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NFL

Source: Jets to sign top free-agent CB Johnson

The New York Jets have landed arguably the top cornerback on the free-agent market, with a league source telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter the team is expected to sign former Los Angeles Rams “franchise” player Trumaine Johnson.

The contract terms weren’t immediately available. Johnson intends to sign his deal after 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the league year begins, according to the source.

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The addition of Johnson was an important one for the Jets, whose system is predicated on man-to-man coverage by the corners. Before landing Johnson, they had only one starting-caliber corner under contract, Buster Skrine, who is best suited to the No. 3 role.

The Jets also have been in talks with Morris Claiborne, who started 15 games last season. There’s still a chance they could re-sign Claiborne, which would fortify a secondary that allowed 30 touchdown passes last season.

Johnson posted a farewell to the Rams on his Instagram account Monday. He will be reunited with secondary coach Dennard Wilson, who was his position coach with the Rams through 2016.

Johnson, 28, spent the past two years as the Rams’ primary cornerback and played under the franchise tag in both those seasons, his salary jumping to $16.74 million in 2017. He was arguably the best corner available on the free-agent market this offseason, mainly because of his size, his ability to match up with elite receivers and his track record for staying healthy.

Among 86 cornerbacks with at least 325 coverage snaps, Pro Football Focus had Johnson ranked 35th in opponents’ completion percentage (57.3) and 36th in opponents’ passer rating (79.8) when targeted. He allowed 1.33 yards per coverage snap, which put him within the bottom 20 percent of qualified cornerbacks.

But Johnson also spent a lot of time shadowing the likes of Pierre Garcon, Dez Bryant, Marqise Lee, Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Thomas and Alshon Jeffery in 2017. Those seven combined to catch only 57.7 percent of their targets when Johnson was responsible for covering them, nearly 8 percentage points below the NFL average, according to numbers compiled by ESPN.

A third-round pick out of Montana in 2012, Johnson has 18 interceptions and 42 pass breakups over the past six seasons, playing in 85 of a potential 96 regular-season games. During that time, he has proved capable of playing on both sides of the field.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

NFL

Longtime Saints RT Strief calls it a career

METAIRIE, La. — Zach Strief operated in the shadows for most of his 12-year career with the New Orleans Saints. But the 34-year-old right tackle got the grand send-off he deserved when he officially announced his retirement Monday at the team’s practice facility.

Past and present teammates including Drew Brees, Steve Gleason, Deuce McAllister, Mark Ingram and Cameron Jordan were in attendance, as well as team owner Gayle Benson, general manager Mickey Loomis, coach Sean Payton, and Strief’s parents, wife and newborn son.

“My career here has exceeded my wildest imagination. I didn’t think this was going to last through my first August, never mind 12 years,” said Strief, who was drafted in the seventh round out of Northwestern in 2006 and became a full-time starter five years later — finishing with 98 career starts, including the playoffs.

Zach Strief said his 12-year career with the Saints was beyond his “wildest imagination.” Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire

Strief lasted less than five minutes into his opening statement before he started choking up while talking about longtime strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple. Then the tears picked up as he directly addressed Payton, Loomis and Brees.

“You took a chance on me when no one else would. Your faith in me has changed my life forever. … Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Strief said to Payton.

He called Brees “the single greatest motivation for me as a player” while talking about his tireless work ethic.

“My greatest drive as a player was not to let you down,” Strief told Brees. “Being a small part of your Hall of Fame career has been my greatest honor as a player.”

Brees also praised Strief in an Instagram post:

Strief’s retirement wasn’t a surprise, since he tore his ACL and MCL last year. He has also repeatedly expressed his confidence (and relief) that first-round draft pick Ryan Ramczyk is ready to take over his job.

“I knew if I was at home watching TV and Drew was getting hit and I felt like I could’ve helped, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself,” Strief said. “It’s much easier knowing that there’s someone there that’s going to play at a high level for him. So this is all Ryan Ramczyk’s fault.”

Strief retires with one year and $4 million in salary and bonuses left on his contract.

He also spent time Monday praising former Saints right tackle Jon Stinchcomb for being a mentor and former Northwestern coach Randy Walker, who recommended Strief to Payton in 2006 just two months before Walker’s unexpected death.

Strief wasn’t on the Saints’ draft board until Walker insisted that he would be a 10-year player in the NFL. Strief has talked before about how much it meant to him to prove his coach right.

“It would be easy to say he ‘overachieved’ in his career. But I would say with his strength, his size, his experience and all of those things, he became one of the best right tackles in our game over the past five years. And consistent. You knew what you were getting,” said Payton, who credited Strief for perfecting his craft and endearing himself to his teammates among many other positive traits. “He became an expert at that position.”

Strief, who was always a media darling in New Orleans, also injected plenty of humor into the 45-minute event, including self-deprecating comments about his unimpressive vertical and 40-yard dash times, plugs for the new brewery he co-owns, and lumping in his failed opportunity at a touchdown pass with his other most lasting memories.

