Missed opportunities for 49ers, despite 7-3 lead

AP

On a day full of blowouts, the 49ers and Patriots are playing a tight, if not sharply executed game.

Of course, the 49ers could be ahead by more than their current 7-3 margin, if quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his teammates could hang onto the ball.

The 49ers have fumbled four times, the most recent on a fourth-and-inches attempt they chose over a 43-yard field goal attempt. Then again, David Akers had already missed one on the night, and has struggled this year (7-of-15 from 40 yards or longer this year).

There was also a near-miss touchdown on an overthrown-dropped ball to Vernon Davis, touchdown-saving tackle by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after an interception.

It’s been that kind of night, and after a day of bad finishes, what we needed.

AP

The Raiders have a whole lot of cap space, and they may be preparing to spend some of it on bolstering their defense with a couple of veterans.

Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley are both visiting the Raiders today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Tuck hit free agency this year after playing his entire nine-year career with the Giants. Last season Tuck was somewhat overlooked as the team itself was a major disappointment, but he played well, recording 11 sacks. Tuck is the No. 18 player in our Free Agent Hot 100.

Woodley was cut by the Steelers after seven seasons in Pittsburgh. Last year he missed five games and had five sacks in the 11 games he played.

The Raiders already needed to improve on defense even before they lost their best pass rusher, Lamarr Houston, in free agency. Adding Tuck or Woodley (or both) would go a long way toward turning things around in Oakland.

AP

Tuesday was a relatively quiet day for the Jets and a totally silent one for wide receiver Eric Decker, but things could heat up on both fronts on Wednesday.

Kim Jones of NFL Network reports that Decker will visit with the Jets on Wednesday and an aggressive offer from the Jets, who have plenty of money under the cap, could mean that it is the only visit that Decker makes. The Jets had a rotten receiving corps last season and Santonio Holmes has been jettisoned, leaving them in fairly desperate need of help at the position.

The big question that they’ll have to answer is whether Decker will be as effective catching passes from Geno Smith or someone else the Jets bring in as he was catching passes from Peyton Manning with a ton of offensive talent around him. As the top wideout on the market — and highest remaining available player on PFT’s Hot 100 at No. 8 — Decker’s going to be paid like he can be that productive whether it is from the Jets or someone else.

It’s a question that other receivers in Decker’s position have often failed to answer positively, but the Jets need help at the position badly enough to roll the dice that things break the other way.

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Cornerback Corey Graham and defensive end Antonio Smith made it through Tuesday without landing jobs for the 2014 season, but they have generated some interest from the same team.

Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports that both players have lined up visits with the Redskins. Smith ranks 51st and Graham is 69th on PFT‘s Hot 100 list of free agents, although they rank much higher on the list of available members of that list after Tuesday’s flurry of activity.

Graham would join a secondary in need of all the help it can get. Graham played all 16 games for the Ravens last season, starting five, and had 74 tackles and four interceptions for Baltimore. He’s also been a strong special teams player over the years and the Redskins were dreadful in that phase of the game last season.

Smith just completed his 10th NFL season by starting all 15 games he played for the Texans, missing one after being suspended for ripping off Richie Incognito’s helmet and swinging it at him in a preseason incident that turned out to be a very minor footnote to Incognito’s season. Smith would upgrade the Redskins at a spot where they currently have Jarvis Jenkins, Chris Baker and Stephen Bowen at the top of the depth chart.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that Smith has also scheduled visits with the Titans, Rams and Raiders, although history tells us that first visits are often only visits.

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New Bears defensive end Lamarr Houston evoked an old-school attitude when asked about signing a free-agent contract in Chicago.

“What set the Bears apart for me besides having a team that’s in a position to win is the attitude of the players who have played there before; guys like Dick Butkus, with that nasty, in-your-face tough football. That’s what I love to play and being in an organization that embraces that, I think it’s a good fit for me,” Houston told the Bears’ website.

Houston signed a five-year, $35 million deal with $15 million guaranteed to leave Oakland and head to Chicago, and he said he loves what the Bears franchise represents.

“I’m honored to be joining an organization that has such rich football history,” Houston said. “The things that they’ve already accomplished are something that when you join this organization you hope you can live up to. You know that you’re expected to reach certain levels and standards while you’re playing for the Bears.”

The Bears have high expectations that Houston can lead a turnaround of a defense that fell far short of the normal standards of the Monsters of the Midway in 2013.

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Prior to the start of the free agent feeding frenzy on Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers tendered contracts to a pair of their restricted free agents.

The team announced they had tendered contracts to tight end/defensive end Demarcus Dobbs and linebacker Michael Wilhoite,

Dobbs is a restricted free agent while Wilhoite is an exclusive rights free agent. Dobbs can seek offers from other teams with the 49ers retraining the ability to match any offer sheet he would sign. Wilhoite doesn’t have that option as he has less than three accrued seasons, locking him in with the 49ers.

