We are just two days away from the new NFL year, and the deals are already raining in to begin the week. Once the first deal was announced on Monday, it started raining down throughout the league. It really started with the Washington Redskins getting a familiar face to join them, as former New York Giants safety Landon Collins agreed to a six-year deal. The contract is worth $84 million, with $45 million in guaranteed money, as this new deal will give him an average value of $14 million per season. That is tied for the fifth-most for any defensive back, and the most for a safety specifically. The 25-year-old led the Giants with 96 tackles a season ago, which was the first time that he did not reach 100 in a season. He did miss the final four games with a torn labrum, but was still named a Pro Bowl starter with five tackes for loss, two quarterback hits, four passes defended, and a forced fumble.
The Detroit Lions boosted up their defense, including a reunion of sorts, while also giving Matthew Stafford an actual tight end. First, defensive end Trey Flowers joined Detroit on a five-year deal that is expected to give him between $16 and $17 million per season. That brings Flowers back with head coach Matt Patricia, who was Flowers' defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. The 25-year-old is a former fourth-round selection, and the led the Patriots in sacks in each of the past three seasons, including a career-high 7.5 sacks. The Lions also gave cornerback Justin Coleman a four-year, $36 million, making him the highest-paid nickel cornerback. in NFL history. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Patriots by the Seattle Seahawks, spending two seasons there with 90 tackles, three interceptions, and 19 passes defended. The Lions also are expected to sign tight end Jesse James, who caught 120 passes for 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will join Danny Amendola, who was also signed by the Lions in the past 24 hours.
The Buffalo Bills also made some moves on Monday, including a deal with veteran running back Frank Gore. The contract is for one year and $2 million. Gore will be 36 years old when the 2019 season begins, and will split time with LeSean McCoy. Gore is the NFL's active career rushing leader with 14,478 yards, and he needs just 252 yards to reach 15,000, and 522 to pass Barry Sanders for the third most rushing yards all-time. The five-time Pro Bowler has spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins. The Bills also brought in tight end Tyler Kroft, who has spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals. Kroft dealt with injuries most of last season, as he missed a majority of the season with a fractured foot that he suffered on October 7th. He was set to be the backup behind Tyler Eifert, but had season-ending surgery in November and played in just five games.
The Tennessee Titans not only added to their near playoff roster, but also locked in a key component of that on Monday. They were able to sign wide receiver Adam Humphries to a four-year, $36 million deal, giving Marcus Mariota a key weapon. The 26-year-old was an undrafted free agent in 2015, but started 10 of 16 games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. He recorded 76 catches for a career-high 816 receiving yards and five touchdowns. The Titans also solidified the defensive side of the ball by giving safety Kenny Vaccaro a new four-year deal. The contract gives him $26 million, including $11.5 million guaranteed, one year after signing for just the 2018 campaign. He took over for when Johnathan Cyprien went down, recording 58 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. The team also cut ties with Cyprien, which saves them $4.75 million in cap space.
One veteran found that it was time to move on with his career, as Terrell Suggs informed the Baltimore Ravens that he is leaving the team. Suggs is reportedly joining the Arizona Cardinals, but this comes after spending his entire 16-year career with Baltimore. He had expressed interest in ending his career with the Ravens, but will instead do it elsewhere, becoming yet another big defensive name to move on. Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed did the same, unlike Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden, who stuck around the entire way. Suggs ranks first among active players with 132.5 sacks, and is tied with Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O'Neal for 13th all-time in that category. He was second on the Ravens last season with seven sacks, helping them roll all the way to the top-ranked defense in the league.
Yet another New England Patriots moved on as well, that being offensive tackle Trent Brown, who is joining the Oakland Raiders. Brown is now the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history with a contract of four years for $66 million, including $36.75 million in guaranteed money. What makes him the richest offensive lineman is his $16.5 million annual average, which barely beats the contract of Taylor Lewan with the Titans. This is the second straight season that the Patriots are losing a starting left tackle, as Nate Solder left last year for the New York Giants.
