Official Free Agency Thread (Post all signings here)

[Ray_Dogg]

Eagles signed Demetress Bell for 5 years to replace Peters. He's no longer going by Demetrius since that is not how his name is spelled.

 

[crash]

Panthers signed S Reggie Smith, formerly of the 49ers.
"Reggie has been on our radar since the beginning of free agency and is a player we think can come in and compete at safety," said GM Marty Hurney. Outside of a seven-game stint to close out 2010, Smith has been a reserve and special teamer in 44 games dating back to 2008.

 

[crash]

Chiefs re-signed CB Travis Daniels.
Daniels has held his own in 41 games as an injury fill-in and extra cornerback in subpackage sets over the past three years. His history with coach Romeo Crennel goes back to 2008 with the Browns.

 

[crash]

Colts signed DT Brandon McKinney to a two-year contract.
McKinney joins DT Cory Redding in following former Ravens coordinator Chuck Pagano to Indianapolis. McKinney played roughly one-fifth of the defensive snaps last season as a backup to NT Terrence Cody. He's likely ticketed for a situational run-stuffer role with the Colts.

 

[crash]

Rams signed exclusive rights free agent QB Tom Brandstater to a one-year contract.
Brandstater is currently behind Sam Bradford on the depth chart, but he'll have to battle just to hold down the No. 3 job by the time training camp rolls around. The Rams showed no faith in Brandstater last season, signing Kellen Clemens off the street to make emergency late-season starts instead.

 

[crash]

Broncos re-signed exclusive rights free agent P Britton Colquitt.

Aided by the Mile High City's notoriously thin air, Colquitt graded out as Pro Football Focus' No. 1 punter in 2011 while leading the NFL in punts dropped inside the 20-yard line.

 

[ChrisPozz]

Vikings sign Chris Carr | ProFootballTalk

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Lardarius Webb - DB - Ravens

Ravens agreed to terms with LCB Lardarius Webb on a six-year, $50 million contract, including a $10 million signing bonus.
He'll make $18 million in the deal's first two years, and $33.5 million in the first four. Per Pro Football Focus, Webb didn't allow a single touchdown pass in 2011, and opposing quarterbacks posted a miserable 55.6 passer rating on throws into his coverage. Also a playmaker, Webb recorded eight interceptions, including three in the playoffs and had 23 pass breakups. One of the best young corners in football, Webb doesn't turn 27 until October.
Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter
Apr 5 - 11:48 AM

 

[luckyluke22]

Great resign by the Ravens IMO

 

[ChrisPozz]

Chris Russell:

UFA Safety Madieu Williams, last of SF, & UMD slum, visiting the @Redskins today, @ESPNRadio980 has learned. Great character guy.

 

[ChrisPozz]

John Keim:

heard on S Madieu Williams: Did receive an offer from the #Redskins; has another visit Monday he wants to keep.

 

[ChrisPozz]

Scout.com: Deuce Lutui Profile

Former Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Deuce Lutui has agreed to a contract with the Seattle Seahawks, the team announced.

The Seahawks also former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Barrett Ruud and cornerback Roy Lewis. This transaction reunites Lutui with Pete Carroll, his former coach at USC. Lutui visited the Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.

Lutui, 28, is a 6-foot-4, 338-pound former starter who played in 15 games last season with no starts.

The former USC standout has played for the Cardinals for six seasons, appearing in 93 games with 72 career starts.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Brett Swain - WR - 49ers

49ers re-signed WR Brett Swain.
Swain, who turns 27 in June, caught two passes for 15 yards in five game appearances last season. The Niners initially failed to tender Swain in restricted free agency, but he'll return on a deal for the veteran's minimum.
A

 

[ChrisPozz]

Adam Schefter:

Aubrayo Franklin visiting Seahwaks today.

 

[ChrisPozz]

John Keim:

Madieu Williams has agreed to terms with the #redskins, according to his agent.

 

[JMedlock5186]

Lardarius Webb - DB - Ravens

Ravens agreed to terms with LCB Lardarius Webb on a six-year, $50 million contract, including a $10 million signing bonus.
He'll make $18 million in the deal's first two years, and $33.5 million in the first four. Per Pro Football Focus, Webb didn't allow a single touchdown pass in 2011, and opposing quarterbacks posted a miserable 55.6 passer rating on throws into his coverage. Also a playmaker, Webb recorded eight interceptions, including three in the playoffs and had 23 pass breakups. One of the best young corners in football, Webb doesn't turn 27 until October.
Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter
Apr 5 - 11:48 AM

that is a nice pickup

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Terence Newman - DB - Bengals

Bengals agreed to terms with CB Terence Newman, formerly of the Cowboys.
The 33-year-old isn't known to have visited any teams other than Cincinnati. It's fair to wonder if he will receive any guaranteed money after getting routinely toasted down the stretch last season. Although he's a favorite of DC Mike Zimmer, Newman will have to compete with Jason Allen and Pacman Jones for snaps behind Nate Clements and Leon Hall.
Related: Cowboys
Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter
Apr 11 - 11:34 AM

 

[Yadahell]

If the Steelers want to keep Mike Wallace, there’s nothing he can do to prevent that.

