Dan Snyder is buying out the Washington Football Team’s minority owners and will become the sole owner of the club.
An NFL spokesman on Wednesday confirmed that Snyder’s application for a debt waiver of $450 million was approved by the finance committee and that the deal is pending approval from team owners. Three-quarters, or 24 of 32 teams, need to sign off during a vote at the annual league meeting next week to make it official.
Multiple messages seeking comment that were left for the team and a public relations firm representing Snyder were not immediately returned.
Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Bob Rothman currently own 40.5% of Washington Football Inc. They have been mired in a court dispute with Snyder over their shares of the team.
This effectively settles that matter and puts Snyder completely in charge of the team, which Forbes valued at $3.5 billion. Washington is in the midst of an organizational upheaval after dropping its name last year and launching an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace by several former employees.
The NFL took over that investigation run by Washington-based lawyer Beth Wilkinson last summer. A league spokesman said that investigation is still ongoing, which is separate from Snyder buying out full control of the team.
DOLPHINS: Linebacker Elandon Roberts re-signed with the Miami Dolphins after testing the free-agent market.
Roberts, 26, started 11 games in his first season with Miami last year before he was sidelined by a serious knee injury. He totaled 61 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
He spent his first four NFL seasons with New England, where he played on two Super Bowl championship teams.
BUCCANEERS: Tampa Bay has reached an agreement with veteran left tackle Donovan Smith on a two-year, $31 million contract extension through 2023 that includes $30 million in guaranteed money. Additionally, the club is finalizing a one-year, $9 million deal with 34-year-old free agent defensive end Ndamukong Suh, according to reports
Suh’s return would mean the entire Bucs starting defense from Super Bowl 55 remains under contract for 2021. Coordinator Todd Bowles, a prominent head coaching candidate during the recent offseason carousel, also is expected back.
Smith has one year and $14.25 million remaining on his three-year, $41.25 million contract. That base salary will be converted mostly to a signing bonus, freeing up considerable salary cap space by lowering Smith’s 2021 cap number to $3.6 million.
COLTS: Indianapolis has re-signed cornerback Xavier Rhodes to another one-year contract. The 30-year-old, three-time Pro Bowler played his first seven seasons with Minnesota, but after being released by the Vikings just before free agency started last season, Rhodes joined the Colts on a one-year deal in hopes of jump-starting his career.
He did. Rhodes started all 16 games, made 42 tackles, broke up 12 passes, intercepted two and returned one for a touchdown. But with many teams facing tight salary caps in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhodes opted to return to Indy for another season.
Since being drafted 25th overall in 2013, the 6-foot-1, 218-pound Rhodes has started 113 of 120 games, had 414 tackles, broken up 85 passes, picked off 12 passes and scored two touchdowns while forcing three fumbles and producing 15 tackles for loss. He was an All-Pro in 2017.
• Longtime Indianapolis receiver T.Y. Hilton will re-sign with the team on a one-year contract for $10 million with $8 million in guaranteed money.
The four-time Pro Bowler made it clear for months that he didn’t want to find a new team in free agency, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement before Hilton hit the open market. Hilton was Indy’s third-round draft pick in 2012 and has spent his entire career with the Colts.
The 31-year-old Hilton played in 15 games last season, caught 56 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns in Philip Rivers’ final season. Hilton has 608 receptions for 9,360 yards and 50 touchdowns.
JAGUARS: Jacksonville signed former San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard, giving them an experienced backup if they trade Gardner Minshew.
Responding to a question about Minshew potentially being on the block last week, Coach Urban Meyer said “at this point, no.”
Signing Beathard could change that. He started 12 games over four years in San Francisco, throwing for 3,469 yards, with 18 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He was a third-round draft pick from Iowa in 2017. NFL Network reported he signed a two-year deal worth $5 million.
Jacksonville is expected to select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft. The Jaguars also have 2020 sixth-round pick Jake Luton on the roster. Luton started three games as a rookie, finishing with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
Minshew has started 20 games in two seasons, going 7-13. The 2019 sixth-round pick has thrown for 5,530 yards, with 37 TDs and 11 INTs, and has four game-winning drives.