Kwon Alexander was another name to get a decent contract, as the linebacker joined the San Francisco 49ers on a four-year, $56 million contract. The 24-year-old is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered on October 21st, yet he is still getting over $10 million per season. Alexander led the NFL with 108 solo tackles in 2016, as his contract fell just short of the annual average that Luke Kuechly gets from the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers just did not have enough cap space left to keep Alexander around, this after they gave Donovan Smith a new contract last week. That left them with $3.5 million in cap space, which made the decision to move on fairly easy for Alexander.
The Detroit Lions boosted up their defense, including a reunion of sorts, while also giving Matthew Stafford an actual tight end. First, defensive end Trey Flowers joined Detroit on a five-year deal that is expected to give him between $16 and $17 million per season. That brings Flowers back with head coach Matt Patricia, who was Flowers' defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. The 25-year-old is a former fourth-round selection, and the led the Patriots in sacks in each of the past three seasons, including a career-high 7.5 sacks. The Lions also gave cornerback Justin Coleman a four-year, $36 million, making him the highest-paid nickel cornerback. in NFL history. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Patriots by the Seattle Seahawks, spending two seasons there with 90 tackles, three interceptions, and 19 passes defended. The Lions also are expected to sign tight end Jesse James, who caught 120 passes for 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will join Danny Amendola, who was also signed by the Lions in the past 24 hours.
The Buffalo Bills also made some moves on Monday, including a deal with veteran running back Frank Gore. The contract is for one year and $2 million. Gore will be 36 years old when the 2019 season begins, and will split time with LeSean McCoy. Gore is the NFL's active career rushing leader with 14,478 yards, and he needs just 252 yards to reach 15,000, and 522 to pass Barry Sanders for the third most rushing yards all-time. The five-time Pro Bowler has spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins. The Bills also brought in tight end Tyler Kroft, who has spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals. Kroft dealt with injuries most of last season, as he missed a majority of the season with a fractured foot that he suffered on October 7th. He was set to be the backup behind Tyler Eifert, but had season-ending surgery in November and played in just five games.
The Tennessee Titans not only added to their near playoff roster, but also locked in a key component of that on Monday. They were able to sign wide receiver Adam Humphries to a four-year, $36 million deal, giving Marcus Mariota a key weapon. The 26-year-old was an undrafted free agent in 2015, but started 10 of 16 games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. He recorded 76 catches for a career-high 816 receiving yards and five touchdowns. The Titans also solidified the defensive side of the ball by giving safety Kenny Vaccaro a new four-year deal. The contract gives him $26 million, including $11.5 million guaranteed, one year after signing for just the 2018 campaign. He took over for when Johnathan Cyprien went down, recording 58 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. The team also cut ties with Cyprien, which saves them $4.75 million in cap space.
One veteran found that it was time to move on with his career, as Terrell Suggs informed the Baltimore Ravens that he is leaving the team. Suggs is reportedly joining the Arizona Cardinals, but this comes after spending his entire 16-year career with Baltimore. He had expressed interest in ending his career with the Ravens, but will instead do it elsewhere, becoming yet another big defensive name to move on. Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed did the same, unlike Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden, who stuck around the entire way. Suggs ranks first among active players with 132.5 sacks, and is tied with Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O'Neal for 13th all-time in that category. He was second on the Ravens last season with seven sacks, helping them roll all the way to the top-ranked defense in the league.
Yet another New England Patriots moved on as well, that being offensive tackle Trent Brown, who is joining the Oakland Raiders. Brown is now the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history with a contract of four years for $66 million, including $36.75 million in guaranteed money. What makes him the richest offensive lineman is his $16.5 million annual average, which barely beats the contract of Taylor Lewan with the Titans. This is the second straight season that the Patriots are losing a starting left tackle, as Nate Solder left last year for the New York Giants.
Kwon Alexander was another name to get a decent contract, as the linebacker joined the San Francisco 49ers on a four-year, $56 million contract. The 24-year-old is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered on October 21st, yet he is still getting over $10 million per season. Alexander led the NFL with 108 solo tackles in 2016, as his contract fell just short of the annual average that Luke Kuechly gets from the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers just did not have enough cap space left to keep Alexander around, this after they gave Donovan Smith a new contract last week. That left them with $3.5 million in cap space, which made the decision to move on fairly easy for Alexander.
