March 2019 4for4 Player News Articles

Chicago shipped Jordan Howard to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick on Thursday night, the Eagles announced. Conditions in the trade could flex that selection to a 2020 fifth-round pick.

Howard had been rumored as trade bait since before the 2018 season, as Tarik Cohen took on a larger role in first-year coach Matt Nagy's offense. In his third season in the Windy City, Howard saw another dip in production as he totaled 935 rushing yards and 3.7 yards per carry. When Chicago signed former Seahawks running back Mike Davis in free agency, the writing looked to be on the wall.

Related players: Tarik Cohen, Mike Davis, Corey Clement, Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood

This is a significant fantasy move for both teams since Howard is now the favorite to lead the Eagles in carries and his absence in Chicago opens up major work for Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis. Howard had a down season (935 yards rushing on 3.74 YPC) in 2018 after averaging 1,218 yards (on 4.61 YPC) in his first two seasons. It's a low-risk move for the Eagles since Howard is still on his rookie deal. He's not likely to catch many passes, though his hands were better in 2018 (77% catch rate, a career-high). Howard's arrival throws cold water on the rest of Philadelphia's committee (Clement, Adams and Smallwood). In Chicago, this is big news for both Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis, but especially Davis, who is likely to take over the bulk of the 15.6 carries per game (and short-yardage work) that Howard has vacated. Davis also showed some passing game chops last year in Seattle, so the Chicago offense won't be as easy predict with Davis replacing Howard in the backfield.

The Raiders have agreed to terms with running back Isaiah Crowell on a one-year deal worth up to $2.5 million.

The Raiders are shoring up the running back corps in case Marshawn Lynch doesn't return this season. Through 13 games last season, Crowell gained 685 yards on 143 carries for a 4.79 yards per carry, though when his 15-carry, 219-yard game against the Broncos is removed, he averaged just 3.64 yards per carry in the other 12 games. If Lynch doesn't return, Crowell could serve as the Raiders' primary thumper with Jalen Richard playing in passing situations.

Doug Marrone said he expects Marqise Lee to be back “late in the preseason.”

It's not even April and it looks like Lee is already expected most of the offseason.

Jay Gruden said he anticipates Derrius Guice doing individual work in OTAs and then joining the team full-go in training camp. "I think Derrius will be fine," Gruden said.

Guice has undergone a couple of clean-up procedures since his ACL surgery last year and the team recently re-signed Adrian Peterson to a two-year deal. Guice is in the RB3 mix given his uncertain health and the presence of Peterson.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians says he thinks Chris Godwin can be a “close to a 100-catch guy” in 2019.

We agree, though Godwin will have to improve on his career 62.0% catch rate (or see 150+ targets) if he's going to come close to catching 100 passes. He finished strong in 2017, posting 3-98 on six targets against the Panthers in Week 16 and 7-111-1 on 12 targets against the Saints in Week 17. In the five games as a rookie where he played at least 50% of the snaps, he averaged 4.2 catches for 73 yards and 0.20 touchdowns on 7.2 targets per game. In 2018, he finished the season as the No. 25 receiver despite the fact that he played more than 70% of the snaps in just six games, five of which came with DeSean Jackson mostly sidelined from Week 13 to Week 17. Godwin is primed for a third-year breakout.

Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL via an Instagram post on Sunday. After nine seasons with the New England Patriots, he is putting an end to a career in which he transcended the tight end position and was one of the league's most colorful personalities.

The Patriots apparently made a late push to sign Jared Cook before he signed with the Saints. The Patriots did sign Matt LaCosse and have Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo on the roster. This is obviously a blow to Tom Brady's 2019 outlook.

The Saints are expected to sign free agent TE Jared Cook, sources tell me and Tom Pelissero. One of the top free agents still out there, Cook gives QB Drew Brees an immediate big-time weapon.

This is a fantastic landing spot for Cook and he'll make a great addition to an already dangerous New Orleans receiving corps. Given the state of the tight end position, Cook has a great chance to finish in the top 10 again in 2019.

Randall Cobb has agreed to a deal with Cowboys. It's a one-year deal worth $5 million.

The Cowboys lost Cole Beasley in the slot, so his 5.4 targets per game are up for grabs. It's unlikely the Cobb develops into a fantasy starter anytime soon, but he might have some spot start appeal in PPR formats if things go his way.

TE Tyler Eifert is signing back with the Bengals on a 1-year deal. They keep one of their own.