“There’s a lot of anticipation about the first pick. I understand there’s a lot of conversation out there, but there’s been no decisions made,” Meyer said. “Gardner’s done some very good things here in Jacksonville and he’s a competitive maniac, which I really appreciate that about him.”
VIKINGS: Minnesota re-signed running back Ameer Abdullah, maintaining its depth behind two-time Pro Bowl pick Dalvin Cook.
Abdullah will return for a fourth season with the Vikings, who first acquired him via waiver claim in 2018 after being let go by the Detroit Lions, who drafted him in the second round in 2015.
Abdullah has mostly played on special teams for the Vikings, including as a kickoff returner with an average of 24.6 yards per return. He has 31 carries for 157 yards and 24 catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns in 39 games for Minnesota. He had two scoring receptions in 2020.
After Mike Boone’s departure as a free agent, Abdullah will for now be the No. 3 running back behind Cook and Alexander Mattison.
49ERS: San Francisco has brought back another key piece for its roster, agreeing to a one-year deal to retain slot cornerback K’Waun Williams, according to reports.
NFL Network first reported the agreement.
Williams, who turns 30 in July, plays an important role with his ability to cover in the slot as well as blitz. He played only eight games last season because of injuries but had two sacks, four passes defensed and five tackles for loss.
BILLS: Buffalo agreed to terms with Nigerian-born defensive end Efe Obada on a one-year contract.
The 28-year-old joins the Bills after spending his first three NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds and is coming off a year in which he had a career-best 5 1/2 sacks in 16 games, including one start.
Overall, Obada has 7 1/2 sacks in 42 games with the Panthers.
TEXANS: Greg Grissom has been promoted to team president, the Texans announced. He previously worked as senior vice president of corporate development.
Grissom takes over for Jamey Rootes, who resigned in February to pursue other opportunities after serving as president since the team’s inception. He will be in charge of Houston’s business operations including marketing, communications, broadcasting, ticket sales and corporate sponsorships among other things. He will also oversee Lone Star Sports & Entertainment.
JETS: New York added experience and depth on both sides of the ball, signing former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry, who’ll provide an already formidable D-line a veteran pass-rushing presence, and running back Tevin Coleman.
According to reports, Curry signed a one-year deal is worth $1.3 million with $1.075 million guaranteed.
Coleman also agreed to terms on a one-year contract, according to reports, worth up to $2 million.
BENGALS: Cincinnati agreed to a one-year deal with safety Ricardo Allen.
Allen was released in February by the Atlanta Falcons. He was a fixture in the Falcons’ secondary since he was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He started 76 of 77 games and had two interceptions in 12 games in 2020.
Allen recovered from a torn Achilles tendon in Week 3 that ended his 2018 season. He started all 16 games in 2019, when he was Atlanta’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. He had 85 tackles, including a career-high four for losses, and two interceptions; he has 11 career interceptions.
LIONS: Detroit signed linebacker Alex Anzalone and receiver Damion Ratley, reuniting first-year coach Dan Campbell with Anzalone. He played for New Orleans the past four seasons while Campbell was the Saints’ assistant head coach.
Anzalone started in nine of 16 games last season and made 41 tackles. He started in 20 of 38 games with the Saints over four seasons, making four sacks, forcing three fumbles, intercepting a pass and totaling 122 tackles.
Ratley has 29 receptions for 407 yards and one touchdown over two seasons in Cleveland and one with the New York Giants.
BROWNS: Free-agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney visited Cleveland, reviving a courtship that began last year before the No. 1 overall pick in 2014 signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans just before the start of the season.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clowney and the Browns couldn’t meet in person last year.
CHARGERS: The Los Angeles Chargers agreed to terms with outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell.
Fackrell will be going into his sixth season, He had four sacks in nine starts for the New York Giants last season along with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown against Dallas in a Oct. 11 loss.
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