, has 78 career receptions for 822 yards and four touchdowns.
-Reporting by Will Graves.
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12:20 p.m.
The Detroit Lions have signed a trio of free agents to address pressing needs: defensive end Trey Flowers, cornerback Justin Coleman and tight end Jesse James.
The Lions planned to introduce each player at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Detroit desperately needed an edge rusher to replace Ziggy Ansah, who it likely will not re-sign after the oft-injured player was given the franchise tag last season.
Like a lot of Lions, Flowers and Coleman have ties to the New England Patriots. Flowers had a career-high 7 ½ sacks last season for the Super Bowl champions and 21 over the last three years in New England. The Patriots drafted him in the fourth round out of Arkansas in 2015.
Coleman started his career in New England in 2015, when Lions general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia worked for the Patriots. He became a standout nickel cornerback over the last two seasons in Seattle. Coleman has three career interceptions, returning two for scores. Nevin Lawson, who was cut by Detroit on Monday, did not have an interception in 54 starts and 62 games over five seasons with the Lions.
James had 120 receptions for 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Lions were looking to upgrade their options at tight end a year after releasing Eric Ebron.
-Reporting by Larry Lage.
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12:20 p.m.
The Patriots have completed a trade with the Eagles for defensive end Michael Bennett.
New England is sending a fifth-round draft pick in 2020 in exchange for the 33-year-old veteran edge rusher. In addition to Bennett, Philadelphia is also sending the Patriots its seventh-round pick in 2020.
In Bennett, who will be joining his fourth NFL team, the Patriots will try to fill the void created after Trey Flowers signed with the Lions.
Flowers has led the Patriots in sacks for each of the past three seasons. Bennett is coming off nine sacks in 2018 with Philadelphia and has had at least five sacks each of the past seven seasons. He has 22 ½ sacks over his last three seasons.
His younger brother, tight end Martellus Bennett, won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots during the 2016 season.
Flowers’ deal is for five years and could be worth as much as $90 million. Bennett is set to make about $7.2 million in 2019, the second season of the three-year, $30 million extension he signed with the Seahawks in 2018.
The Patriots also will have some depth behind Bennett. John Simon’s agency, Element Sports Group, announced via Twitter that the 28-year-old lineman has re-signed with New England. His new deal is for two years.
Simon was originally signed by the Patriots last September and appeared in 11 games (two starts), totaling 17 tackles and two sacks. He also played in all three playoffs games last season and had a half-sack in the AFC championship game.
-Reporting by Kyle Hightower
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12 p.m.
The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with former Tampa Bay and Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker.
Stocker, a fourth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2011, started 56 games in seven seasons with the Buccaneers. He was signed by the Titans late in the 2017 season and had 15 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns in 2018.
Stocker (6-5, 253) started in 11 of 16 games with the Titans last season.
Austin Hooper returns as Atlanta’s starting tight end.
Larry Lage (12:05 PM)
@bwilner The Detroit Lions have signed a trio of free agents to address pressing needs: defensive end Trey Flowers, cornerback Justin Coleman and tight end Jesse James.
The Lions planned to introduce each player at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Detroit desperately needed an edge rusher to replace Ziggy Ansah, who it likely will not re-sign after the oft-injured player was on franchise tag last season.
Like a lot of Lions, Flowers and Coleman have ties to the New England Patriots. Flowers had a career-high 7 ½ sacks last season for the Super Bowl champions and 21 over the last three years in New England. The Patriots drafted him in the fourth round out of Arkansas in 2015.
Coleman started his career in New England in 2015, when Lions general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia worked for the Patriots. He became a standout nickel cornerback over the last two seasons in Seattle. Coleman has three career interceptions, returning two for scores. Nevin Lawson, who was cut by Detroit on Monday, did not have an interception in 54 starts and 62 games over five seasons with the Lions.
James had 120 receptions for 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Lions were looking to upgrade their options at tight end, a year after releasing Eric Ebron.