Strief said he felt “indebted” to Payton and Loomis for giving him the opportunity. He added that he never seriously considered leaving for any other teams when he had the chance — even before he married a New Orleans native.

Strief arrived in New Orleans months after Hurricane Katrina and got to be part of the rebirth of both the city and the team, which won its first Super Bowl in the 2009 season.

“What’s been special is I’ve gotten to be a part of not only this organization kind of growing to where it is today, but also this city,” Strief said. “So it’s very hard not to become attached to that.”

NFL

2018 NFL free-agent signings — and analysis — for every team

The NFL officially starts the new league year on Wednesday. Free agents such as Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Graham and Case Keenum will all be on the open market.

Here’s a rundown of what’s happened, sorted by team.

The Bills have signed running back Chris Ivory, who played the past two years for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and cornerback Vontae Davis. Read more.

The Panthers re-signed place-kicker Graham Gano, who has been with the team since 2012, to a four-year, $17 million deal. Read more.

The Bengals signed defensive tackle Chris Baker, who played last season for the Buccaneers. There’s a reason the Buccaneers were quick to cut ties with Baker one season into a three-year, $15.75 million deal. He comes with baggage. Read more.

The Rams signed cornerback Sam Shields, a former Green Bay Packer who spent most of the past two years away from the NFL because of concussions. Read more.

The Saints got a jump start on free agency, agreeing to a three-year contract with veteran safety Kurt Coleman. They also re-signed veteran defensive end George Johnson to a one-year deal. Read more.

The 49ers agreed with cornerback Richard Sherman, who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, on a three-year deal worth up to $39.1 million deal Saturday. Read more.

They re-signed veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent last season as the Bucs’ backup to Jameis Winston. Read more.

NFL

Seahawks to release Shead, keep word to CB
6:37 PM ET

  • Brady HendersonESPN

SEATTLE — The Seahawks plan to release DeShawn Shead in a procedural move but hope to re-sign the versatile defensive back and former starter.

The move, which is expected to happen on Monday, has nothing to do with the purge of veteran Seahawks defenders that has already claimed Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Jeremy Lane. Instead, the Seahawks are honoring the promise they made to Shead that he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Shead’s free-agent status had been in question after he spent all but two games of this past season on the physically unable to perform list while working his way back from a torn ACL. Per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, that would technically require Shead’s contract to toll, or to roll over to 2018 on the same terms.

The tolling rule applies to players who, in the final season of their contract, remain on PUP as of their team’s sixth regular-season game. As in Shead’s case, that includes players on one-year deals. A restricted free agent last offseason, Shead signed a one-year deal worth $1.2 million. So if his contract were to toll, he’d be signed for 2018 at the same amount.

Shead’s agent, Cameron Foster, told ESPN that the NFL recently informed the Seahawks that Shead’s contract was going to toll. But general manager John Schneider had already ensured Shead that he would be an unrestricted free agent.

“John Schneider called me saying they were going to release DeShawn on Monday because per the league rule, it’s the NFL’s position that DeShawn’s contract is to toll,” Foster said. “But it’s our position, the NFL Players’ Association’s position and the Seattle Seahawks’ position that it does not toll. John had already informed DeShawn that his contract was expiring after this year, and the Seattle Seahawks are just living up to their word.

“They called me and they said, ‘just giving you a heads up that we’re going to release DeShawn on Monday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want him. That means we are living up to our word and we’re going to release him, otherwise his contract would be required to toll.’ So kudos to the Seahawks for doing the right thing. It’s them living up to their word, letting DeShawn test the free-agent world, but they have said they’d like to have him come back.”

Once released, Shead would be eligible to sign anywhere without having to wait until the start of free agency on March 14. He already has a visit lined up with the Detroit Lions, according to Foster.

Shead, who turns 29 in June, started for a season and a half opposite Sherman at right cornerback before he tore his ACL in a playoff game in January of 2017. He has experience at all five positions in Seattle’s secondary since the team signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2012. That includes one start at strong safety in 2015 while Kam Chancellor was holding out.

With Chancellor’s football future in jeopardy because of a career-threatening neck injury, the Seahawks have approached Shead about possibly playing strong safety next season.

“He’s such a versatile player, he’s played both for us,” coach Pete Carroll said last week at the scouting combine. “We’ll see what happens. We know he can play corner and we like the way he plays at corner, but everything is open. I have not talked directly to him about that, but we have mentioned it to him.”

Cornerback has suddenly become a position of need for Seattle following Sherman’s release and that of Lane, which had been expected for some time. Byron Maxwell, who was brought back following Sherman’s season-ending Achilles injury, is also a free agent. Of the four cornerbacks the Seahawks have under contract for 2018, only one — 2017 rookie Shaquill Griffin — has started for Seattle.

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