Fantasy Football News | Page 5

Former Giants RB Saquon Barkley reached agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing.

Related Players: Matt Breida, Kenneth Gainwell,

Barkley switches sides of the NFC East battle and lands in one of the best spots possible. His pure upside won't be quite as monstrous in Philly, as he competes for touches with legitimate options and will take a back seat to a number of "tush-pushes" but he still finds himself in a great offense. He's locked in as an RB1.

Kirk Cousins, the top free-agent QB on the market, has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons, per sources. The Vikings pushed strongly for Cousins’s services, but in the end, the Falcons were going to go as far as they needed to make this happen.

Cousins provides an immediate upgrade to the entire Atlanta Falcons offense, spiking the value of Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. The quarterback should be his usual QB1/QB2 fringe fantasy option in his new home.

Regardless of who the Vikings end up with to replace him will be a downgrade, lowering the stock of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

The Packers are expected to sign Josh Jacobs.

Related Players: Aaron Jones, Zamir White

Jones had restructured his deal with Green Bay, so this will be a two-headed attack with Jones/Jacobs. Both options figure to canibalize each other, but it's a clear talent upgrade for the Packers backfield.

Zamir White is the RB1 in Las Vegas as it stands, with the team expected to target the position in the NFL Draft.

Gabe Davis agreed with the Jaguars to a 3 year deal for $39 million with incentives that could get him to $50 million.

Related Players: Christian Kirk, Evan Engram

Davis gives Trevor Lawrence a field-stretcher to compliment his underneath receivers. Davis himself will be a very inconsistent fantasy option, but Lawrence has plenty of touch to produce big plays for his new weapon from time to time.

The Titans are giving former Cowboys RB Tony Pollard a 3-year deal worth $24M.

Related Players: Tyjae Spears

Pollard had moderate success when taking over the Cowboys backfield last season, but that was heavily influenced by volume. Pollard should be considered a top-30 option heading into 2024, while Tyjae Spears should be in very heavy consideration as a late-round option as his ADP dips following the signing.

The Bears have agreed to terms with RB D’Andre Swift on a three-year, $24 million deal.

After a career year with the Eagles, Swift heads to Chicago to be a big piece in Shane Waldron’s offense.

Related Players: Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson

With D'Onta Foreman set to hit the market, Chicago brings in Swift to compete for touches with two home-grown talents; Herbert and Johnson. Swift should take over the lead-back role, but there will still be plenty of sharing going on, which impacts each of their fantasy outlooks. Swift will have a capped-upside as an RB2.

For the #Colts and Michael Pittman Jr., it's a 3-year, $70M deal that can reach up to $71.5M max. $46M guaranteed.

Related Players: Alec Pierce, Josh Downs

This is a good look for the Colts to scrap the franchise tag and get QB Anthony Richardson a solid cornerstone as he continues to adapt to the NFL. Look for Indy to continue adding to the pass-catching group in the NFL Draft next month.

Bengals franchise WR Tee Higgins has requested a trade, per sources. Higgins loves Cincinnati and hoped to be with the team long term, but is disappointed that the team has not had any talks about a long-term contract extension since March 2023. He’s ready to move on to a new home.

Related Players: Ja'Marr Chase

If Higgins does get shipped, it will almost assuredly be a negative for his 2024 fantasy outlook. The splits with and without Higgins for Chase have been minuscule, so we don't expect much of an upgrade if his running mate leaves town.

Nine-time Pro-Bowl QB and former Super-Bowl champ Russell Wilson plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, per league sources. Wilson will sign a team-friendly, one-year deal in which the Broncos will wind up paying $38 million of his salary while Wilson wears the black and yellow.

Related Players: Kenny Pickett

The new pairing of Wilson and OC Arthur Smith is a clear upgrade on the last two seasons of Matt Canada/Kenny Pickett/Mason Rudolph. Though Wilson himself is unlikely to be a weekly starter in typical 1QB leagues, Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, and even Pat Freiermuth should all get a tick upwards.

Smith should form a gameplan that will include play action and middle-of-the-field targets that were missing from the offense in 2023.

Baker Mayfield confirmed the three-year deal. “I wanted a chance to come back,” Mayfield said. “I love coach Bowles and the staff. I’m happy to be here and I want to win more in the postseason
Baker Mayfield’s deal with the Buccaneers:

2024: $30 million
2025: $30 million, including $20 million guaranteed
2026: $40 million

$5 million per year in incentives

$100 million total, with incentives a max value of $115 million.

Coming off a 9-8 record in his first year in Tampa Bay, Mayfield is back along with his star WR Mike Evans. Consider him a fantasy QB2 heading into 2024.