QB Dalton, Bears agree on one-year deal for $10M
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears agreed to a oneyear, $10 million contract with former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton, agent Jeffrey Nalley said Tuesday.
The three-time Pro Bowler could earn an additional $3 million in bonuses.
Dalton, a Katy and TCU product, signed with Dallas last May to back up Dak Prescott after getting released by Cincinnati. He wound up starting nine games, officially going 4-5, with Prescott suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. The Cowboys finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Dalton has thrown for 33,764 yards, 218 touchdowns and 126 interceptions. He set several Bengals passing records over nine seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2011, 2014 and 2016. But he never led Cincinnati past the first round of the playoffs.
Signing Dalton gives the Bears two veteran quarterbacks with Nick Foles also on the roster. And it almost certainly shuts the door on 2017 No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky re-signing.
Fitzpatrick heads to Washington
Washington is the next stop on the FitzMagic tour.
Veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has agreed to sign with Washington, according to a person with direct knowledge of the move. Multiple reports say the deal is for one year at $10 million with an additional $2 million in incentives.
Fitzpatrick — who has earned the “FitzMagic” nickname for his late-game heroics late into his 30s — gives Washington more experience at football’s most important position after it released AP Comeback Player of the Year Alex Smith.
Fitzpatrick is joining his ninth NFL team at age 38 after stints with the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Buccaneers and Dolphins. He started seven and played in nine games last season for Miami, throwing for 2,091 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Pats add Henry on 3-year deal
After signing one of the top tight ends Monday, the Patriots didn’t stop making big splashes in free agency Tuesday, nor did they stop adding tight ends.
According to ESPN, the Patriots are signing Hunter Henry to a three-year, $37.5 million deal with $25 million in guaranteed money. Henry, a former second-round pick who spent the first five years of his career with the Chargers, was considered one of the top tight end free agents on the market along with Jonnu Smith, the former Titan who the Patriots are signing to a four-year, $50 million deal with $31.25 million in guarantees.
QB Brissett lands with Dolphins
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett agreed Tuesday to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, where he’ll replace Ryan Fitzpatrick as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa.
Brissett, a five-year veteran and native of West Palm Beach, Fla., was the backup for the Indianapolis Colts last year. He went 7-8 as a starter with them in 2019 and was 4-11 as their starter in 2017.
Odds and ends
Denver exercised star linebacker Von Miller’s 2021 option, which engages the final season of the six-year, $114.5 million contract and guarantees him $7 million of his $17.5 million base salary. … Cincinnati grabbed one of the top pass-rush threats available in free agency, Trey Hendrickson. The former Saints defensive end gets $60 million over four years, with $32 million paid in the first two seasons, according to a person familiar with the contract. … Jacksonville added an immediate starter in Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin for a threeyear deal worth up to $44.5 million, $29 million guaranteed.