Free Agent signings

[Boris13c]

Saints sign Nick Easton to replace Max Unger

The New Orleans Saints quickly found a replacement for Max Unger.

The Saints inked ex-Minnesota Vikings guard/center Nick Easton to a four-year, $24 million contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

The Saints had an added sense of urgency to bring in Easton after Unger's surprise retirement over the weekend.

[wab]

QB Fitzpatrick agrees to Dolphins deal

The Miami Dolphins have agreed to terms with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on a two-year contract, a source told ESPN's Cameron Wolfe.

A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the $11 million contract contains incentives that could boost the deal to between $17 million and $20 million.

Fitzpatrick could fill the open starting quarterback role that was vacated when the Dolphins traded Ryan Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans on Friday.

Prior to Fitzpatrick's addition, the Dolphins had just two quarterbacks on their roster: Jake Rudock and Luke Falk. Neither has started an NFL game, and they have combined for five career passing attempts.

Fitzpatrick has to be the weirdest starting QB currently playing ... magical one week, comically inept the next

but, he seems to do enough to keep being employed

The Fins are in full tank mode, and Fitz will do just enough to keep them competitive and prevent it from being too painful.

[Boris13c]

Burfict joins Raiders, says AB pairing 'all positive'

The Oakland Raiders have signed Vontaze Burfict to a one-year contract, a day after the veteran linebacker was released by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The deal is worth up to $5 million, according to NFL Network.

With the Raiders, Burfict, 28, will reunite with defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, who held the same role with the Bengals from 2014 to 2017. He'll also join forces with wide receiver Antonio Brown, with whom he has a rocky history.

an interesting sidenote to the Burfict signing is this :

Mike Mayock called Vontaze Burfict “non-draftable” in 2012

Raiders G.M. Mike Mayock has signed a player he wouldn’t have drafted.

Seven years ago, Mayock — then the pre-eminent draft analyst — had low regard for then-Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

“I put his tape on with absolutely zero preconceived notions,” Mayock said in a conference call with the media in the days before the 2012 draft. “I watched three tapes and really didn’t like him as a football player. . . . I think he’s a non-draftable kid. For me, he’s a free agent.”

Mayock was right; no one drafted Burfict. But the Bengals signed him, and Burfict became a solid-but-troubled player, with multiple suspensions and massive fines for playing the game on the wrong side of the line.

Now, Mayock and Burfict will be on the same side of the field. Given that (as Mayock has acknowledged) coach Jon Gruden runs the show in Oakland, it’s fair to wonder whether the move came with Mayock’s blessing, or against his advice.

Regardless, Burfict is a Raider. And the Raiders are the no-brainer choice to be the subject of this year’s edition of Hard Knocks.

[wab]

Yeah, that's going to go great.

[Boris13c]

Vikings re-sign kicker Dan Bailey to one-year deal

The Vikings, in all likelihood, have their kicker for the 2019 season.

They agreed to terms with Dan Bailey on a one-year deal, the team announced Tuesday. The deal is for $1 million, a league source said.

Bailey, whom the team signed to a one-year, $2 million deal after cutting Daniel Carlson in Week 2, made 21 of 28 field goals last season and 30 of 31 extra points.

[Boris13c]

Jets sign Trevor Siemian to back up Sam Darnold, replacing 39-year-old Josh McCown

With Josh McCown unsure of whether he'll return for an 18th NFL season, the New York Jets landed a new backup for second-year quarterback Sam Darnold on Wednesday, signing former Minnesota Vikings No. 2 Trevor Siemian to a one-year deal.

As reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the contract is worth $2 million, but Siemian can earn up to $3 million with incentives.

A former Denver Broncos starter, the 27-year-old Siemian is more than a decade younger than the 39-year-old McCown, and he brings 24 games of first-string experience to New York's depth chart. Denver's full-time starter during the 2016 season, he spent three years with the Broncos before the Vikings acquired him via trade to serve as Kirk Cousins' backup. Siemian didn't take the field during the 2018 season during his first and only season in Minnesota.

His arrival is perhaps even more notable because of how it affects Darnold and McCown. The former, who flashed promise as the Jets' face of the franchise in 2018, missed three games as a rookie due to injury. McCown, meanwhile, was well received in New York during a two-year stint with the team, serving as both a mentor and stopgap starter, including with a 94.5 passer rating in 13 starts at age 38. The longtime backup said earlier this offseason that he had yet to decide whether he'd be back with the Jets.

[wab]

Jets sign Trevor Siemian to back up Sam Darnold, replacing 39-year-old Josh McCown

With Josh McCown unsure of whether he'll return for an 18th NFL season, the New York Jets landed a new backup for second-year quarterback Sam Darnold on Wednesday, signing former Minnesota Vikings No. 2 Trevor Siemian to a one-year deal.

As reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the contract is worth $2 million, but Siemian can earn up to $3 million with incentives.

A former Denver Broncos starter, the 27-year-old Siemian is more than a decade younger than the 39-year-old McCown, and he brings 24 games of first-string experience to New York's depth chart. Denver's full-time starter during the 2016 season, he spent three years with the Broncos before the Vikings acquired him via trade to serve as Kirk Cousins' backup. Siemian didn't take the field during the 2018 season during his first and only season in Minnesota.

His arrival is perhaps even more notable because of how it affects Darnold and McCown. The former, who flashed promise as the Jets' face of the franchise in 2018, missed three games as a rookie due to injury. McCown, meanwhile, was well received in New York during a two-year stint with the team, serving as both a mentor and stopgap starter, including with a 94.5 passer rating in 13 starts at age 38. The longtime backup said earlier this offseason that he had yet to decide whether he'd be back with the Jets.

I recall Gase being a Siemian fan and there being a rando blurb about the Bears trying to acquire him when Cutler and Hoyer got hurt a couple years back.