__ Larry Lage, reporting from Detroit.
Kyle Hightower (12:06 PM)
@bwilner
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12:05 p.m.
The Patriots have completed a trade with the Eagles for defensive end Michael Bennett.
New England is sending a fifth-round draft pick in 2020 in exchange for the 33-year-old veteran edge rusher. In addition to Bennett, Philadelphia is also sending the Patriots its seventh-round pick in 2020.
In Bennett, who will be joining his fourth NFL team, the Patriots will try to fill the void created after Trey Flowers signed a new contract with the Detroit Lions.
Flowers has led the Patriots in sacks for each of the past three seasons, totaling 21 during that span. Bennett is coming off nine sacks in 2018 with Philadelphia and has had at least five sacks each of the past seven seasons. He has 22 ½ sacks over his last three seasons.
His younger brother, tight end Martellus Bennett, won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots during the 2016 season.
Multiple outlets reported that Flowers’ new deal is for five years and could be worth as much as $90 million.
Bennett is set to make about $7.2 million in 2019, the second season of the three-year, $30 million extension he signed with the Seahawks in 2018.
The Patriots also will have some depth behind Bennett. John Simon’s agency, Element Sports Group, announced via Twitter that the 28-year-old has re-signed with New England. His new deal is for two years.
Simon was originally signed by the Patriots last September and appeared in 11 games (two starts), totaling 17 tackles and two sacks. He also played in all three playoffs games last season and had a half-sack in the AFC championship game.
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Reporting by Kyle Hightower
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12:10 p.m.
The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with former Tampa Bay and Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker.
Stocker, a fourth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2011, started 56 games in seven seasons with the Buccaneers. He was signed by the Titans late in the 2017 season and had 15 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns in 2018.
Stocker (6-foot-5, 253) started in 11 of 16 games with the Titans last season.
Austin Hooper returns as Atlanta’s starting tight end.
-Reporting by Charles Odum
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11 a.m.
A person familiar with the discussions confirms to The Associated Press that the Buffalo Bills have agreed to sign return specialist and receiver Andre Roberts.
The person spoke to the AP on Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not yet been signed. ESPN.com first reported the agreement.
Roberts has eight seasons of NFL experience and earned his first All-Pro honors last season after leading the NFL with 1,174 kickoff return yards with the New York Jets. He also led the NFL in averaging 14.1 yards per punt return.
Roberts had 176 yards on five kickoff returns alone in the Jets’ 27-23 win at Buffalo in December.
The Bills had numerous struggles on special teams and lacked a proven return specialist.
-Reporting by John Wawrow.
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10:30 a.m.
The New York Jets have released running back Isaiah Crowell, an expected move after the team agreed to terms early Wednesday morning with Le’Veon Bell.
Crowell spent one season with the Jets after playing his first four in Cleveland. He broke the franchise record with 219 yards rushing on just 15 carries in New York’s win over Denver in Week 5. He also set the team mark with 231 yards from scrimmage.
The Jets had until Friday before $2 million of Crowell’s $4 million salary became guaranteed. By releasing him now, New York gains $3 million on the salary cap, but is stuck with $2 million in dead money.
The addition of Bell, a move not yet officially announced by the Jets, made Crowell expendable. The former Pittsburgh Steelers star agreed to a four-year deal worth $52.5 million, including $35 million in guarantees.
The 26-year-old Crowell finished with 685 yards rushing and six touchdowns last year before a toe injury ended his season in December.
Crowell made headlines in New York’s Week 3 loss at Cleveland last season when he scored a touchdown in the second quarter against his former team and wiped the football against his rear end. The crude celebration resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and, later, a $13,369 fine from the NFL. It wasn’t all bad for Crowell, who received an endorsement deal with DUDE Wipes, a company that sells a toilet paper substitute for men.
New York also announced it has re-signed starting nose tackle Steve McLendon, who has spent the last three years with the team, as well as offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison and defensive back Darryl Roberts.
-Reporting by Dennis Waszak Jr. in New York.
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