Tag: NFL Free Agency

Former Bruins linebacker Carl Jones Jr. signs with Chicago Bears

Carl Jones Jr. goes to Chicago.

The Chicago Bears are loading up for 2024. After selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall selection in the draft, the Bears signed a Trojan rival from UCLA on the defensive side. 

Former Bruins’ linebacker Carl Jones Jr. has signed with Chicago after going undrafted. 

Jones Jr., who tallied 31 total tackles and two sacks in 2023, was yet another productive player along the defensive line for the Bruins. Alongside Laiatu Latu, the Murphy Twins, and Darius Muasau, UCLA maintained one of the best defensive lines in college football. Now, Jones Jr. heads to the Windy City to start his career.

There is no guarantee Jones Jr. will make it through the Bears’ training camp and eventually onto their final roster; such is the reality of most undrafted rookie free agents. 

But with a Bears defense looking to measure up to their new-found offensive talent, a hungry defender looking to prove themselves like Jones Jr. could make the cut on the roster. 

Former Bruin Kenny Churchwell III invited to Philadelphia Eagles camp

Kenny with an invite to Eagles camp.

The road to the NFL is different for every player, from first-overall selections to being drafted as “Mr. Irrelalvent,” no two paths are the same. One former Bruin, UCLA’s Kenny Churchwell III, will have to prove his worth this spring. 

Undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft, Churchwell III received an invite to the Philadelphia Eagles rookie training camp. A tryout in many ways, the All-Pac-12 honorable mention in his redshirt senior season in 2023 looks to impress the coaching staff enough to earn himself a spot on the roster. 

In Churchwell III’s senior season, he logged 34 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and recorded three passes defended in the final season of Pac-12 play. 

Whether or not Churchwell will make the team is unknown. With so many players vying for spots on the roster, nothing is guaranteed. But having a lot of snaps under his belt playing at UCLA should prove to be an advantage to Churchwell III.

 

In rookie mini-camp, Churchwell does not need to be the best player on the team, just the best rookie on the field. 

Former Eagles RB Boston Scott agrees to a 1-year deal with Rams

Former Philadelphia Eagles running back Boston Scott is signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams

The Boston Scott era is officially over in Philadelphia, as the talented but smallish running back is signing a one-year deal to join the Los Angeles Rams.

Scott had been a nice underdog story, but he saw his role diminish even more for the Eagles this season, finishing with 20 carries for 86 yards and adding four catches for 52 yards through the air over 15 regular-season games.

Scott failed to reach the end zone for the first time since his two-game debut in 2018. Scott will now compete for a role in the Rams’ backfield, which has Kyren Williams as their returning leading rusher, along with former Michigan star Blake Corum and others.

Seahawks free agency: 31 players to target after the 2024 NFL draft

Here are 31 of the best remaining free agents on the market.

The Seahawks currently don’t even have enough cap space to sign all of the picks they made in the 2024 NFL draft. However, the salary cap is nothing if not fluid and general manager John Schneider still has some moves he can make. He could decide to cut nose tackle Jarran Reed, restructure wide receiver DK Metcalf’s contract or extend safety Julian Love, to name a few possible moves.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some players who might be able to help this roster the most. Here are 31 of the best remaining free agents on the market.

33 Seahawks who are set to become free agents in 2025

Free agent S Jamal Adams shouldn’t be on 49ers’ radar

The #49ers are staying in touch with free agent S Jamal Adams per Bob Condotta of the Seattle times. They should stop.

The 49ers apparently aren’t totally happy with their safety room. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times on Monday reported San Francisco is one of the teams that has stayed in touch with free agent safety Jamal Adams. This isn’t something they should explore further.

With the NFL draft now passed, free agent signings no longer factor into the compensatory pick formula so we’ll start seeing more veterans who are still available start signing. The 49ers could certainly add more depth in the trenches, but adding a safety in general doesn’t make a ton of sense unless they have real concerns about Talanoa Hufanga’s return from a torn ACL. It makes even less sense if Adams is the player they add.

Adams, 28, was once an outstanding young safety who went to three Pro Bowls and was named to three All-Pro teams in the 2018-20 seasons. Since his last Second-Team All-Pro nod in 2020 though he’s been a shell of himself while also dealing with injuries. Over the last three seasons the former Jets first-round pick has played in just 22 games, including 10 in the last two years. He hasn’t played more than 12 games in a season since 2019 when he played in 14 for the Jets.

Over the course of that time his value as a do-everything safety has dwindled as he’s taken on a role more akin to that of a linebacker. In four years with Seattle he played in 34 games, notched only two interceptions and 11 pass breakups, and all 9.5 of his sacks came in 2020.

Pro Football Focus graded out Adams as average to below average in each of his last three seasons where he played more than 500 snaps. He’s also been graded out as below average in coverage in every year of that same stretch. Adams also missed 15 tackles in just nine games last season which raises questions about just how effective he is even in a limited role.

It’s not totally clear what the 49ers envision his role being. He’s probably too small to play linebacker full-time, but there may be an opportunity for a hybrid LB/S spot in the defense under new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. In that very specific role it may be worth taking an inexpensive flier on the three-time All-Pro, but he doesn’t play special teams and there may not be a roster spot available as the team aims to get younger at both linebacker and safety

Perhaps San Francisco is just trying to drive up the price in case the Seahawks want to re-sign him, but given his struggles over the last three seasons it’s hard to envision the 49ers having a ton of success with him in their defense.

