The Tennessee Titans are releasing Pro Bowl center Ben Jones, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

Jones, 33, started all 12 games he played for the Titans last season. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey.

Jones has played in 172 career games (151 starts) with the Texans (2012-15) and the Titans since being selected by Houston with a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Offensive lineman Aaron Brewer is a potential replacement for Jones in Tennessee, although he struggled while playing at left guard last season.

–Field Level Media

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will begin a six-month recovery period following elbow surgery on Friday.

The procedure to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm was performed by Dr. Keith Meister and included the insertion of an internal brace, according to multiple reports.

“The expectation is Purdy will begin throwing in three months and build up his strength from there,” NFL Network reported.

The six-month rehabilitation timeline lines up with the start of the 2023 NFL regular season on Sept. 7.

Purdy apparently avoided a more complex elbow reconstruction that could have increased his recovery period by seven to nine months.

Purdy, 23, made a stunning rise from being the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to leading the 49ers into the NFC Championship Game.

After quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were injured in the regular season, Purdy took over and led the team to wins in each of the final five games. Purdy and the 49ers then defeated the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game when the elbow injury occurred.

After fourth-stringer Josh Johnson went down with a concussion against Philadelphia, Purdy returned to action but was unable to throw the ball more than a few yards on pass routes.

In the regular season, Purdy completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards with 13 scoring passes and four interceptions. In the playoffs, he had a 65.1 percent completion rate while throwing for 569 yards and three TDs with no interceptions.

–Field Level Media

Defensive end Brandon Graham opted against entering free agency and agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, he told ESPN on Friday.

The network reported the deal is worth up to $6 million.

Graham, who turns 35 next month, recorded a career-high 11 sacks to go along with 35 tackles in 17 games (one start) last season. He played an integral part in guiding the Eagles in their sprint to Super Bowl LVII.

“I definitely don’t want to miss out on this championship that we’re about to make a run for,” Graham told ESPN. “I pretty much directed (my agent) Joel (Segal) just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn’t have to go through that part. I’m just so happy everything came to fruition.

“It wasn’t even about no money. It was more about wanting to be an Eagle as long as I could still play at a high level, and of course I still have a sour taste in my mouth on how things ended this last (season with a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl).”

Graham is fondly remembered by Eagles fans for his strip-sack of then-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII. Philadelphia went on to record its lone Super Bowl win in franchise history.

The longest-tenured member of the Eagles, Graham has totaled 451 tackles, 70.0 sacks and 21 forced fumbles in 178 career games (105 starts) since being selected by Philadelphia with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was asked to accept a reduced salary in line with current backups, according to multiple reports.

New Orleans signed Derek Carr to be the starter and 35-year-old Andy Dalton, who started 14 games for the team last season, is an unrestricted free agent.

Winston, 29, has one year remaining on a two-year deal he signed last March. The existing contract would count $15.2 million against the 2023 salary cup.

If Winston isn’t amenable to a reduced salary, the Saints could release him and save $12.8 million by using a post-June 1 designation. But the post-dated release also delays the cap space for the Saints until June 1. Releasing him outright now would save $4.4 million.

Dalton played last season on a one-year, $3 million deal. He was forced into action when Winston was limited by foot and back injuries.

The No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Winston is 34-46 as a starter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Saints. He joined the Saints as a free agent not long after the Buccaneers landed Tom Brady in free agency in 2020.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Eagles are allowing veteran cornerback Darius Slay’s agent to seek a trade, ESPN reported Friday.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection did not request a trade and the team hopes to keep him in Philly, per the report.

Slay, 32, is entering the final season of a three-year, $50 million deal signed in March 2020.

He is due a base salary of $17 million with a cap hit of $26.1 million in 2023, according to Spotrac.

Slay started all 17 games in 2022 and registered 14 passes defensed and three interceptions for a unit that led the league in pass defense (179.8 yards per game).

He added 12 tackles in the postseason for the NFC champs, who lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

Slay, who is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, recently discussed his contract situation and his desire to remain in Philadelphia on the “Montgomery & Co.” podcast.

“Of course I want an extension with the Eagles. I love the Eagles. They took another chance on me trading for me, and I panned out very well of course. But yeah, I love that money, so of course I’m going to be talking about it this offseason,” Slay said. “That’s everyone, that’s what we all do when we’ve got one year left on our deal. We try to get the extension because it makes the cap low and then you get to start building around the team because once you’re cap’s too high, you can’t add more players.

“So with me, with my cap that high, I’m sure they probably want to get it down, and the best way to get it down is to give me some money.”

Slay has 26 interceptions and 513 tackles in 151 games (141 starts) with the Detroit Lions (2013-19) and Eagles.

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Vikings released wide receiver Adam Thielen on Friday after nine seasons.

The 32-year-old Minnesota native and undrafted free agent from a Division II school became a two-time Pro Bowl selection and the third-leading receiver in franchise history.

Only Hall of Famers Cris Carter and Randy Moss caught more passes in a Vikings uniform than Thielen (534).

His release is a cost-cutting move for Minnesota, which will save about $6.4 million against the salary cap in 2023 while taking a dead-cap hit of $13.6 million.

“Adam will forever be a part of the Minnesota Vikings family and history,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement Friday. “Setting the standard with his play on the field, being a selfless teammate, and making a permanent impact in the community, Adam’s influence is significant. We are grateful for everything he brought to the Vikings organization since arriving in 2013, and I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to work with him over the last year. He is the best representation of what the Minnesota Vikings should stand for.”

Thielen signed a four-year, $64 million extension in April 2019, with the sides agreeing to restructure the deal in 2021 and 2022.

Thielen has 30 touchdown catches over the past three seasons, fifth-most in the NFL, and should generate interest in a relatively thin receiver market.

The Vikings first signed Thielen to a three-year, $1.485 million deal as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in May 2013.

“Adam’s story is one many know and admire and an incredible example of what a relentless pursuit of a goal can ultimately accomplish,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said in a statement. “For over a decade, Adam honed his craft to become one of the most well-recognized wide receivers in the NFL. Over that same time, he poured so much of his time into his home state, which made it even more special for him to earn our 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination. I personally leaned on Adam for his work ethic, leadership and counsel multiple times to help get our team where we wanted it to be last season.”

Since making his debut in 2014, he has gained 6,682 receiving yards and scored 55 touchdowns in 135 games (101 starts) for the Vikings. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2017 and 2018.

–Field Level Media