NFL Player News

The Bears have placed their franchise tag on Robinson, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, the last time Chicago used the franchise tag was in 2016, when it was applied to Alshon Jeffery. With the Buccaneers having decided to franchise Chris Godwin, two of the top potential free agents at the wideout position are off the market now that the Bears have decided to tag Robinson.

Godwin is getting a franchise tag, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Godwin has acknowledged this possibility and stated that he'll play out 2021 under the franchise tag if he doesn't get a new contract. Both parties likely prefer a long-term agreement, but that it doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy to agree on specifics before the negotiation deadline, which usually is set at July 15. Either way, Godwin won't be a free agent this offseason.

The Titans do not intend to tender Raymond, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Raymond will become a free agent rather than return for a third straight year with the Titans. He does most of his damage in the return game, with 275 kick- and 208 punt-return yards last season. Raymond also has shown flashes as an occasional deep threat -- he averaged 20.8 yards per catch in 2020 -- so he should offer enough versatility to draw interest in free agency. However, he's unlikely to emerge on the fantasy radar.

Beckham is "right on track" in his recovery from October knee surgery, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

The Browns haven't provided any sort of timetable when it comes to Beckham's status other than to say he's operating ahead of schedule. Perhaps more importantly, head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed to buck the notion the team could consider trading the star receiver suggesting the Browns are "in a good spot" to keep Beckham for the 2021 season. This follows numerous reports throughout the past few months detailing various ways in which the team could get out of five-year contract Beckham signed back in 2018 with the Giants. The 28-year-old's guaranteed $12.79 million salary for next season all but assures the only recourse the Browns may have, should they even want to shed the salary, would be to trade Beckham, but an equal form of compensation might be a tough ask given his injury history over the past four years.

Montgomery re-signed with the Saints on a one-year deal Saturday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

It sounds as if the contract is more incentive-laden than anything else, but it does come with a $137,500 bonus. The veteran running back played in six games last season, compiling the fewest carries (19) and rushing yards (101) since his rookie year, but almost all that production came in a meaningless Week 17 contest against the Panthers where Montgomery averaged 5.8 yards per carry.

Broncos general manager George Paton stated the team intends to apply a restricted free agent tender to Patrick (foot), Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

Though Paton didn't go into details on the upcoming transaction, Renck expects Patrick to draw a second-round tender. With Courtland Sutton (knee) unavailable Weeks 3 through 17 of last season, Patrick stepped into a prime role in the Broncos' offense, nearly quadrupling his previous career high with 15 starts. The 27-year-old's six receiving scores led the team, while his 742 receiving yards were surpassed by only Jerry Jeudy. Patrick was forced to sit out Denver's season finale against Las Vegas because of a foot sprain, but he's expected to be recuperated in time for Broncos OTAs this spring. That is, so long as another team doesn't bite on the tender and extract Patrick from the team's receiving corps.

The Edmonton Football Team signed Tolliver on Friday.

Tolliver spent time in the NFL during the 2018 season, during which he recorded three catches for 37 yards throughout his three appearances with the Cardinals. The Arkansas-Monticello product will look to build on his numbers with Edmonton.

Sutton (knee) has already resumed running routes while rehabbing from a torn ACL, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Sutton continues to inspire confidence in his recovery process. He initially suffered ACL and MCL tears in his left knee Sept. 20 before undergoing surgery in October. As long as the 25-year-old is able to continue avoiding any setbacks, he should be cleared for practice by the time training camp rolls around, and it's possible that he could get limited work in during the offseason program. Sutton will join the most crowded pass-catching corps of his career as he enters the fourth and final season of his rookie deal, with Jerry Jeudy, Noah Fant, Tim Patrick (ankle) and KJ Hamler (concussion) all vying for targets. If the Broncos end up upgrading from Drew Lock, as it's been rumored the team wishes to do, Sutton could also have to adjust to a new quarterback in 2021.

Godwin recently indicated he would be willing to play the 2021 season under the franchise tag if necessary, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

According to Laine, the franchise tag appears to be "where things are headed" for Godwin this offseason, as the move would afford the Buccaneers some more salary-cap flexibility in the short term. Godwin's franchise tender would be worth around $16.5 million for 2021, and accepting the tag wouldn't rule out of the possibility of the wideout eventually reaching a longer-term deal with Tampa Bay. Further clarity on Godwin's 2021 contract situation will be gleaned in coming days, as the deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag for the upcoming season is next Tuesday.

The Eagles tendered Ward as an exclusive rights free agent Monday, Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Ward thus can only negotiate with the Eagles this offseason, which makes it seem very likely that he'll stay in Philadelphia. The 25-year-old was the only wideout to start all 16 games for the team in 2020, and he finished with the best stat line of his career (53-419-6). Philadelphia already has parted ways with DeSean Jackson and are expected to release Alshon Jeffrey in the near future, making it conceivable that Ward sees similar opportunities in 2021. Of course, there's always the possibility of the Eagles adding substantial pass-catching competition this offseason.