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Eagles to sign former Jets first round pick Mekhi Becton to a 1-year, $5.5M deal

The Philadelphia Eagles are signing former Jets first round pick Mekhi Becton to a one-year, $5.5 million deal

The Eagles are adding an offensive tackle to the roster. Adam Schefter reports that former Jets first-round pick Mekhi Becton is signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the team.

Becton made our list of potential free agents Philadelphia could add, and the best offensive line coach in the league will now coach him in the NFL.

Becton is a massive man who could learn and improve under Jeff Stoutland.

His injury history is also concerning, even though he started 16 of 17 games in 2023, predominantly at left tackle.

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Report: Free agent former Jaguars DE visits AFC South rival

Report: Free agent former Jaguars DL visits AFC South rival

Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end and current free agent Dawuane Smoot visited the Houston Texans on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.

The trip marks the first reported activity for Smoot this offseason, after hitting the free agency market in March.

A 2017 third-round selection out of Illinois, Smooth spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in Jacksonville, appearing in 99 games and making 17 starts in that span.

After making rather minimal impact the first two seasons, Smoot went on to post five-plus sacks in four consecutive seasons from a depth and spot-starting role. He accumulated single-season career-highs of 36 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2021, tying his single-season career-high of six sacks that year.

Smoot re-signed with Jacksonville on a one-year contract just before training camp last offseason after spending four months as a free agent, amid his recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 16 of the 2022 campaign.

The injury limited Smoot to 12 games in 2023. He posted 10 tackles and a sack with those opportunities last season.

Smoot is not the only depth edge rusher Jacksonville allowed to hit free agency this offseason as its second 2019 first-round selection, K’Lavon Chaisson, signed with Carolina in March. The Jaguars added free agent former Tennessee edge rusher Trevis Gipson two days after Chaisson joined the Panthers.

Broncos sign CB Levi Wallace to 1-year contract

The Broncos are signing Levi Wallace to a one-year contract, giving the team veteran depth at cornerback.

Story update: The Broncos have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Levi Wallace, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. See our original post below. 

The Denver Broncos are expected to sign cornerback Levi Wallace to a one-year contract, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Wallace (6-0, 179 pounds) won two national championships at Alabama before entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Buffalo Bills in 2018. He spent four years in Buffalo, starting 52 games, before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022.

Wallace, 28, started 18 games for the Steelers over the last two years, breaking up 24 passes and recording six interceptions. He has totaled 54 pass breakups and 12 interceptions in 83 career games (70 starts).

Wallace gives the Broncos veteran insurance at cornerback in case Riley Moss doesn’t step up as a reliable starter across from Pat Surtain in 2024.

The Wallace signing also makes cornerback a less pressing need for Denver ahead of the draft this week. While it’s still possible, the Broncos now seem less likely to draft a cornerback at No. 12 overall.

Quinyon Mitchell, Terrion Arnold, Cooper DeJean, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Nate Wiggins are among the top cornerbacks in this year’s class. The Broncos hold eight picks going into Thursday’s draft. We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.

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Panthers ‘leaving the door open’ for free-agent CB Stephon Gilmore

Panthers GM Dan Morgan is leaving the door open on a potential return for CB Stephon Gilmore.

A homecoming for Stephon Gilmore may still be in the plans for the Carolina Panthers.

President of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales held their pre-draft press conference on Thursday afternoon. During the chat, Morgan was asked if bringing back the free-agent corner is still on the table.

“Yeah, we’re gonna leave the door open there,” Morgan replied. “We’re still gonna stay in communication and after the draft, we’ll circle back and kinda see where it goes from there.”

Talks of a return for the 33-year-old Gilmore, who played for the Panthers in 2021, really revved up with the signing of fellow Rock Hill, S.C. native Jadeveon Clowney. The outside linebacker told reporters a few weeks ago that he’s been in contact with his old high school teammate, and that Gilmore is hoping that the Panthers will sign up for his services once again.

Since his Pro Bowl campaign for Carolina two seasons ago, Gilmore has suited up for the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys.

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Dan Morgan, Dave Canales hint at what players Panthers will look for in draft

The Panthers will be drafting for “Panther fit,” not so much for need.

The Carolina Panthers will be drafting more for fit than for need.

On Thursday, president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales spoke to reporters ahead of their first draft as the organization’s new power duo. Morgan led off the presser by hinting at what he and Canales will be looking for in a week’s time.

“I think me and Dave are obviously really excited about the direction we’re headed—as an organization, as a team,” he said. “The communication and the alignment that myself, Coach Canales, the scouts, the coaches, the training staff, sports science—it’s just been awesome. It’s been a lot of fun. So we’re really excited about the future.

“I feel we addressed a lot of needs in free agency. And I think that will set us up nicely during the draft to allow us to draft the best player available and just take really good football players that fit what we want from a schematic standpoint, from a culture standpoint and all those things we talked about in our presser.”

After Morgan’s opening statement, Canales would echo the same sentiment.

“One of the coolest things that I saw is as we worked through free agency, coming out of the other side of it with this great feeling like, ‘Alright, hey, this takes some pressure off of, gosh, we gotta meet all these needs through the draft,'” he stated. “Now we get to really just hone in and focus on the guys that are really Panther fit. I’ve heard that a lot in our building just as we’ve been talking about guys.”

Carolina began free agency by addressing their most troubling deficiency—the interior protection of second-year quarterback Bryce Young. The team signed guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to a combined $153 million in fortifying the front for their franchise guy.

They also added to the edge with outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum and K’Lavon Chaisson, signed a new middle linebacker in Josey Jewell, gave defensive tackle Derrick Brown and cornerback Jaycee Horn some partners in A’Shawn Robinson and Dane Jackson and acquired Pro Bowl wideout Diontae Johnson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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