The Philadelphia Eagles' top-ranked defense is getting a major makeover a month after ending Patrick Mahomes' bid to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a third consecutive Super Bowl title.
A day after defensive tackle Milton Williams and edge rusher Josh Sweat accepted offers to leave Philly via free agency, the Super Bowl champs agreed to send safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green and a swap of late-round draft picks, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Like free-agent contracts, trades will become official with the start of the new league year on Wednesday.
Green, who was the 15th overall pick in the 2022 draft, started 23 games for Houston over two seasons. He didn’t play in 2023 because of a shoulder injury.
The Texans also agreed to trade left tackle Laremy Tunsil to Washington on Monday. They have big holes up front on an offensive line that struggled to protect C.J. Stroud last season.
On Monday, when the league's legal tampering window opened, Williams agreed to a deal with New England worth $26 million annually and Sweat agreed with the Arizona Cardinals on a four-year, $76.4 million contract.
The terms of the deals are all according to people familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because teams generally don’t announce contract terms and the deals can’t be signed until Wednesday.
The Buffalo Bills also moved to upgrade their defense, bringing in pass rusher Joey Bosa on a one-year, $12.6 million deal to replace the departing Von Miller.
The Minnesota Vikings continued an aggressive reconstruction of their interior lines by agreeing to terms on contracts with former Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (three years, $60 million) and former Indianapolis guard Will Fries (five years, $88 million), who followed center Ryan Kelly from the Colts to the Vikings.
Allen missed half of last season after tearing a pectoral muscle, but he returned for the final four games, including the playoffs as the Commanders reached the NFC championship game.
Because Allen was released last week for salary cap savings before the expiration of his previous contract, the Vikings were allowed to host the two-time Pro Bowl pick on a visit to team headquarters and announce the deal ahead of the signing period.
With the addition of Fries and Kelly, the Vikings have taken two big steps toward smoothing out the expected debut of quarterback J.J. McCarthy — after his rookie season was waylaid by a knee injury and Sam Darnold departed for Seattle.
Fries will bring instant chemistry with Kelly, a four-time Pro Bowl pick over nine seasons with the Colts whose arrival might well mean the end of Garrett Bradbury’s six-year tenure as Minnesota’s starting center.
The Vikings have had one of the best tackle tandems in the league with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill, but interior pass protection has hurt them often. That was never more apparent than in their wild-card round loss to the Rams two months ago, when Darnold was sacked nine times.
The biggest roster reshaping is going on in San Francisco, which released edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who quickly agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with the Falcons.
The Niners have lost several starters from last season's team through free agency, trades and releases. General manager John Lynch said last month at the scouting combine that the 49ers would need to get younger and cheaper after going 6-11 in an injury-plagued 2024 season.
The Seattle Seahawks locked up a key player on defense, signing linebacker Ernest Jones IV to a three-year contract worth a reported $28.5 million. Jones was set to become a free agent Wednesday.
Jones found a long-term home after making two big moves last season. He was traded from the Rams to Tennessee just before the start of the season and then dealt again to Seattle in October for a fourth-round pick and linebacker Jerome Baker.
Jones played a big part in Seattle's defensive turnaround last season under first-year coach Mike Macdonald. He took over as middle linebacker as soon as he arrived and had 94 tackles, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and an interception in 10 games.
The Saints are bringing former Chiefs cornerback and Louisiana native Justin Reid (three years, $31.5 million) back to his home state and they also re-signed tight end Juwan Johnson to a three-year deal his agent, AJ Vaynerchuk, confirmed was worth up to $34.5 million.
The Chiefs also are losing veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract with the Ravens.
Challenging Anthony Richardson for the starting quarterback job in Indianapolis this offseason will be Daniel Jones, who agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard projected this sort of move was in the works when he told reporters at the NFL’s annual scouting combine Indy would have an “open” competition for the job.
Jones, the No. 6 overall pick in 2019 by the Giants who went 24-44-1 in New York with one playoff victory, will get a chance to prove he can still be a starter. He finished last season as a backup for the Vikings after the Giants released him.
Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft but has struggled with both injuries and accuracy in his first two NFL seasons, going 8-7 as a starter. Last season, he had the lowest completion rate, 47.7%, of any starting NFL QB.
— The Commanders agreed to sign S Will Harris to a two-year contract. Harris leaves New Orleans after one season to become the replacement for Jeremy Chinn in Washington.
— The 49ers added some depth at safety a day after losing Talanoa Hufanga to Denver. San Francisco agreed to a one-year deal with former Atlanta second-round pick Richie Grant. The Niners also agreed to a one-year deal with former Tennessee special teams standout Luke Gifford, who tied for the NFL lead with 10 tackles on special teams last season, according to Sportradar.
— The Cowboys retained free agent DT Osa Odighizuwa (four years, $80 million) and shored up their thin interior defensive line by adding former Jets DT Solomon Thomas (two years, $8 million).
— The Dolphins agreed to sign WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a two-year deal. He set a career high by scoring nine touchdowns last season for the Titans.
— The Falcons' first free agent addition is LB Divine Deablo (two years), who had 63 tackles in 14 games with the Raiders last season and 106 in 15 games in 2023.
— The Chiefs agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with former Titans and Chargers CB Kristian Fulton.
— Carolina released veteran RB Miles Sanders and agreed to terms with P Sam Martin on a 1-year deal.
— The Broncos announced they're bringing back long snapper Mitchell Fraboni on a three-year contract. The deal is worth $4.175 million.
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AP Pro Football Writers Rob Maaddi, Dave Campbell and Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.
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