Cornerback J.C. Jackson agreed to a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers Monday, continuing the franchise’s aggressive makeover of the defense.
Jackson’s contract will be worth $82.5 million, including $40 million guaranteed, two people familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal can’t become official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday.
Jackson became one of the top available free agents after the New England Patriots did not apply the franchise tag to him last week. The 26-year old cornerback earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season, leading the league with 23 passes defensed, and was second with eight interceptions. He has 25 picks over the past four seasons, most in the league.
The Chargers had already made a splash last Thursday when they agreed to acquire edge rusher Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears for two draft picks. Coach Brandon Staley is hoping Jackson can have the same type of impact that Jalen Ramsey did when Staley was Rams defensive coordinator in 2020 and had the league’s top-ranked defense.
Jackson joins safety Derwin James in the secondary and upgrades a cornerback position that struggled last season. Michael Davis was inconsistent in coverage and Asante Samuel Jr., a rookie, dealt with injuries late in the year.
Jackson also comes to the AFC West, which figures to have the league’s deepest collection of quarterbacks. The Chargers have Justin Herbert, but they will have to go against Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Denver’s Russell Wilson and Las Vegas’ Derrick Carr.
PATRIOTS: The Patriots opened the unofficial start of free agency by bringing back a trio of veterans in backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, safety Devin McCourty and special teams captain Matt Slater.
STEELERS: Mitch Trubisky is going to get a shot at replacing Ben Roethlisberger.
A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that Trubisky and the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract that will give Trubisky a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job following Roethlisberger’s retirement in January.
Trubisky, 27, joins the Steelers after spending 2021 backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo following a flame out in Chicago. The second overall pick in the 2017 draft spent four uneven seasons with the Bears, going 29-21 as a starter while passing for 10,652 yards with 64 touchdowns against 38 interceptions.
Trubisky joins a quarterbacks room that includes longtime Pittsburgh backup Mason Rudolph. The team is also expected to bring back Dwayne Haskins, who served as Pittsburgh’s third quarterback last season.
The move is among the first of what will likely be a busy free-agent market for Pittsburgh, which is looking to fill holes at several positions following a 9-7-1 season that ended with a blowout loss to Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs.
BROWNS: Cleveland released five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry in a tough but necessary cost-cutting move after the invaluable Landry became too expensive to keep.
One of the league’s steadiest pass catchers, the 29-year-old Landry was instrumental in the Browns’ turnaround after the team went just 1-31 in the two seasons before he arrived via trade from the Miami Dolphins in 2018.
Landry provided leadership and was one team’s top offensive players as the Browns ended a nearly 20-year playoff drought in 2020.
COWBOYS: The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence on a new contract that will create more room under the salary cap, a person with knowledge of the agreement said.
Lawrence’s reworked deal is worth $40 million over three years with $30 million guaranteed.
The best hope for the Cowboys to keep both Lawrence and unrestricted free agent Randy Gregory was to reduce Lawrence’s cap hit. The original $27 million figure from the five-year, $105 million deal he signed in 2019 has been cut about in half.
BRIAN FLORES wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to make sure his class-action lawsuit against the league and several teams over allegedly racists hiring practices isn’t settled behind closed doors.
Flores said if Goodell truly wants to bring the kind of change the NFL’s top executive has talked about in the wake of the former Miami Dolphins head coach’s unprecedented legal maneuver, then Goodell should make sure the case is adjudicated by a jury of Flores’ peers rather than in arbitration.
“I think Commissioner Goodell has the influence to do what’s right,” Flores said during a teleconference with lawmakers to speak in favor of the FAIR Act, which would end forced arbitration. “I don’t think you can create that change in a secret setting, a confidential setting. … I think he has influence to make sure that (a jury trial) happens.”
Flores, hired as a senior defensive assistant for the Pittsburgh Steelers last month, filed his lawsuit against the NFL, Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos following his dismissal by Miami. Flores led the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons before he was fired in January.
Miami requested the case go to an arbitrator last month.
CARDINALS: Arizona is bringing back James Conner on a three-year deal, rewarding the running back for a stellar 2021 season that included a franchise-record 18 total touchdowns.
Conner was a huge part of the Cardinals’ offense last season with 752 yards rushing and 375 yards receiving. The 26-year-old clearly had a feel for the end zone, scoring 15 times on the ground and three times after catching passes.
The bruising 233-pound back gives the Cardinals a hard-nosed running threat to complement young quarterback Kyler Murray, who can also run but became more of a pocket passer last season. Conner earned his second Pro Bowl selection in 2021 and ran for at least one touchdown in five consecutive games at one point last season, which tied a franchise record.
PACKERS: Green Bay signed outside linebacker Preston Smith to a contract extension and released outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and offensive lineman Billy Turner in a flurry of moves before the start of the free-agency period.
Releasing Za’Darius Smith and Turner creates about $19 million in cap savings for the Packers, who had entered the week about $46 million over the cap. But it leaves Green Bay without two veterans who played key roles in helping the Packers win three straight NFC North titles.
TITANS: Tennessee agreed to a one-year contract with tight end Geoff Swaim, keeping him off the free agent market.
Swaim was one of three Tennessee tight ends poised to hit free agency along with Anthony Firkser and MyCole Pruitt. Now the Titans keep someone who had a career-high three touchdown catches in the contract announced Monday.
