Kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, was signed by the Tennessee Titans. Elise Amendola/Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans made a switch at kicker Thursday, agreeing to terms with four-time Pro Bowler Stephen Gostkowski and waiving Greg Joseph.
Gostkowski won three Super Bowls in his 14 seasons with the New England Patriots. He has made 87.4% (374 of 428) of his kicks in his career. His field goal percentage ranks fifth-best in NFL history.
Gostkowski turned 36 in January. He left New England as the team’s leading scorer with 1,775 points over 204 games. He’s also second in NFL history with 205 postseason points. His career long kick of 62 yards came in 2017.
He missed a career-high four extra points last season after not missing more than three in any of his previous 13 NFL seasons. He was placed on injured reserve in October and underwent season-ending hip surgery. The Patriots released Gostkowski in late March.
Joseph was the Titans’ fifth kicker last season in the NFL’s worst field goal unit at 44.4% (8 of 18). He made the only field goal he tried in the playoffs and made all his extra points. But Joseph had been missing kicks in training camp, prompting the Titans not to wait until opening week to address the position like a year ago.
BUCCANEERS: Leonard Fournette intends to join Tampa Bay as the team continues to stockpile playmakers to help Tom Brady be successful with his new team.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars running back tweeted an image of himself carrying a football and wearing a Bucs jersey and helmet – long with a pen-signing emoji and the message #GoBucs – late Wednesday night. The Bucs, who typically don’t confirm player acquisitions until the team has a signed contract, had no comment.
Fournette, the former LSU star drafted fourth overall in 2017, was released Monday by the Jaguars and became a free agent after clearing waivers. He helped Jacksonville reach the AFC championship game as a rookie and topped 1,000 rushing two of three seasons there.
With the Bucs, he will join a Brady-led offense featuring Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, and starting running back Ronald Jones. Then there’s Brady’s former New England teammate Rob Gronkowski, as well as running back LeSean McCoy.
Fournette is coming off the best overall season of his career, rushing for 1,152 yards and accounting for another 522 yards on 76 pass receptions in 2019. The 25-year-old running back was to earn $4.17 million in Jacksonville this season, a base salary that was guaranteed until the Jaguars voided all the remaining guarantees in the player’s rookie deal in December 2018.
SEAHAWKS: Seattle is bringing back wide receiver Josh Gordon on a one-year deal even as the talented pass catcher awaits reinstatement from the NFL after his latest suspension.
Gordon’s signing was confirmed on Twitter by his agent David Canter on Thursday, just two days before the Seahawks must cut their roster to 53 players. Seattle is holding its final practice of training camp later Thursday.
Gordon was suspended indefinitely by the NFL last December for violating the league’s drug policy. Gordon tested positive for performance enhancers and “substances of abuse,” the league said in a statement at the time. He applied for reinstatement in June and is still awaiting word from the league.
Gordon, 29, has been suspended eight times overall by either his team or the NFL, including six times since 2013, mostly for violating the league’s policies on banned substances.
ALL NFL AND NFL Players Association facilities will close on Election Day, and the league and union will televise a one-hour program next week for players to highlight work being done to advance social justice.
The league and the players’ union said Thursday they want to “ensure that every member of the NFL family has an opportunity to exercise the precious right to vote” on Nov. 3. Both the league and union have launched get-out-the-vote initiatives as well.
Next Wednesday at 9 p.m. on NBC, the NFL and NFLPA said their “players and allies” will discuss their work in a variety of social justice programs.
TRADE: Cleveland acquired safety Ronnie Harrison in a trade with Jacksonville, filling a vacancy after rookie safety Grant Delpit was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
The Jaguars will receive a fifth-round pick in 2021 from Cleveland.
The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Harrison made 22 starts for Jacksonville, which selected him in the third round of the 2018 draft. He’s played in 28 games and made 103 tackles along with three interceptions. Harrison started 14 games last season and finished second on the team in tackles (70). He was a member of two national title teams with the Crimson Tide.
Delpit, a second-round pick from LSU, suffered his season-ending injury while doing individual drills in early in practice last month. He had been expected to start alongside Karl Joseph, who was signed by the Browns as a free agent this winter.
49ERS: The 49ers placed Tavon Austin on injured reserve with a knee injury and activated Richie James Jr. from the non-football injury list.
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