NFL Player News

The Patriots have offered Bourne (knee) a new contract, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.

The Patriots hope to re-sign Bourne before March 11, when the impending free agent can begin negotiating with other teams. The wide receiver suffered an ACL tear in Week 8 of 2023, ending what was on track to be a career year with personal bests of 4.6 catches and 50.8 receiving yards per game. Bourne said at the Super Bowl that he's ahead of schedule in his rehab and would like to re-sign with New England, though he also said part of his motivation for attending the big game in Las Vegas was to "get [his] name out there" for potential suitors in free agency. He mostly served as a No. 3 receiver before 2023 -- in San Francisco and then New England -- and that might be how a lot of teams view him as he rehabs from the severe knee injury in preparation for his age-29 season in 2024.

Evans and the Buccaneers reached agreement Monday morning on a two-year, $52 million contract that includes $35 million guaranteed, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Reports a few days earlier suggested Evans would hit free agency, but he ended up re-signing with the Buccaneers instead and will continue playing for the team that drafted him seventh overall in 2014. He'll turn 31 in August, having topped 1,000 yards in a record-setting 10 straight seasons to open his career, including 2023 when he had his most catches (79), yards (1,255) and targets (136) since 2018 while tying for the league lead in receiving touchdowns (13). The Buccaneers can now focus on re-signing their other prominent free agents, including QB Baker Mayfield, S Antoine Winfield and LB Lavonte David.

Evans plans to hit free agency for the first time in his career, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

While Evans and the Buccaneers remain in contract discussions, the veteran pass catcher wants to explore his options. Thus, it does not mean his time in Tampa Bay is over, but rather, that he plans on hearing from all teams before making a decision. The 30-year-old has been with the team for all 10 years of his NFL seasons and is coming off a campaign where he recorded 1,255 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

Virgil is fully recovered from surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered in the Broncos' second preseason game last year and which forced him to miss the 2023 campaign, Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette reports.

Virgil had to spend the entirety of last season on IR after a 2022 rookie campaign that saw him appear in nine games and record two catches on five targets for 75 yards, while also seeing work in the return game on special teams. According to Tomasson, the 25-year-old is eagerly awaiting spring drills in April, where he'll work to start carving out a regular role for himself in Denver.

Coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta both suggested this week that they'd like Beckham to re-sign with the Ravens, Clifton Brown and Ryan Mink of the team's official website report. "[Beckham]'s become a great friend of mine and a friend to the Ravens," DeCosta said Tuesday. "I think we'll just kind of assess and see what happens over the next couple of weeks."

Beckham presumably would have to accept a major pay cut after signing a one-year, $15 million contract last offseason. He made some big plays but was never a full-time player after the first few games, ultimately finishing with 35 catches for 565 yards and three TDs in the regular season. Harbaugh has already mentioned viewing Rashod Bateman as a starter for 2024, in which Beckham would be coming back as the third/fourth wide receiver. The team recently re-signed Nelson Agholor, ensuring they'll have a veteran presence behind Bateman and Zay Flowers even if Beckham ends up signing elsewhere.

The Buccaneers appear committed to re-signing Evans before the start of free agency, even if there is a financial strain on the team's cap situation, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. "He's an unprecedented player. We want him to be a Buc for life. We're working towards that," general manager Jason Licht said Tuesday.

Licht admitted the team would probably have to "strain a little bit" to reach a deal that's palatable for Evans, who is coming off his 10th consecutive 1,000-yard season. Evans also recorded 13 touchdowns in 2023 -- tying for the league lead.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Wednesday that Pittman will be on the team's roster for the upcoming season, whether via contract extension or the franchise tag, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Pittman is approaching free agency for the first time in his NFL career, but the Colts aren't planning on giving him a chance to explore the open market. Indianapolis has until March 5 to decide whether to place the franchise tag on Pittman, which would result in him taking home a salary of approximately $21.8 million for 2024. However, the team seemingly prefers to work out a longer-term extension with Pittman, provided the two sides can come to an agreement. The Colts haven't used the franchise tag since 2013, and Pittman himself has said he would prefer a multi-year contract, per Stephen Holder of ESPN.com.

General manager Chris Grier said Wednesday that the Dolphins have "no thoughts of trading [Waddle]," Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Grier dismissed recent rumors of Waddle being a trade candidate, saying "he'll be around here for a long time." Teammate Tyreek Hill recently weighed in on social media to dispel talk about such a trade, as did Waddle himself, so it's unsurprising to see the Dolphins' brass take a similar stance. The third-year pro recently became the first wideout in Miami's history to record three straight 1,000-yard seasons, posting a 72-1,014-4 receiving line across 14 regular-season games in 2023. Waddle has one more year on his rookie deal, plus a potential fifth-year option, giving the Dolphins plenty of time to negotiate a long-term contract.

Smith said in a Feb. 8 interview that he isn't too worried about a contact extension, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "It's all in God's hands," Smith said. "At the end of the day, extension or not, I'm going to have to come in and do what I have to do."

While eligible for a contract extension following his third NFL season, Smith is almost certain to end up under team control through 2025 via the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. The Eagles will need to officially pick up Smith's fifth-year option by May 2. In Smith's case, he'll be earning a fully guaranteed $15.59 million for the 2025 season, which is well below what he would receive on the open market. A holdout would be more likely in 2025 than 2024, though it isn't entirely impossible that he sits out training camp this summer if he's frustrated with his initial extension talks with the Eagles.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reiterated Tuesday that he expects Bateman to "take a big step" forward in 2024.

According to Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site, Harbaugh made similar comments earlier this month, noting that the 2021 first-round pick will be a starter in 2024 and is expected to take on more snaps. On the other hand, the Ravens have already re-signed wideout Nelson Agholor, and Harbaugh said he's also hoping to keep soon-to-be free agent Odell Beckham around. Neither Agholor nor Beckham would automatically block Bateman from a starting job, but both could be threats to his quantity of snaps and routes, just as they were in 2023. Bateman seemed to get open more often as the 2023 season unfolded, perhaps regaining some explosiveness with time after undergoing season-ending Lisfranc surgery the year prior. A breakout of sorts is certainly possible, but it probably wouldn't translate to much production in fantasy terms, given that the Ravens routinely rank near the bottom of the league in pass attempts and have wideout Zay Flowers and tight end Mark Andrews to account for a large chunk of the targets.