In four games in 2018, Eifert averaged 3.8 catches for 45 yards and 0.25 touchdowns. In 14 games since 2016, Eifert has averaged 3.4 catches for 44 yards and 0.43 touchdowns. If he can stay healthy, he has a good chance for a top 10 season.

The Kansas City Chiefs have confirmed to The Star that they are aware of a law enforcement investigation involving wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

The Star has obtained a police report from the Overland Park Police Department about a battery incident that lists a juvenile as the victim. Hill’s fiancee, Crystal Espinal, is listed under “others involved.”

A source familiar with the situation said Hill’s fiancee has been in contact with Overland Park police. The source said that the incident was against the couple’s 3-year-old son, resulting in a broken arm.

As of Friday afternoon, Hill had not been charged with a crime.

Hill has a history of domestic violence. He reportedly punched and choked Espinal, who was then eight weeks pregnant with their son, on Dec. 11, 2014. He was arrested and dismissed from the Oklahoma State football team. Hill pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation in August 2015. He received three years probation.

Here’s the full trade, per source:

Miami gets a 2020 4th RD & 7th in 2019.

Tennessee gets Ryan Tannehill and 6th in 2019.

Tannehill will back up Marcus Mariota, who has had trouble staying healthy thus far in his career.

NFL is suspending Browns’ RB Kareem Hunt for eight games for violating its personal conduct policy, league source tells ESPN.

Related players: Nick Chubb, Duke Johnson

Nick Chubb should post RB1 numbers for the first half of the season and probably longer, as the team begins to incorporate Hunt into the offense over the second half of the season. Duke Johnson remains in limbo, but he should serve as Chubb's primary backup while Hunt serves his suspension.

Former Eagles' WR Golden Tate is signing with the NY Giants, per source.

This is not a terrible landing spot for Tate. The quarterback situation could be (a lot) better, but there are a boatload of targets available after the Odell Beckham trade. Tate had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 and 2017 and was on pace for 1,182 yards through seven games with the Lions in 2018 before being traded to the Eagles. It's unlikely that he'll be a 90-catch/1,000-yard player in the Giants' run-heavy offense, but he catch between 70-80 balls for 800-900 yards if things go well in New York. This signing is not good news for Sterling Shepard or Evan Engram since Tate is capable of soaking up a lot of targets.

Former Jaguars’ WR Donte Moncrief reached agreement on a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, per source.

Moncrief will help to shore up the depth behind JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington.

49ers signing Tevin Coleman to a two-year, $10 million deal, per source.

This would be a pretty shocking signing if not for the 49ers purported interest in LeVeon Bell earlier this week. Already in good shape at running back with Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida, Kyle Shanahan has added Coleman, whom he coached during his stint in Atlanta. This one has RBBC written all over it.

The Redskins are re-signing RB Adrian Peterson to a 2-year deal worth $8M, sources tell me. His career resurgence continues in Washington.

This signing throws some cold water on Derrius Guice's 2019 outlook as he comes back from a torn ACL. Washington is giving Peterson starter-caliber money, so it wouldn't be surprising if he led this backfield in touches again this season.

Former Chargers’ WR Tyrell Williams intends to sign with the Oakland Raiders, per source.

The Raiders now have a receiving corps of Antonio Brown, Williams and Jordy Nelson, so Derek Carr can't say he doesn't have enough weapons to throw to. Williams had a big sophomore season in 2016, catching 69 passes for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns, but averaged just 42.0 catches for 691 yards and 4.5 touchdowns in his last two seasons. His production in 2016 came with Keenan Allen sidelined, but he played second-fiddle to Allen in 2017 and 2018. Williams will serve as a very capable downfield threat while Brown and Nelson work the rest of the field. Fantasy-wise, it's tough to see the Raiders supporting more than one bona fide fantasy starter at receiver unless Jon Gruden decides to crank up the team's passing volume.

Ravens get Mark Ingram at $5M per season, which is significantly less than what Le'Veon Bell got ($13.1M). For a team with many needs and less than $30M in cap space, Baltimore wasn't going to make that type of investment at running back.

