NFL Player News

Washington re-signed with the Saints on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Washington appeared in all 16 of the Saints' regular-season contests in 2019, playing a core role on special teams while contributing as a depth option out of the backfield. Across that span, he carried the ball eight times for 60 yards and caught his only target for six yards. He stands to play a similar role behind Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray in 2020.

Breida signed his restricted free agent tender Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

For his career, Breida has averaged 5.0 yards per carry and reeled in 75.3 percent of his 89 targets. While production isn't a question mark, opportunity is a problem, given he's in a backfield with Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon and even Jeff Wilson. Breida's name has been mentioned in the trade front so far this offseason, but for the time being he remains an employee of the 49ers.

General manager Steve Keim said Wednesday that the Cardinals want to sign Drake to a long-term contract.

Drake signed a one-year transition tender for $8.4 million in late March, creating a July 15 deadline for any negotiations on a longer contract. The Cardinals also are talking with DeAndre Hopkins' agent about a new deal, but Keim suggested the team is mostly focused on the upcoming draft and thus more likely to finalize extensions after the draft concludes April 25. The 26-year-old Drake is primed to head the Arizona backfield in 2020, with only Chase Edmonds and D.J. Foster behind him on the current depth chart. The Cardinals could be in the market for a running back in the middle or late rounds of the draft.

The Bengals and Mixon haven't yet agreed on a contract extension, and while there haven't been any reports of acrimony between the two sides, a holdout remains a possibility, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Mixon is set to become a free agent after this season, though the Bengals have the recourse of a franchise tag available to retain him through 2021. Christian McCaffrey's recent new contract will be mentioned as part of the conversation in any extension discussions, though the Bengals are hardly known for their willingness to throw big money at a player. Mixon's status becomes more pressing now with the draft just around the corner.

McCaffrey agreed to terms Monday with the Panthers on a four-year, $64 million contract extension, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

McCaffrey's $16 million annual salary makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, a deserved reward after he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in 2019 while tying for the league lead in touchdowns (19) and finishing second in receptions (116). He still has two more years left on his rookie deal, so the extension will keep him on Carolina's books through the 2025 campaign, his age-29 season.

Both GM Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians remain high on Jones' upside, although that won't preclude them from focusing on the running back position in the upcoming draft, Carmen Vitali of the team's official site reports.

Licht was effusive in his praise of Jones during a Thursday conference call with reporters, noting the team thinks the third-year back "hasn't even scratched the surface of what he can be." That type of sentiment would have been virtually inconceivable with respect to Jones at this time last year, as the USC product was coming off an utterly forgettable rookie season in which he rushed for just 44 yards at a minuscule 1.9 yards per carry. However, Jones made significant strides in 2019, generating a 172-724-6 line on the ground that he complemented with 31 receptions. His work through the air supports the notion Jones is on the path to becoming a legitimate every-down back, but Licht notes the team will enter this year's draft still looking to fortify the position. "We have a lot of faith in Ronald, and in fact, we have more faith in him now that we ever have," Licht said. "But that's another position, as you can tell [when] you look across the league, some of the better teams they have one, two or three guys, sometimes four, that they can rely on in different roles in their offense."

In his second season as a pro, Harris could pair well with lead back Sony Michel to give the Patriots "a potentially nice one-two combination" out of the team's backfield on early downs, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Pass-catching ace James White is still around and will continue to see his share of targets, but Harris will undoubtedly see more opportunities in 2020 after logging just four carries in two games as a rookie. Versatile Rex Burkhead is also in the mix, at least for now, but after taking Harris in the third round of last year's draft, expect the Patriots to see what they have in the 5-foot-11, 213-pound Alabama product. For now, Harris is probably an injury (to a teammate) away from garnering steady volume, but he profiled as a physical downhill runner with a good handle on avoiding turnovers and a willingness to handle blitz pick-up when he came out of college.

Hines should get more opportunities on offense this upcoming season, potentially benefiting from playing with Philip Rivers, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

Hines operated in a traditional runner/receiver timeshare with Marlon Mack last season, seeing 52 carries and 58 targets while playing 31.5 percent of offensive snaps in 16 games. Those numbers were all down from the 85 carries, 81 targets and 43.9 percent snap share he handled during his 16-game rookie campaign in 2018. The Colts were fifth in run-play rate (46.4 percent) with Jacoby Brissett replacing Andrew Luck under center, but the offense should open up for more passing under Rivers, who has a long history of peppering his running backs with targets. As evidence, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Mike Tolbert, Danny Woodhead, Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler each had at least one season with 75-plus targets playing alongside Rivers in the Chargers backfield. Given Mack's limited pass-catching usage to this point in his career, Hines stands a reasonable chance to crack that 75-target mark, though he probably won't reach peak Woodhead/Ekeler territory in triple digits.

Breida is a candidate to be traded this offseason, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Breida has produced 4.4, 5.3 and 5.1 yards per carry in three years with the 49ers, but he fell behind Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman in the backfield pecking order during last season's NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. The Niners then used a second-round restricted free agent tender to retain Breida, keeping him under contract for $3.26 million in 2020. It's a reasonable salary for a player with his track record of production, but it's a lot to pay for a No. 3 running back, especially if the Niners truly expect Jerick McKinnon (knee) to return from back-to-back missed seasons and battle for a role. Even Jeff Wilson at the bottom of the depth chart has noteworthy NFL experience, so the Niners likely will listen closely if another team is interested in trading for Breida. Another option would involve trading Coleman, who is entering the second season of a two-year, $8.5 million contract.

Henry signed his franchise-tag tender Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Henry's decision to sign the tender hints at confidence in working out a multi-year contract before the July 15 deadline, though Titans general manager Jon Robinson suggested Wednesday that the two parties will wait until summer to hammer out details. Any concern about a holdout can probably be put to rest, as there's no advantage to signing the tender if Henry would consider missing games in the absence of a long-term deal. Players that opted for the holdout route in past seasons declined to sign their franchise tenders, thus avoiding any fines for missing practices and other team activities.