NFL free agency news and rumors: Allen Robinson to Bears, Sammy Watkins to Chiefs – Washington Post



Allen Robinson heads north to Chicago. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

The NFL’s free agency period gets going this week as teams begin to negotiate with players ahead of Wednesday afternoon, when the league’s 2018 calendar officially begins and teams can start signing away. Here’s a look at who’s going and who’s staying, with the proviso that deals are not official until 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Bears beef up receiving corps with Allen Robinson

The Chicago Bears averaged a league-low 175.7 passing yards per game last season, their quarterbacks throwing only 13 touchdown passes to tie the Colts for the league low. And so the news that, barring a snag, that Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson will sign with the Bears isn’t all surprising (it was first reported early Tuesday by ESPN’s Adam Schefter).

Josina Anderson, Schefter’s ESPN colleague, reports the deal is worth $42 million over three years.

Robinson, who will be 25 when the 2018 season begins, tore his ACL in Jacksonville’s season opener last season and missed the rest of the season, but in the two previous years he had 153 receptions for 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns. He had an NFL-best 14 touchdown catches in 2015; no Chicago receiver has ever reached that mark, with Brandon Marshall’s 12 receiving scores in 2013 being the franchise’s recent high-water mark.

The Bears did not have a wide receiver on their roster last season with more than one touchdown catch.

Jacksonville declined to place the franchise or transition tag on Robinson last week, making him a free agent.

K.C. lands a star target for Patrick Mahomes

Free agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins is expected to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs, a person familiar with the situation told The Post’s Mark Maske.

Watkins is regarded as one of the top wideouts available in free agency after a 39-catch, 593-yard, eight-touchdown season for the Los Angeles Rams. He is a former 1,000-yard receiver for the Buffalo Bills.

His three-year deal with the Chiefs is expected to average about $16 million per season.

In Kansas City, Watkins joins tailback Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce in an offense being handed over to second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs agreed to trade Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins to clear the starting spot for Mahomes, a first-round draft pick who served as Smith’s backup as a rookie.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson, the Bears also made a “strong push” to sign Watkins.

Kansas City also began restocking its defense after either trading away or cutting key components from last year. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, they plan on signing former Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens to a deal worth $9 million per year. Hitchens, a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft, has started 48 games over his four-year NFL career.

Jags’ already-good offensive line just got even better

Jacksonville averaged 141.4 rushing yards per game last season, tops in the NFL. The Jaguars also allowed only 24 sacks, a number bested by only the Chargers and Saints.

On Tuesday, a stout offensive line got even stouter with the news that former Panthers guard Andrew Norwell intends to sign with Jacksonville, the Jaguars beating out the Giants, 49ers and Colts for his services.

According to Pro Football Talk, Norwell has agreed to a five-year, $66 million deal with $30 million in guaranteed money, which sets a new high bar for NFL guards. The first-team All-Pro in 2017 was ranked as the league’s No. 12 offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus. He was the only guard in the league with at least 200 snaps in pass protection to not allow a quarterback sack or hit, PFF says.

Jump-starting the QB market

Case Keenum has agreed to a deal with the Broncos that should get the quarterback market moving. The Broncos will become Keenum’s fourth NFL team after the Houston Texans, Rams (in both St. Louis and Los Angeles) and Minnesota Vikings. He had a breakthrough 2017 season with the Vikings in which he threw for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, playing at a near-league-MVP level and helping Minnesota to reach the NFC title game.

Dolphins to move on from Suh

Ndamukong Suh is expected to hit the free agent market, with reports indicating that the Miami Dolphins will release him on Wednesday. The defensive tackle hints as much Monday when he tweeted a video in which he promised, “there will be some exciting things going on.”

Suh has been something of a disappointment in Miami after signing a six-year, $114.4 million contract in 2015. Over the past three years, he has not had more than six sacks in a season. Nevertheless, a host of teams would love to add the 31-year-old to their rosters for 2018.

Brees and the Saints getting closer?

The Saints and quarterback Drew Brees are “hopeful” they can strike a deal in the next 24 hours or so to keep Brees in New Orleans as he has planned all along, a person close to the negotiations told The Post’s Mark Maske.

Brees is eligible for unrestricted free agency Wednesday, but he has said that he intends to remain with the Saints and the team has expressed confidence that it will keep him. If his contract voids at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, it would create an $18 million salary-cap charge, but if his contract can be extended, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that the money would be spread over the next three years.

Brees, 39, has spent the past 12 seasons with the Saints and led the team to a Super Bowl title.

He remained productive last season, completing 72 percent of his passes and throwing for 4,334 yards and 23 touchdowns, even as the Saints used a more balanced offensive approach with an increased focus on a running game led by Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. They won the NFC South and beat the Carolina Panthers in a first-round playoff game before losing in dramatic fashion at Minnesota in a conference semifinal.

Although reports indicated that the Vikings have shown interest in Brees, there’s no reason to expect that he won’t stay with the Saints. He and his family love New Orleans and he is the team’s foundation. Besides, he nearly got them into the NFC championship game in January. Why wouldn’t the Saints have him back?

Read more from The Post:

The top free-agent needs for every NFL team

Richard Sherman admits to being ‘vengeful’ in signing with 49ers after release by Seahawks

ESPN shuffles Sean McDonough out of ‘MNF’ booth

Cris Carter calls out Odell Beckham Jr. for his ‘stupidness’ in video

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