Related players: Gus Edwards, Kenneth Dixon

Clearly bad news for the other Baltimore running backs (namely Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon), this is a great landing spot for Ingram, who will play for a decidedly run-heavy offensive coordinator in Greg Roman. Ingram is still on the right side of 30 and hasn't averaged less than 4.6 YPC in the last four seasons. He's also a very capable receiver (3.1 receptions per game since 2015) so he's able to play on all three downs. He should flirt with fantasy RB1 value this year.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell plans to sign a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the New York Jets, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The deal includes $35 million guaranteed, with a maximum value of close to $61 million, including incentives, a source said.

Bell had back-to-back finishes in the top three in PPR formats prior to his holdout last season. The signing is a huge coup for a Jets offense that featured Isaiah Crowell, Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire last season. His arrival should certainly help the development of Sam Darnold and open things up in the passing game for the Jets' receivers. The Jets' offensive line struggled in run blocking last season, so we'll have to keep a close eye on how this unit develops during the offseason in order to quantify Bell's outlook for 2019. He certainly has enough talent to finish as a fantasy RB1 in New York, but the talent around him isn't as good as it was in Pittsburgh, and that may affect his overall production.

The Browns have traded for Giants WR Odell Beckham, sources say. The deal is done. I am not joking.

Shocker. Beckham will now be paired with an up-and-coming young quarterback in Baker Mayfield and the duo are now poised to, as one former Brown put it, wreck the league. Normally we shy away from wide receivers who change teams, but Beckham should see a ton of work and he'll enjoy an upgrade at quarterback to boot. It's a downgrade for Jarvis Landry, who was already a question mark as his usage declined once Freddie Kitchens took over the play-calling. This is obviously a huge boost to Mayfield's 2019 outlook.

Bills aren't done at WR. They will sign WR Cole Beasley, sources say. He'll get $29 million over four years.

Beasley will play the slot for the Bills, a role that was manned mostly by Zay Jones and Isaiah McKenzie last year. Beasley could have some value in PPR formats, though Josh Allen doesn't seem like the kind of quarterback to check down all that often.

Buffalo intends to sign former Ravens' WR John Brown to a three-year, $27 million deal.

This signing takes some wind out of the sails of Robert Foster, who came on late last year as the Bills' primary deep threat. It's not a terrible landing spot for Brown since he'll be playing with Josh Allen, who has a pretty good deep ball and isn't afraid to take deep shots. Still, the Bills' offense isn't potent enough to support multiple fantasy starters at the receiver position.

The Dolphins are closing in on a new two-year contract with WR DeVante Parker, per league source. Chance for former first-round pick to capitalize on high potential with a new regime.

This is surprising as it seemed that Parker's career had run its course in Miami. There's a new regime in town and he has a chance for a fresh start.

Saints are giving former Vikings’ RB Latavius Murray a four-year, $14.4 million deal, per source.

Murray will likely replace Mark Ingram as Alvin Kamara's backup. Kamara's should continue to see a major role in the offense and is one of the safest picks in the first round. $14.4 million is a lot of money for a running back so it seems that the Saints intend to use Murray going forward.

The Colts are signing former Panthers WR Devin Funchess to a one-year deal, source said.

Despite his struggles in 2018, Funchess gives the Colts a much needed upgrade at their WR2 spot. His size is a good complement for T.Y. Hilton's skill set. He should be in the WR4 mix in 2019.

Wide Receiver Adam Humphries will be signing with the Titans per sources. He is coming off a standout season with the Bucs, as he had career-highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He finished his fourth season with 76 catches, 816 yards and five touchdowns

Humphries is coming off of a 76-catch, 816-yard, five-TD season in Tampa, so he'll take over the slot for the Titans. He'll likely be a factor as a WR4/WR5 in PPR formats.

Jets are giving WR Jamison Crowder a 3-year, $28.5 million deal that includes $17 million guaranteed, per source.

The soon-to-be 26-year-old Crowder had back-to-back finishes in the top 32 in 2016 and 2017 but struggled to a No. 87 finish (PPR) last year due to injury. His arrival should help to take the pressure off of Robby Anderson, but he'll be working the same part of the field as Quincy Enunwa. New HC Adam Gase has plenty of experience working with good slot receivers given his time in Miami with Jarvis Landry. Crowder's arrival is good news for QB Sam Darnold.

New Jaguars QB Nick Foles gets a four-year, $88 million deal, with upside to $102 million, source said. In the first 2 years, Foles pulls down $46.625 million. Really solid deal, and his own team to run.

