NFL Player News

Eskridge (ribs) signed a one-year, $1.055 million contract with the Seahawks on Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

The 2021 second-round pick has been a massive disappointment given the draft capital invested, but Eskridge has proven to be a decent returner, registering 370 kick return yards over the past two years. The third-year wide receiver has yet to play a full season and most recently missed time last campaign due to a ribs injury that kept him out the final six contests.

The Panthers chose to not tender Smith-Marsette on Friday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Smith-Marsette could be on the move this offseason after the Panthers decided not to tender him Friday. The 24-year-old wideout primarily served as the Panthers' top punt returner last season, recording 322 return yards (including a 79-yard touchdown). Despite Carolina not tendering the restricted free agent, the team would like to re-sign Smith-Marsette this offseason, according to Person.

Pittsburgh is releasing Robinson on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Robinson and veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson are both being cut by the Steelers, saving roughly $10 and $7 million against the cap for the team, respectively. Even though he started all 17 games last season and played a hefty 741 offensive snaps, Robinson concluded the 2023 campaign with just 34 catches for 280 yards on 49 targets, without a touchdown. Now heading into his age-31 campaign, the veteran wideout may be able to latch on as a No. 3 option elsewhere in the league if he agrees to an affordable salary, but his days of fantasy relevance may well be over.

Patrick (Achilles) and the Broncos have an agreement to alter his contract for 2024, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic reports.

The first two seasons of Patrick's three-year, $30 million contract were wiped out by severe injuries during training camp -- an ACL tear in 2022 and then a torn Achilles' tendon in 2023. He's now 30 years old and entering the final year of the extension, so he presumably would've been released if he hadn't agreed to lower his $9.5 million base salary for 2024. While never a high-volume pass catcher, Patrick had 742 yards and six TDs on 79 targets in 2020 (64.6 percent catch rate, 14.5 YPC, 9.4 YPT), followed by 734 yards and five TDs on 85 targets in 2021 (62.4 percent, 13.8 YPC, 8.6 YPT).

Bourne (knee) expects to be able to do some work in the spring and will be a full go for training camp, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Bourne is rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 8 of the 2023 season. He was on pace to shatter his personal bests in nearly every statistical category before his campaign was cut short. Bourne is set to become a free agent in the new league year, and he has stated that he would like to rejoin the Patriots and reportedly has an offer from the team.

Arizona offered Dortch a qualifying tender of $1.13 million for the 2024 season Thursday, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports.

Dortch, an exclusive rights free agent, has no choice but to sign the tender offered to him by the Cardinals if he wants to play in the NFL for the 2024 season. Across 16 appearances last season, Dortch mostly contributed as Arizona's top punt and kick returner, but he also contributed on offense upon Kyler Murray's midseason return from injury. In all, he secured 24 passes for 280 yards and two scores.

The Saints plan to release Thomas (knee) soon, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic reports.

The structure of Thomas' contract all but guarantees he'll be released before March 13 when the new league year starts. He turned 31 a few days ago and has been with the Saints since they took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but he's played just 20 games in four years since setting a league record with 149 receptions in 2019. Thomas averaged 117.5 catches for 1,378 yards and eight touchdowns over the first four seasons of his career, before an ankle injury Week 1 of 2020 started his run of misfortune. A knee injury cost him the final seven games of 2023, but there hasn't been any report of Thomas needing surgery.

The Bills released Harty on Wednesday.

After inking a two-year, $9.5 million deal with Buffalo last spring, Harty appeared in 16 regular-season games in 2023, recording 15 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown on 21 targets. He made a more meaningful impact as the team's punt returner, bringing back 26 punts for 323 yards and a touchdown. The Bills will save $4.3 million in cap space by cutting the 26-year-old wideout.

Thompkins re-signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal Tuesday.

Thompkins joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Utah and initially started the season on the team's practice squad. However, the 24-year-old wideout was signed to the active roster before Week 1 and played all 17 regular-season games plus both of Tampa Bay's postseason contests, splitting his time between offense and special teams.

Indianapolis have placed the franchise tag on Pittman ahead of Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

General manager Chris Ballard made clear earlier this offseason that Pittman wouldn't go anywhere, and the franchise tag positions him to play out the 2024 campaign on a fully guaranteed one-year, $21.87 million contract if no long-term alternative is agreed upon. The Colts and Pittman will have until mid-July to continue negotiating a multi-year extension, and the team may well be viewing the franchise tag as a bridge to continue talks. For 2024, at the very least, Pittman's presence will provide young franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson (shoulder) with some stability and a reliable No. 1 target in the receiving game, even if Indianapolis doesn't significantly upgrade its pass-catching corps. Pittman compiled a career-best 109-1,152-4 receiving line on 156 targets in 2023, and his fantasy prospects could improve for 2024 with the promise of flashier quarterback play for a full season.