A seventh-round pick by Dallas out of Texas in 2015, Swaim has been with Tennessee since 2020. He started 16 games last season and tied for fourth on the Titans with 31 catches for 210 yards receiving. His three TD catches tied for third on the team.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Swaim has started 24 of 26 games played with Tennessee. He played six games with Jacksonville in 2019. The seven-year veteran has started 44 of 69 career games with 88 catches for 694 yards and five TDs.
RAMS: Offensive lineman Joseph Noteboom has agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Super Bowl champions announced the deal with Noteboom, who was headed toward free agency after four seasons spent largely as Andrew Whitworth’s backup in Los Angeles.
Noteboom is nearly certain to be the Rams’ starting left tackle next season if Whitworth retires as expected. The 40-year-old Whitworth has all but said he won’t return after winning his first league title last month and being selected as the league’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in an impressive culmination of his 16-year career.
DOLPHINS: Among the wishes for the Miami Dolphins in free agency: keeping pass rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, along with adding a running back.
The Dolphins didn’t need long to make both of those things happen.
Ogbah has agreed to a four-year contract that could be worth $65 million, and running back Chase Edmonds has agreed to a two-year, $12.6 million deal. Both moves were confirmed by agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents both players.
Ogbah, who receives $32 million guaranteed, can sign at any time since he’s returning to the Dolphins, who have plenty of cap room. Edmonds, who gets about $6 million in guaranteed money, cannot sign before Wednesday.
PANTHERS: The Panthers have agreed to terms on a three-year $29.25 million contract with Los Angeles Rams guard Austin Corbett and a three-year, $15.75 million contract with Minnesota Vikings safety Xavier Woods,.
The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Corbett should help a weak offensive line that surrendered the fifth-most sacks in the NFL last year. Corbett started all 33 games over the past two seasons for the Super Bowl champion Rams. He was a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2018.
The 26-year-old Woods is coming off the best season of his five-year career, recording 108 tackles and three interceptions in 17 starts for the Vikings. Woods spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, for whom he started 48 games and had five INTs.
Woods is expected to start at safety alongside Jeremy Chinn.
The Panthers also released cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Morgan Fox in salary-cap moves Monday, freeing more money for their potential pursuit of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
BILLS: Buffalo signed center Mitch Morse to a two-year contract extension and released offensive lineman Daryl Williams in a pair of moves which freed up much-needed salary cap space entering the NFL’s free agency period.
Morse had one year remaining on a four-year contract he signed with Buffalo in free agency after spending his first four seasons in Kansas City. He’s been a three-year starter with the Bills.
The Bills freed up approximately $5.5 million in cap space by releasing Williams, who had two years left on a contract extension he signed last offseason. He played at right tackle and right guard, starting all 17 games last season and 33 overall in two years with Buffalo.
JETS: The New York Jets re-signed All-Pro kick returner Braxton Berrios to a two-year, $12 million deal, keeping the versatile wide receiver after a breakout season.
The Jets also agreed to terms with former 49ers guard Laken Tomlinson on a three-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
EAGLES: Haason Reddick is going home to boost the Philadelphia Eagles’ pass rush.
A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that Reddick and the Eagles have agreed to terms on a $45 million, three-year contract that includes $30 million guaranteed with a maximum value of $49.5 million.
Reddick, who played at Temple and grew up in Camden, New Jersey, had 11 sacks for Carolina last year.
SEAHAWKS: The Seattle Seahawks retained one of their most important free agents, agreeing to terms with free safety Quandre Diggs on a new contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
Diggs was one of a few moves by Seattle with its own pool of free agents. The agency for veteran defensive tackle Al Woods tweeted that he would be returning to the Seahawks. Woods was a standout on Seattle’s defensive line last season and could play in several different spots on the defensive front with the Seahawks expected to shift to more of a 3-4 scheme.
LIONS: The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with starting safety Tracy Walker and backup quarterback Tim Boyle, according to a person familiar with the situation.
VIKINGS: The Minnesota Vikings have tendered a contract offer to restricted free-agent kicker Greg Joseph, taking a step toward establishing some stability at a problematic position for the team.
Joseph received the right-of-first-refusal tender on Monday. That’s a one-year, $2.433 million deal that gives the Vikings the chance to match any offer sheet he were to sign with another club. There is no draft-pick compensation tied to this move, the lowest of the four tender levels the NFL allocates for restricted free agents.
BENGALS: The Cincinnati Bengals went right to free agency for their biggest area of need, agreeing to contracts with a pair of offensive linemen.
People with knowledge of the deals confirmed to The Associated Press that the Bengals reached agreements with Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa and offensive lineman Ted Karras, formerly of the New England Patriots.
JAGUARS: The Jaguars made a huge splash by agreeing to sign five starters, including Arizona slot receiver Christian Kirk, Washington guard Brandon Scherff and New York Giants tight end Evan Engram. They also agreed to add Atlanta linebacker Foyesade Oluokun and New York Jets defensive tackle Folorunso “Foley” Fatukasi.
The five big-time additions are expected to fill huge holes for Jacksonville, which has lost 35 of its last 41 games and is in rebuilding mode again.
BEARS: The Chicago Bears released nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
Slowed by knee and ankle injuries as well as a stint on the COVID-19 list last season, Goldman set career lows with a half-sack and one tackle for loss. He sat out the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns and never regained the form he showed in 2019, when he was a Pro Bowl alternate.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.