In his last 12 full games for the Eagles, Foles averaged 20.3 PPG, throwing for an average of 271 yards, 1.75 touchdowns and 0.83 interceptions per game. The Jaguars lack the weapons in the passing game that the Eagles have, though that could still change this offseason. He'll likely be ranked as a low-end QB2 in August.

Source said Eagles and Buccaneers have agreed on a trade on DeSean Jackson.

With Golden Tate likely gone, the Eagles are planning to sign Jackson to take the top off the defense. With Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholor and Dallas Goedert, it's unlikely that Jackson will see enough targets to be an every-week fantasy starter, though he always seems to return good value in best ball formats. This signing is good news for Carson Wentz, who now has another dangerous weapon to utilize. It's great news for Tampa Bay's Chris Godwin, who should play 90%+ of the snaps with Jackson out of the way.

Antonio Brown has been traded to the Raiders, source confirms.

The source, it seems, was Brown himself, via his Twitter account. The move is great news for Derek Carr and the entire Oakland offense, but it's a significant downgrade for Brown. Carr is no Ben Roethlisberger and there may be growing pains in Oakland, especially given Jon Gruden's struggles to get the most out of Amari Cooper.

Former Jaguars RB Carlos Hyde is signing with the Chiefs today, source said, agreeing to a 1-year deal worth just under $3M. Solid depth and experience before the madness begins.

Hyde has averaged 3.56 since the start of the 2017 season, so it's unlikely that the Chiefs are looking to give him lead back touches after the emergence of Damien Williams late last year. Hyde isn't much of a pass-catcher--he only has one season with more than 30 catches in his career. If the Chiefs don't use an early-round draft pick on a running back then Williams should be in line for 15+ touches per game.

Broncos have trade parameters with Washington for QB Case Keenum: Broncos get WAS 6th in 2020, WAS gets Broncos 7th in '20, per source. Keenum's contract reworked. Broncos pay him $500K restructure bonus and pay $3.5 million of his $7M salary. Washington pays $3.5 mi.

Washington expects Alex Smith to miss the entire season, so Keenum is the Plan B. They could also draft a quarterback or make a run at a passer in free agency.

Teams that have spoken to the Steelers about a potential Antonio Brown trade have been told that a deal is expected to be in place by Friday, per league sources.

The Raiders, Redskins and Titans are reportedly interested and three new teams have reportedly jumped into the fray. Brown will be the best receiver to change teams in years and will immediately help the outlook of whatever offense he joins.

Eagles VP Howie Roseman declined to give a timetable on Carson Wentz’s return, but sources close to the quarterback said that he is expected to be healthy by the start of workouts in mid-April.

Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Wentz has averaged 20.1 fantasy points per game, which is solid QB1 production. His 2018 production is considered a disappointment, but if we ignore his three-interception debacle in New Orleans, he averaged 19.0 fantasy points in the remaining 10 games, which is about what Philip Rivers scored as 2018's No. 13 fantasy quarterback. He had the third-highest per game average through 13 games in 2017, so he has proven top five upside. If he's fully healthy for OTAs, his ADP should rise significantly this offseason. Right now, he's an excellent late-round pick in the double-digit rounds.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins faces narcotics and gun charges after being released on $7,500 bail early Saturday morning.

Collins, 24, was released around 12:30 a.m. Saturday on three chargers after an initial hearing at a Baltimore County courthouse: possession of more than 10 grams of marijuana, intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a handgun in a vehicle.

The Ravens waived Collins on Friday afternoon, hours after he crashed his black Chevrolet Corvette into a tree about a mile from the Ravens' team facility. Officers found Collins asleep in the driver's seat and detected an odor of marijuana inside the vehicle, according to police.

Related players: Gus Edwards, Kenneth Dixon

John Harbaugh indicated that Gus Edwards is the team's No. 1 running back heading into the offseason, but he was in a near even timeshare with Kenneth Dixon in the final month of the season. Dixon is a much better receiver, though Edwards is the better pass blocker. The Ravens are going to be extremely run-heavy under OC Greg Roman and whoever is the lead back is likely to be a fantasy starter.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach: The starting RB job is Damien Williams’ job to lose.

Williams took over for Kareem Hunt in mid-December and definitely looked the part. He averaged 19.4 touches for 114 yards and 1.6 touchdowns in five games (23.4 PPG in half-PPR formats), including the postseason. He averaged 5.60 YPC in that span and showed dual-threat ability, playing well enough to earn a two-year extension from the Chiefs.