NFL Player News

Patrick (Achilles) and the Broncos have an agreement to alter his contract for 2024, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic reports.

The first two seasons of Patrick's three-year, $30 million contract were wiped out by severe injuries during training camp -- an ACL tear in 2022 and then a torn Achilles' tendon in 2023. He's now 30 years old and entering the final year of the extension, so he presumably would've been released if he hadn't agreed to lower his $9.5 million base salary for 2024. While never a high-volume pass catcher, Patrick had 742 yards and six TDs on 79 targets in 2020 (64.6 percent catch rate, 14.5 YPC, 9.4 YPT), followed by 734 yards and five TDs on 85 targets in 2021 (62.4 percent, 13.8 YPC, 8.6 YPT).

Bourne (knee) expects to be able to do some work in the spring and will be a full go for training camp, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Bourne is rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 8 of the 2023 season. He was on pace to shatter his personal bests in nearly every statistical category before his campaign was cut short. Bourne is set to become a free agent in the new league year, and he has stated that he would like to rejoin the Patriots and reportedly has an offer from the team.

Arizona offered Dortch a qualifying tender of $1.13 million for the 2024 season Thursday, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports.

Dortch, an exclusive rights free agent, has no choice but to sign the tender offered to him by the Cardinals if he wants to play in the NFL for the 2024 season. Across 16 appearances last season, Dortch mostly contributed as Arizona's top punt and kick returner, but he also contributed on offense upon Kyler Murray's midseason return from injury. In all, he secured 24 passes for 280 yards and two scores.

The Saints plan to release Thomas (knee) soon, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic reports.

The structure of Thomas' contract all but guarantees he'll be released before March 13 when the new league year starts. He turned 31 a few days ago and has been with the Saints since they took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but he's played just 20 games in four years since setting a league record with 149 receptions in 2019. Thomas averaged 117.5 catches for 1,378 yards and eight touchdowns over the first four seasons of his career, before an ankle injury Week 1 of 2020 started his run of misfortune. A knee injury cost him the final seven games of 2023, but there hasn't been any report of Thomas needing surgery.

The Bills released Harty on Wednesday.

After inking a two-year, $9.5 million deal with Buffalo last spring, Harty appeared in 16 regular-season games in 2023, recording 15 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown on 21 targets. He made a more meaningful impact as the team's punt returner, bringing back 26 punts for 323 yards and a touchdown. The Bills will save $4.3 million in cap space by cutting the 26-year-old wideout.

Thompkins re-signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal Tuesday.

Thompkins joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Utah and initially started the season on the team's practice squad. However, the 24-year-old wideout was signed to the active roster before Week 1 and played all 17 regular-season games plus both of Tampa Bay's postseason contests, splitting his time between offense and special teams.

Indianapolis have placed the franchise tag on Pittman ahead of Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

General manager Chris Ballard made clear earlier this offseason that Pittman wouldn't go anywhere, and the franchise tag positions him to play out the 2024 campaign on a fully guaranteed one-year, $21.87 million contract if no long-term alternative is agreed upon. The Colts and Pittman will have until mid-July to continue negotiating a multi-year extension, and the team may well be viewing the franchise tag as a bridge to continue talks. For 2024, at the very least, Pittman's presence will provide young franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson (shoulder) with some stability and a reliable No. 1 target in the receiving game, even if Indianapolis doesn't significantly upgrade its pass-catching corps. Pittman compiled a career-best 109-1,152-4 receiving line on 156 targets in 2023, and his fantasy prospects could improve for 2024 with the promise of flashier quarterback play for a full season.

The Patriots have offered Bourne (knee) a new contract, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.

The Patriots hope to re-sign Bourne before March 11, when the impending free agent can begin negotiating with other teams. The wide receiver suffered an ACL tear in Week 8 of 2023, ending what was on track to be a career year with personal bests of 4.6 catches and 50.8 receiving yards per game. Bourne said at the Super Bowl that he's ahead of schedule in his rehab and would like to re-sign with New England, though he also said part of his motivation for attending the big game in Las Vegas was to "get [his] name out there" for potential suitors in free agency. He mostly served as a No. 3 receiver before 2023 -- in San Francisco and then New England -- and that might be how a lot of teams view him as he rehabs from the severe knee injury in preparation for his age-29 season in 2024.

Evans and the Buccaneers reached agreement Monday morning on a two-year, $52 million contract that includes $35 million guaranteed, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Reports a few days earlier suggested Evans would hit free agency, but he ended up re-signing with the Buccaneers instead and will continue playing for the team that drafted him seventh overall in 2014. He'll turn 31 in August, having topped 1,000 yards in a record-setting 10 straight seasons to open his career, including 2023 when he had his most catches (79), yards (1,255) and targets (136) since 2018 while tying for the league lead in receiving touchdowns (13). The Buccaneers can now focus on re-signing their other prominent free agents, including QB Baker Mayfield, S Antoine Winfield and LB Lavonte David.

Evans plans to hit free agency for the first time in his career, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

While Evans and the Buccaneers remain in contract discussions, the veteran pass catcher wants to explore his options. Thus, it does not mean his time in Tampa Bay is over, but rather, that he plans on hearing from all teams before making a decision. The 30-year-old has been with the team for all 10 years of his NFL seasons and is coming off a campaign where he recorded 1,255 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.