Wide receiver Tim Patrick re-signed with the Lions on Friday, one day after the veteran literally left the writing on his wall.
Patrick posted a picture of a shirt on Instagram on Thursday inscribed with the words: “I only want to work with the Lions.”
NFL Network and the Detroit Free Press reported the one-year contract for 2025 is worth a maximum value of $4 million.
Patrick, 31, had 33 receptions, 394 yards and three touchdowns with the Lions in 2024, his first game action since 2021 with the Broncos.
He played 16 games last season after overcoming consecutive season-ending injuries. He tore the ACL in his right knee in 2022 training camp and almost exactly one year later, he tore his left Achilles in training camp in July 2023.
He signed with the Lions’ practice squad in August 2024 and signed to the active roster in September.
Patrick caught 143 passes for 2,009 yards and 12 TDs in 55 games (37 starts) with the Broncos from 2018-21.
–The Cowboys are signing veteran running back Miles Sanders to a one-year deal, multiple outlets reported.
Sanders, 27, returns to the NFC East, where he played his first four seasons with the Eagles from 2019-22.
He rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games (two starts) in his second season with Carolina in 2024.
Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and made the Pro Bowl in 2022. He has gained 5,589 yards of offense with 27 TDs in 84 games (56 starts) with the Eagles and Panthers.
The Cowboys are also bringing back defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. on a one-year deal worth $6 million and up to $8 million with incentives, according to multiple reports.
Fowler, 30, had 10.5 sacks, 39 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, one interception (returned for a touchdown) and two forced fumbles in 17 regular-season games (seven starts) in his lone season in Washington in 2024.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn also coached him as the defensive coordinator in Dallas, where Fowler played in 2022-23 and totaled 40 tackles, 10 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 16 QB hits and three forced fumbles in 34 games.
Fowler was the third overall pick of the 2015 draft by Jacksonville, where he spent the first season on injured reserve. He played for the Jaguars (2016-18), Los Angeles Rams (2018-19), Atlanta Falcons (2020-21), Cowboys and Commanders.
He has 279 career tackles, 55.5 sacks, 70 tackles for loss, 87 QB hits, one interception, 15 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries in 142 regular-season games (47 starts).
–Cornerback Dane Jackson is reuniting with the Bills after one season with the Panthers, NFL Network reported.
Jackson, 28, gets a one-year deal with the team that originally drafted him in the seventh round in 2020.
Jackson has three interceptions, 30 passes defensed and 175 tackles in 61 games (31 starts) with Buffalo (2020-23) and Carolina.
–Minnesota has agreed to terms with veteran linebacker Eric Wilson, who started his NFL career with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Wilson, 30, started 12 of the 17 regular-season games he played last season with the Packers, totaling 72 tackles, two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.
He has 400 tackles, 11 sacks, five interceptions and three fumble recoveries in 125 games (39 starts) for the Vikings (2017-20), Eagles (2021), Texans (2021) and Packers (2022-24).
–Miami has signed former Las Vegas running back Alexander Mattison, who in a sense swapped roster spots with Raheem Mostert, who went from the Dolphins to the Raiders on Thursday.
Mattison, 26, played 14 games (seven starts) in his lone season with the Raiders in 2024 and rushed for 420 yards and four touchdowns. He also caught 36 passes for 294 yards and one TD.
The Vikings selected Mattison in the third round of the 2019 draft. He rushed for 2,370 yards and 11 touchdowns, and had 100 receptions for 718 yards and six TDs in five seasons with the Vikings.
–Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips is signing a one-year contract with the Chargers, NFL Network reported.
Phillips, 28, played in all 17 regular-season games for Houston in 2024 — his first with the Texans — and made 16 tackles. He has 76 career tackles, one sack and two fumble recoveries in 69 games (two starts) in five seasons with the Bills (2020), Jets (2021), Ravens (2022-23) and Texans.
–The Patriots have signed four unrestricted free agents in safety Marcus Epps, wide receiver Mack Hollins, tight end Austin Hooper and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga.
Epps, 29, played three games (three starts) for the Las Vegas Raiders last season before going on injured reserve (ACL). He has 294 career tackles and three interceptions in 82 games (45 starts) for the Minnesota Vikings (2019), Philadelphia Eagles (2019-22) and Raiders (2023-24). His deal was one year and worth up to $4.4 million, according to NFL Network.
Hollins, 31, had 31 receptions for 378 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games (13 starts) in his lone season with the Buffalo Bills in 2024. A fourth-round draft pick of Philadelphia in 2017, Hollins has 162 career receptions for 2,069 yards and 15 TDs in 112 regular-season games (40 starts) for the Eagles (2017, 2019), Miami Dolphins (2019-21), Raiders (2022), Atlanta Falcons (2023) and Bills.
Hooper, 30, re-signed with New England, where he had 45 receptions for 476 yards and three TDs in 17 games (eight starts) in 2024. He has 409 career catches for 4,178 yards and 28 TDs in 139 regular-season games (76 starts) for the Falcons (2016-19), Cleveland Browns (2020-21), Tennessee Titans (2022), Raiders (2023) and Patriots.
Tonga, 28, had 22 tackles in 13 games (one start) for Arizona last season. He has 89 career tackles in 53 games (seven starts) for the Chicago Bears (2021), Vikings (2022-23) and Cardinals.
–The Buccaneers are re-signing wide receiver Sterling Shepard on a one-year deal worth $2.25 million with $500,000 guaranteed, NFL Network reported.
He played in 14 regular-season games (five starts) in his first season in Tampa Bay in 2024. He caught 32 passes for 334 yards and one touchdown.
Shepard, 32, has 404 career receptions for 4,429 yards and 24 TDs for the New York Giants (2016-23) and Bucs.
–The Commanders are signing offensive lineman Nate Herbig, who spent the 2024 season on injured reserve (torn rotator cuff), to a one-year contract, ESPN reported.
Herbig, 26, mostly played guard during his first five seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles (2019-21), New York Jets (2022) and Steelers but had worked in training camp last summer as Pittsburgh’s first-team center.
He played in all 17 games (two starts) in his first season with Pittsburgh in 2023 and has played in 61 games (30 starts) since signing with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
–The Eagles have agreed to terms with tight end Kylen Granson on a one-year contract, ESPN reported.
Granson, who will be 27 on March 27, had spent his entire NFL career with Indianapolis, which picked him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. He had 86 receptions for 958 yards and one TD in 62 games (17 starts) with the Colts.
–Field Level Media