Dobbs has appeared in 39 games over the past three seasons with the 49ers, playing mostly on the defensive side of the ball. He had his best season last year for San Francisco with 14 tackles as a rotational player along the defensive line.

Wilhoite played in all 16 games for the 49ers last season and made two starts. He racked up 34 tackles on the year.

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In search of help at the cornerback position, the New York Giants are taking a look at former New Orleans Saints Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Porter is visiting the Giants after spending last season with the Oakland Raiders.

The Giants suffered injuries to the cornerback position that saw Trumaine McBride and Prince Amukamara elevated into starting roles. Corey Webster and Aaron Ross each appeared in just four games with the Giants before being lost for the year to injury.

In addition, Webster, Ross and Terrell Thomas are all unrestricted free agents for the Giants. McBride was schedule to be a free agent as well but re-signed with the team on Tuesday.

Porter had a strong bounce-back season with the Raiders last season after a myriad of issues in 2012. While with the Denver Broncos, Porter suffered a seizure and the aftereffects forced him to miss a significant amount of time. When he did returned, he suffered a concussion and was unable to play in the playoffs.

With Oakland last season, Porter started all 16 games. He racked up 67 tackles with two interceptions and even 1.5 sacks.

AP

The Cleveland Browns apparently have no interest in slowing down on the free agent market.

After agreeing to four-year contracts with linebacker Karlos Dansby and safety Donte Whitner on Tuesday, the Browns have added some help to their secondary.

According to his agent, Doug Hendrickson, former New York Jets cornerback Isaiah Trufant has agreed to terms on a deal with the Browns.

Trufant built himself into a valued special teams player and reserve defensive back over the last four seasons with the Jets.

It’s been a long road for Trufant, who began his career with the Spokane Shock in the lower tier of the Arena Football League in 2006. After playing for three teams in five seasons in the AFL, Trufant played two years with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League before finally getting his chance to latch on with the Jets in 2010.

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Breno Giacomini won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in February on the field the New York Jets call home.

Now the Jets are trying to make sure Giacomini plays there more often.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Jets are making a “strong push” to sign Giacomini, who is set to visit the team on Wednesday. Giacomini would likely be the Jets’ replacement at right tackle for Austin Howard, who agreed to a deal with the Oakland Raiders.

Giacomini, when healthy, was perhaps Seattle’s most consistent offensive lineman in 2013. Giacomini started just nine games for Seattle during the regular season that required surgery in September.

He returned to the lineup for the final six games of the regular season and helped to solidify an offensive line that had struggled immensely at times with Giacomini and Russell Okung, who missed eight games, on the sidelines. Giacomini has appeared to have overcome penalty issues that were problematic for Seattle in 2012. He had 12 penalties that season – the most on the team – and picked up three unnecessary roughness penalties in two games.

Giacomini has started 33 games for Seattle over the past three seasons after being signed off Green Bay’s practice squad in 2010.

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If it seemed like there was a lot of action on the first day of free agency . . . well, there was.

By our count, 33 of PFT’s top 100-ranked free agents struck deals on Tuesday.

Overall, 39 members of the PFT Free Agent Hot 100 had reached contract agreements through Day One, including six re-signings before Tuesday.

Five other top 100 free agents can be signed away from their current clubs, but interested teams must surrender draft-pick compensation, whether in restricted free agency or because of the franchise or transition tag in unrestricted free agency.

Add it up, and 44-of-100 players on the Hot 100 either have deals or have received contract tenders.

The lone unsigned/untagged free agent in the top 10 is wideout Eric Decker (No. 8), with cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (No. 11) second on the list of high-rated free agents yet to find a home.

By coincidence, Decker and Rodgers-Cromartie played for the Broncos last season. Moreover, they played quite well.

So yes, the free agent ranks haven’t completely been thinned just yet.

But some of the biggest deals are already done, and a material chunk of cash is gone.

Just like that.

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The Denver Broncos made a massive splash by agreeing to terms on a giant six-year contract with former New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib on Tuesday night.

In the game of musical chairs that is NFL free agency, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has been left standing without a seat.

According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, the Broncos have taken their offer to Rodgers-Cromartie off the table with Talib now in the fold.

Rodgers-Cromartie appeared in 18 games this season (including playoffs) and made 16 starts in helping Denver reach the Super Bowl. He recorded 31 tackles on the year with three interceptions, including a 75-yard pick for a touchdown.

With Chris Harris likely back with the team after being tendered at a second-round level, the Broncos have their starting cornerbacks in place. Rodgers-Cromartie will now have to look for a new team, which will be his third different team in the past three seasons.

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The Raiders let left tackle Jared Veldheer leave for Arizona in part because they thought he was better suited to playing right tackle.

And so the Raiders have signed both a left tackle and a right tackle to replace him.

