Bears acquire former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles from Jaguars: reports

The Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to mitigate one of the costliest mistakes in franchise history.

A person familiar with the trade says the Jaguars have agreed to send quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears for a compensatory fourth-round draft pick, No. 140 overall.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because trades can't become official until after the league year begins Wednesday afternoon.

The Jaguars are dumping Foles a little more than a year after giving the 2018 Super Bowl MVP a four-year, $88 million US contract that included a whopping $50.125 million guaranteed.

The Bears are getting a veteran starter to compete with Mitchell Trubisky, who struggled in his third season.

Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone are beginning a full rebuild after the team's 10th losing season in the last 12 years. Last March, they raved about Foles and what it meant to finally have a franchise quarterback after a decades-long search that saw Jacksonville try Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne and Blake Bortles.

But the 31-year-old Foles ended up being a bust in Jacksonville. He broke his left collarbone early in the season opener, missed the next eight games and then got benched in his third game back.

Rookie Gardner Minshew, a sixth-round draft pick from Washington State, played well enough in Foles' absence to make Caldwell and Marrone believe he's got more upside as a starter moving forward. It also made Foles expendable.

Jacksonville had been willing to keep Foles as a high-priced backup in 2020. But a wild carousel of quarterback moves to open free agency — Philip Rivers to Indianapolis, Tom Brady to Tampa Bay and Teddy Bridgewater to Carolina — created a market for Foles.

Now, he heads to the Windy City.

Broncos expected to cut Flacco, add Pro Bowler Casey

The Denver Broncos are expected to release quarterback Joe Flacco, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.

The Broncos will forge ahead with Drew Lock as their starting quarterback. Former Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions quarterback Jeff Driskel will serve as the backup after agreeing to a contract on Tuesday.

Flacco is set to count $23.65 million against the cap in 2020. His release would save $10.05 million of that, while leaving a $13.6 million dead-money charge after the Broncos restructured the quarterback's contract last September.

He posted a 2-6 record in his first season with Denver in 2019 before sustaining a herniated cervical disk in his neck that landed him on injured reserve. He threw for 1,822 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions.

Flacco, 35, played his first 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. The former Super Bowl MVP has thrown for 40,067 yards with 218 touchdowns and 141 interceptions in 171 career games.

Lock, a second-round pick in last year's draft, went 4-1 as a starter with 1,020 passing yards, seven TDs and three picks.

The Broncos also acquired Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey from the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round draft pick in 2020, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

Casey, 30, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Titans and earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2019 with 44 tackles and five sacks in 14 starts.

The trade saves Tennessee more than $10 million against the salary cap for 2020.

A third-round pick in 2011, Casey has 493 tackles, 51 sacks, 12 passes defenced and eight forced fumbles in 139 career games (137 starts).

Chargers land prized cornerback Chris Harris

Veteran cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is staying in the AFC West after agreeing to a deal to play for the Los Angeles Chargers, he said Wednesday.

Harris did not disclose terms of his contract but thanked the Denver Broncos for nine years. NFL Network reported his deal was for two years, $20 million.

Harris had spent his entire nine-year career with the Broncos. The undrafted player in 2011 out of Kansas developed into a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Broncos.

Lions agree to deal with Trufant

The Detroit Lions agreed with cornerback Desmond Trufant on a two-year, $21 million deal on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, just hours after he was released by the Atlanta Falcons.

ESPN reported that the new deal includes a guaranteed $14 million.

Trufant's release, which was reported Monday, was made official early Wednesday. It came with a post-June 1 designation, clearing $10.75 million in cap space for the Falcons after June 1 and pushing $5.4 million in dead money onto the 2021 cap.

Falcons aid pass rush with Fowler

Dante Fowler agreed to join the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday, with the two sides shaking on terms of a three-year, $48 million deal, NFL Network reported.

Fowler, an outside linebacker, was pursued by the Los Angeles Rams, who wanted him back, but he opted to join the Falcons.

Fowler, 25, had a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2019 with the Rams, who quickly added former Bears pass rusher Leonard Floyd on Wednesday, per reports.

The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Fowler third overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. He had 14 sacks in two-plus seasons with the Jaguars and spent the past season and a half with the Rams.

The Falcons have struggled to consistently pressure the quarterback and parted ways with free agent Vic Beasley. The defensive end position is critical to the success of head coach Dan Quinn's defence.

Bills add CB Josh Norman

The Buffalo Bills have signed cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year contract in hopes the eighth-year player can secure a starting job opposite Tre'Davious White.

The contract was first agreed to on March 9, and announced by the team Wednesday. Norman was available after struggling to meet expectations before being cut by Washington last month with one year left on his five-year, $75 million contract.

His addition fills an immediate need with the Bills allowing Kevin Johnson to become a free agent. Norman will compete with returning starter Levi Wallace for the No. 2 spot.

The 32-year-old is reunited with familiar faces in Buffalo. Bills coach Sean McDermott was the Panthers' defensive co-ordinator during Norman's first four NFL seasons in Carolina. Norman is also a known commodity to Bills general manager Brandon Beane, who worked in the Panthers' front office at the same time.