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Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman visited the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday and quickly agreed to contract terms with the team, multiple outlets reported. The deal, which can't be made official until Wednesday, is for three years and worth $39.15 million with a $5 million signing bonus, according to NFL Network.
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The agreement comes one day after Sherman officially was released by the Seattle Seahawks with a failed physical designation. He reportedly had dinner with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday night, per The Athletic.
Sherman, who will turn 30 on March 30, is coming off a season-ending Achilles tear, as well as a surgical procedure on his other Achilles.
"I want to go to a contender," Sherman told KIRO-AM in Seattle on Friday. "I play at a high level. I've always been a guy that can work well with others and continue to elevate if my teammates elevate and elevate others.
"... Would I go to a young secondary that is like we were when we were younger and help them grow and help them advance? Sure, if the number looks right and the situation is comfortable for me and my family."
--The New England Patriots will acquire former first-round defensive tackle Danny Shelton from the Cleveland Browns, multiple outlets reported.
ESPN reported that the Patriots also are acquiring the Browns' fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and will send their 2019 third-round selection to Cleveland.
The trade is the fourth by the Browns since Friday. The trades can't officially be announced until Wednesday, when the 2018 league year begins.
Shelton, 24, has recorded 71 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 46 career games since being selected by Cleveland with the 12th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. He had 34 tackles in 14 contests last season. The 6-foot-2, 335-pound Shelton is slated to earn a base salary of $2.03 million in 2018.
--Defensive tackle Justin Ellis agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the Oakland Raiders, multiple outlets reported.
The deal also includes more than $6 million in guaranteed money for Ellis, who was slated to become an unrestricted free agent next week.
Ellis has started 41 of the 60 games he has played since being selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
The 27-year-old Ellis, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 335 pounds, recorded 48 tackles and a half-sack in a career high-tying 14 games last season. He has 112 tackles and a half-sack during his career.
--The Denver Broncos tendered exclusive rights free agent Shelby Harris, Mike Klis of Denver's 9News reported.
Per the report, the defensive end will receive $705,000. The team informed its other exclusive rights free agents that they would receive tenders early next week, according to Klis.
Harris recorded 34 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 16 games last season. He started just six of the 16 contests, however.
--Atlanta Falcons cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson signed a one-year contract extension, the team announced.
Financial terms were not announced for Wreh-Wilson, who was slated to hit free agency on Wednesday when the new league year officially begins.
Wreh-Wilson also signed a one-year deal prior to the 2017 season. The 28-year-old Wreh-Wilson recorded four tackles in eight games last season with the Falcons.
--Former New York Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson's free-agent tour is expected to head to Washington following this weekend's stop in Kansas City.
Wilkerson, who already has made visits to the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints this week, is huddled with the Chiefs on Saturday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
Should Wilkerson not reach an agreement with Kansas City, he will next visit the Washington Redskins -- with more suitors reportedly lining up.
The Jets officially released Wilkerson on Monday, a week after they notified the former Pro Bowl linemen that they planned to sever ties with him.
--The New York Giants want to substantially reduce cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie's salary, the NFL Network reported.
Cromartie is scheduled to make $6.5 million for the 2018 season, a number the Giants deem too high for a player whose playing time diminished dramatically last season.
Mike Garafolo reported that the sides are "far apart" on an agreement, which could lead to the release of the 31-year-old Rodgers-Cromartie in a cost-savings move.
--The New York Giants released punter Brad Wing, the team announced.
The move clears up $1.025 million in salary cap space for the Giants. Wing had two seasons remaining on his four-year deal when he was released.
Wing recorded a net average of just 36.7 yards per punt last year, worst in the NFL. His gross average of 44.1 yards was tied for 24th in the league.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a career season in 2016 with a franchise-best 40.9-yard net average, surpassing Jeff Feagles' 40.2-yard mark.
--The Detroit Lions re-signed defensive end Kerry Hyder and long snapper Don Muhlbach, the team announced.
Hyder saw his 2017 season come to an end before it began, as he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. He was slated to become an exclusive rights free agent.
The 26-year-old Hyder collected 36 tackles, a team-best eight sacks, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup in 16 games in 2016.
Muhlbach returns to Detroit on a one-year deal while entering his 15th NFL season, all with the Lions. By playing in all 16 games in 2017, Muhlbach moved his career games total to 212 to rank third on the Lions' all-time list.
--The Los Angeles Rams signed two-time Pro Bowl long snapper Jake McQuaide to a three-year deal, the team announced.
Financial terms were not disclosed for McQuaide, who was set to be an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year next week.
McQuaide was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2017.
--Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is the latest NFL player to take to social media in a bid to recruit quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The 26-year-old Johnson tweeted the following to Cousins: "c'mon ... stop messing with every1 & tell them you're coming to the desert."
Johnson joins Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, running back C.J. Anderson and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to make their pleas to the soon-to-be free-agent quarterback. Cousins referred to Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald as "a great recruiter" after the two had an impromptu meeting at an Atlanta airport last week.
The Cardinals, Broncos, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings are reportedly in the mix for Cousins, who has played two seasons for the Washington Redskins on a franchise tag.
--Running back Chris Johnson has expressed interest in a potential reunion with the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson took to social media to convey his desire for a return to Music City. The Titans likely are in need of a change-of-pace back after informing DeMarco Murray that he will be released. The team is preparing to hand the lead role in 2018 to former Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry.
"I don't think back to Titans would be a bad idea. Lol we will see if we can make it a reunion," Johnson tweeted, via The Tennessean.
Johnson, who turns 33 in September, rushed for 114 yards on 45 carries in four games last season with the Arizona Cardinals. He was released in October after the Cardinals traded for fellow running back Adrian Peterson.
--Sean McDonough, the most recent voice of ESPN's "Monday Night Football," signed a multi-year contract to return to broadcasting college football, the network announced.
McDonough will be replaced by Joe Tessitore, according to reports but not confirmed by ESPN.
McDonough worked alongside Jon Gruden, who left at the end of the regular season to become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
According to ESPN's announcement, McDonough will call high-profile national games each week, a College Football Playoff semifinal and the CFP championship game on ESPN radio. He will also work college basketball games and The Masters Par 3 contest.