However, he can try to force the Steelers’ hand to either pay him or trade him.

And that’s exactly what he and his representatives are doing.

Less than 24 hours after a league source told me that a handful of teams are interested in trading for Wallace leading up the NFL draft scheduled for two weeks from today, news leaked that Wallace doesn’t intend on showing up to any of the Steelers’ offseason activities in protest of his first-round tender.

It isn’t by coincidence that the news was leaked that Wallace doesn’t plan to sign his restricted free agent tender by the April 20 deadline only weeks before the draft, it is strategy.

Even though Bus Cook’s plan of planting information that his client would be a major player in the restricted free agent market this year because of the new CBA rule that requires only a first-round pick as compensation rather than a first and a third backfired, that doesn’t mean this tactic won’t.

There was no way that any team would give up a first-round pick for Wallace along with signing him to a lucrative long-term contract on the RFA market, and that became apparent early on.

However, it is very attractive to teams to try to get Wallace via a trade because it would definitely command less than a first-round pick it would’ve cost them on the RFA market.

Also, it is very attractive for Wallace to go to a team that is willing to pay him the in excess of $10 million per season he is demanding.

But, of course, it takes two teams to trade, and floating it out there at the absolute right time that Wallace doesn’t plan to attend offseason workouts during a year that the team hires a new offensive coordinator should perk up the ears of all the Steelers’ decision-makers.

Santonio Holmes was traded 10 days before the 2010 draft. News about a disgruntled Wallace broke 15 days before the 2012 draft. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Although Holmes’ trade had a lot to do with the trouble he got into on the heels of Ben Roethlisberger’s Milledgeville incident, but still, a part of it was because Holmes was in the final year of his contract and the Steelers had no intentions of signing him to an extension and wanted to get something for him.

So the Steelers shipped Holmes to New York for a fifth-round choice.

Wallace would likely command a higher pick than a fifth, but the Steelers have to consider any offer that comes. Plus, it would be much easier to explain a trade of a disgruntled employee than a model employee, and Bus Cook knows that hence yesterday’s report.

It’s becoming clearer that the Steelers aren’t going to offer Wallace enough money for him to forgo testing the free agent market next year.

The Steelers aren’t going to franchise him, either.

The franchise tag was $9.4 million this year, but will most certainly go up next year following the big contracts of Calvin Johnson ($16.5 million a year) and Vincent Jackson ($11 million a year) last month.

It’s already been reported that Wallace wants Larry Fitzgerald-type money – 8 years, $120 million.

That’s not going to happen here because the Steelers don’t value receivers like that and, most importantly, they don’t have the money to do it.

What the Steelers have to decide is whether having Wallace for this year is worth losing a possible third or fourth-round draft choice or some other draft choice combination another team is willing to part with in a trade.

If it is, then they will keep him.

If it isn’t, they will trade him.

But make no mistake about it, once the draft is over and if Wallace doesn’t sign his tender, the little leverage Wallace has will be gone.

If Wallace doesn’t sign his tender by June 15, the Steelers could reduce his tender by $2.1 million and still retain his rights.

If Wallace holds out the entire year, he would lose an accrued season and still be a restricted free agent again next year when everything repeats itself.

Wallace could go the route of Jackson a couple years ago when he accepted the reduced tender, held out until Week 10 and became an unrestricted free agent after that, but that would make him less attractive to possible suitors.

So what will happen?

Well, this is for sure: Wallace isn’t going to miss any OTAs, he isn’t going to hold out, he isn’t going to show up in Week 10 and he is definitely not going to lose $2.1 million.

That leaves two options – Wallace gets traded within the next two weeks or he leaves via free agency next year.

There really aren’t any other logical options.

Teams interested in trading for Wallace, but will Steelers listen? - The Steel Mill

 

[NinerSickness]

So the Pats re-signed Dan Koppen. I didn't even know he was a FA...

They also signed Robert Gallery. Gutsy move.

 

[Yadahell]

49ers Blog and Q&A: LB Grant to sign one-year contract today

Nice for depth and special teams. Mildly surprised a team desperate for a LB wouldn't give up a 7th rounder for him.