NFL Player News

Winston (thumb) agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Saints on Tuesday.

The Saints and Winston have been finalizing the contract over the last few days, and the deal is now official with the passing of Monday's deadline for signings factoring into the 2021 compensatory pick formula. The departure of Teddy Bridgewater this offseason would appear to open up the backup job for Winston, but he instead likely will be in competition for the job with holdover Taysom Hill. Even with an injury to Drew Brees, Winston isn't guaranteed to immediately lead the offense as Bridgewater did last season. However, spending a year under the tutelage of Brees and Sean Payton should still prove beneficial after the 2015 first-overall pick led the NFL with 30 interceptions last year.

The Texans exercised Watson's fifth-year team option for 2021 on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Houston's decision to pick up the option was a foregone conclusion, given that Watson has already established himself as one of the league's top signal-callers through his first three seasons. The fifth-year option may just serve as a placeholder until the Texans are able to come to terms with Watson on a long-term deal that will likely make him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history.

Goff agreed Friday to restructure his contract with the Rams by converting approximately $8.8 million of his $10 million base salary into future bonuses, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

The restructuring is expected to save the Rams $7 million against the salary cap while having no impact on Goff's overall compensation, so it's a win-win move for both sides. The savings should come in handy for Los Angeles as it looks to potentially extend the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Cooper Kupp, who are both entering the final years of their rookie deals.

Cookus is in line to to sign with the Giants as an undrafted free agent, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Cookus was a four-year starter at FCS-level Northern Arizona, though he had two seasons cut short by injury. The 23-year-old completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 4,114 yards, 31 touchdowns and seven interceptions during his final season.

Winston (thumb) is in the process of finalizing a one-year contract with the Saints, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports.

Reports surfaced shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday that the Saints were interested in bringing Winston aboard, and the two sides were apparently able to quickly hammer out the parameters of a deal. As Mike Triplett of ESPN.com notes, the Saints may choose to wait until after 4 p.m. ET on Monday to make Winston's signing official, as New Orleans wouldn't lose out on a future compensatory draft choice after that deadline. Assuming the deal ultimately gets finalized, Robinson notes that Winston wouldn't be guaranteed the top backup quarterback job that was vacated when Teddy Bridgewater signed with Carolina in March; instead, Winston would be forced to battle with holdover Taysom Hill for the No. 2 role in a best-case scenario. Even though Winston's path to a starting gig in New Orleans would be blocked barring an injury to Drew Brees, the opportunity to spend a developmental year under offensive guru Sean Payton could help the 26-year-old cash in as a free agent next offseason in a manner similar to Bridgewater, who signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the Panthers.

Barkley will have a new teammate in the quarterback group after the Bills added Georgia's Jake Fromm in the fifth round of the draft this weekend.

Fromm comes with a higher pedigree than the usual fifth-rounder following a tremendous career at Georgia, and while he's seen as a smart guy and excellent reader of defenses, it may also be difficult for the youngster to even approach Barkley's familiarity with the Buffalo offense in what could be a shortened offseason due to COVID-19. More likely, Fromm will have to prove he's a better candidate than Davis Webb and hope the Bills keep three quarterbacks on the active roster instead of two. Still, Fromm is a promising enough guy that he adds a question mark to Barkley's long-term status with the team.

The Saints selected Stevens in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 240th overall.

Stevens (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) arrives from Mississippi State after transferring there from Penn State previously. Stevens is rough as a passer -- he completed only 121 of 202 career pass attempts for 1,469 yards (59.9 percent completion rate, 7.2 YPA), 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in his career, but he's a standout athlete who offers an uncommon rushing threat at quarterback. Stevens' selection could indicate an intention by Sean Payton to shift to a new scheme once Drew Brees is done as starter, a scheme where the quarterback runs frequently.

The Cowboys selected DiNucci in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 231st overall.

DiNucci started his career at Pittsburgh before being supplanted by Kenny Pickett. He transferred to James Madison in 2018 and had a successful run for the Dukes, leading them to the FCS Title Game as a senior. DiNucci completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,441 yards and 29 scores in 2019 and added 569 yards and seven scores on the ground. He'll likely be a camp arm who might make the practice squad in 2020, but current Dallas backup QB Cooper Rush is hardly locked into a roster spot if DiNucci impresses the coaching staff.

The Titans selected McDonald in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 224th overall.

The Hawaii quarterback will have a steep learning curve in the NFL, coming from a wide-open air-raid system in college. McDonald was nonetheless prolific in that system, throwing for 4,135 yards and 33 scores in 2019. He had some turnover issues, however, as his interceptions spiked from 10 in 2018 to 14 this past season. McDonald has pro-level tools with the necessary arm strength to make most of the throws at this level. He's also athletic, having run the fastest 40 among quarterbacks at this year's combine with a 4.58. His ability to improve his processing speed and ability to read defenses will tell the tale as to whether he'll stick in the NFL.

The Jaguars selected Luton in the 2020 NFL Draft, 189th overall.

Luton is a big-bodied quarterback at 6-foot-6 and 224 pounds with 10.38-inch hands. He improved year-over-year at Oregon State and vaulted himself into draftable status with a strong senior year in which he threw for 28 touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes. It's unlikely that he'll challenge Gardner Minshew in 2020, but Minshew himself was a sixth-rounder ticketed for backup duties just one year ago. Look for Luton's main battle to be with Joshua Dobbs for the No. 2 role.