Joining Rodger Saffold as the Raiders’ new left tackle will be former Jets right tackle Austin Howard.  Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Raiders have a deal in place for Howard, who started every game in 2012 and 2013 at right tackle for the Jets.

The moves will consume just a small piece of millions in cap dollars held by the Raiders, who still have plenty of needs — but also plenty of cap space to address them.

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On February 2, the Broncos learned the hard way the importance of having a top-flight secondary.  To repeat a Groundhog Day-style repeat of what happened on Groundhog Day, they spent the first day of free agency spending on help for the last line of defense.

Not long after the market opened, the Broncos added safety T.J. Ward.  Then came the stunner:  Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib, knocked out of the AFC title game by a supposed cheap shot from Denver receiver Wes Welker, has joined the three-time defending AFC West champs.

The bogarting by the Broncos of Talib becomes one of the most fascinating developments of the day, for plenty of reasons beyond the fact that Talib, who tested positive for marijuana multiple times in college at Kansas, will now live in a state where the substance is legal for recreational use.

First, the money paid to Talib — reportedly $57 million over six years with $26 million guaranteed — takes the Broncos out of the running for Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis, who’ll be cut Wednesday if not traded before then.

Second, the move puts even more pressure on the Patriots to make a play for Revis.

Third, perhaps the decision of New England coach Bill Belichick to publicly cry foul about Welker’s hit on Talib was aimed at souring Talib on the possibility of signing with the Broncos.

Fourth, the Patriots never could have given Talib the contract he has received in Denver, not in the wake of the decision to give millions to tight end Aaron Hernandez months before he landed in jail while awaiting murder charges.  While Talib has been a model citizen since being traded from Tampa to New England in 2012, concerns linger regarding his temper and demeanor in the locker room and on the practice field.  Then there’s the lingering concern that Talib doesn’t show up in big games.

For the Broncos, it doesn’t matter.  They needed to go all in if they want to win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning still on the team, and the only real chance to begin closing that 35-point gap with the Seahawks comes via the available free agents.  While Ward and Talib may not be Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, Ward and Talib were the best that Denver could currently do.

And if they can land DeMarcus Ware, the Broncos will be closer to simulating the devastating Seattle front seven.

And if the Broncos sign Vince Young, he can call it a Dream Team.

Actually, this team is less about fulfilling a dream and more about avoiding another February nightmare.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have mostly been quiet on the first day of free agency. The team hasn’t dipped its toes into the free agency waters as of yet outside of keeping their own free agents with the team.

In addition to return specialist Brandon Tate and lineman Mike Pollak, the Bengals have managed to hold on to another one of their own.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, the Bengals have re-signed safety Taylor Mays.

Mays has appeared in 34 games for the Bengals over the last three seasons since being traded to Cincinnati from San Francisco in 2011. Mays appeared in just eight games and started one game for the Bengals this season before landing on injured reserve due to a dislocated shoulder suffered in October.

Mays has been a mostly inconsistent player since coming out of USC in 2010. After being selected in the second round of the draft by the 49ers, Mays has never been able to take hold of a starting job in the league. He has been a contributor for Cincinnati as a situational defender and special teams player.

The deal with the Bengals could give Mays an opportunity to recoup some value before taking another shot in free agency in the future.

AP

The Trent Richardson trade was a success.  If the objective was to light a fire under 2009 first-round tailback Donald Brown.

As Richardson struggled for the Colts, Brown thrived.  And with the Colts now forced to justify giving up a first-round pick for Richardson, Brown has exited.

Brown has joined the Chargers, as initially reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.  A source with knowledge of the deal tells PFT that Brown’s agreed to the three-year contract, with a base value of $10.5 million.  Of that amount, $4 million in guaranteed.

It’s roughly the same deal that former Vikings running back Toby Gerhart signed with the Jaguars.  And it proves that the market for veteran running backs continues to reside in the same range as the top of the market for kickers.

Chargers G.M. Tom Telesco worked for the Colts when Brown was drafted.  He joins a depth chart that includes Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead.

AP

Early on the first day of free agency, the Broncos added one of the top safeties available in Cleveland’s T.J. Ward.

Now, they have added perhaps the best cornerback in the class.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Broncos and Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib have reached a six-year, $57 million contract with $26 million in guarantees.

PFT has confirmed that Talib has a deal in place with Denver.

The 28-year-old Talib was the top cornerback and the No. 4 overall player on PFT’s Free Agent Hot 100.

Talib (6-1, 205) has intercepted 23 passes in six NFL seasons. His size and playmaking ability make him especially valuable in a time where bigger cornerbacks are desired to match up against tall and skilled wide receivers.

The Broncos’ agreement with Talib would seem to leave Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie’s future with Denver in major doubt. Earlier on Tuesday, the Denver Post reported that the club was “closing in on” bringing back Rodgers-Cromartie. However, Talib’s addition would, at the very least, seem to complicate a potential return for Rodgers-Cromartie, an unrestricted free agent who would figure to have other options.