Grant signs with Colts after miss with Ravens
Steelers pick up new safety; catch rule being redefined
Five days after his time with the Ravens ended before it started, wide receiver Ryan Grant has found a new home.
Grant, 27, has decided to sign a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, according to reports. NFL Network reported that the former member of the Washington Redskins will make $5 million as part of his new deal.
That’s a significant decrease from the four-year, $29 million deal, which included $14.5 million in guaranteed money, that he agreed to with the Ravens on the first day of free agency last week. The Ravens backed out of the deal after they said Grant failed his physical because of a pre-existing ankle injury. The Ravens’ decision has been highly criticized around the league.
Grant passed his physical with the Colts, though he certainly will be getting far less financial security.
As he signed Tuesday, another receiver hit the free-agent market, when Allen Hurns was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have undergone significant turnover at wide receiver this offseason.
The move saves the extremely active Jaguars $7 million of salary cap space and seemed inevitable after the team re-signed Marqise Lee last week and added Donte Moncrief from the Colts.
Hurns, 26, played in just 10 games with the Jaguars last year, catching 39 balls for 484 yards and two touchdown receptions. He had 16 total touchdown receptions in his first two NFL seasons in 2014 and 2015 and had 1,031 yards receiving in 2015, but his numbers dropped significantly the past two seasons and he’s struggled to stay healthy.
The Ravens are still looking to add targets for quarterback Joe Flacco, even after signing wide receivers Michael Crabtree and John Brown last week. Hurns would fit as a slot receiver for them. Steelers add safety: The Pittsburgh Steelers value versatility in their defensive backs. Morgan Burnett should fit right in.
The two-time defending AFC North champions signed the free-agent safety to a three-year deal on Tuesday, part of an overhaul in the secondary that began last week when the team cut ties with veterans Mike Mitchell, Robert Golden and William Gay.
The 29-year-old Burnett has played all eight seasons of his NFL career in Green Bay, collecting 683 tackles, 44 passes defensed, nine interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. He started 102 games for the Packers and won a Super Bowl ring in 2011, when Green Bay beat Pittsburgh.
“I’m coming in to do my job the best I can do, wherever I fit,” Burnett said. “To be accountable as a teammate and earn the respect of the coaches and get into a routine with the rest of the fellas.” Catch rule: The NFL is about to have a new catch rule. The league’s rulemaking competition committee is poised to change the controversial rule by eliminating two provisions that were particularly confounding over the years to players, coaches and fans, and by modifying the standard by which catchor-no-catch rulings are made on instant replay reviews.
“We worked backward,” said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations. “We looked at plays and said: Do you want that to be a catch? And then we applied that to the rule.”
Vincent said in a phone interview Tuesday that committee members plan to propose getting rid of portions of the rule related to a receiver going to the ground while making a catch and to slight movement of the football while it’s in the receiver’s hands. The committee Sunday-March 28: Annual league meeting, Orlando, Fla. April 2: Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2017 regular season may begin offseason workouts. April 16: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs. April 20: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets. April 26-28: NFL draft, Arlington, Texas. also intends to raise the bar by which an on-field ruling of a catch could be overturned via replay review, he said. Martin surrender: Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was charged Tuesday with threatening two former teammates who had harassed him in the NFL and with threatening his former prep school classmates, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.
Martin pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of making criminal threats and a misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded firearm, district attorney’s office spokesman Greg Risling said.
A post on Martin’s Instagram page last month showed a shotgun and referred by name to the private Harvard-Westlake prep school in Los Angeles that he once attended.
The post also included mentions of the Instagram usernames of former Miami Dolphins players Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey and said suicide and revenge were the only options for a victim of bullying. Jaguars cut tight end: Jacksonville unceremoniously dumped the longesttenured player on their roster Tuesday, and he wasn’t happy about it.
The Jaguars released veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis after 12 seasons to save $3.5 million in salary-cap space.
Lewis told The Associated Press he felt “disrespected” by the timing of the move. It came a week after free agency began.
“I wish they would have done it sooner,” he said. “I think I deserved a little better than this.”
The 33-year-old Lewis, a first-round draft pick in 2006, played in 170 games with Jacksonville. His 375 receptions and 4,502 yards receiving both rank third in team history. His 33 receiving touchdowns are second-most in franchise history, trailing only Jimmy Smith (67). Bills wide receiver arrested: Buffalo receiver Zay Jones has been arrested in Los Angeles following a naked, bloody argument with his brother, Vikings receiver Cayleb Jones.
A police spokesman says the player, whose legal name is Isaiah Avery Jones, was arrested Monday night after officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Los Angeles.
Officer Luis Garcia says Jones was breaking glass doors and windows when officers arrived and was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism. 49ers’ moves: San Francisco signed free agent guard Jonathan Cooper to a one-year deal.
The deal announced Tuesday provides another option for San Francisco on the interior of the offensive line.
Cooper was originally the seventh overall pick by Arizona in 2013. He was traded to New England in 2016 and also spent time with Cleveland and Dallas the past two seasons.
Cooper started 13 games at left guard for the Cowboys last season.