Ryan Matthews To The Philadelphia Eagles And Andre Johnson To The Colts In Day Two Frenzy

While the market has calmed down, there still has been plenty of interesting signings over the last few hours. Probably the most expected has to be the official announcement of Andre Johnson going to the Indianapolis Colts, which the receiver unveiled on Instagram.

It’s official I’m a Colt

A photo posted by Andre Johnson (@ajohnson1500) on Mar 11, 2015 at 1:06pm PDT

As announced yesterday, Johnson was traveling with his former college teammate Frank Gore to Indianapolis and it was believed that the seven-time pro bowler would sign a deal with the AFC South team.

And with this acquisition, the Indianapolis Colts just got infinitely scarier on offense. Though they need to address some issues on defense, replacing Reggie Wayne with Johnson was a huge improvement: especially since Andre is three years younger and has fresher legs. His contract is supposedly for 3 years and worth $21 million, according to Josina Anderson. 

On top of this, the Philadelphia Eagles have continued their shopping spree, signing a few key players today. First, the Eagles addressed their running back problem with Ryan Matthews. The deal is currently just waiting to be signed.  But does this really fix their problem? They offered him 3 years and $11.5 million — with $5 million guaranteed — yet Matthews had a significant injury problem in San Diego.

Despite rushing for over 4,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and 4.4 YPA, he has only played in one full season in his entire five year career — missing eighteen games in total. On top of this, while splitting time with Darren Sproles would be ideal, he is not the power back that Chip Kelly wants, making it understandable that the Eagles are still going after DeMarco Murray.

Also, the Eagles offered a big contract to former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell — six years worth $63 million with $25 million guaranteed — and a one-year deal to the former Giants and Seahawks corner Walter Thurmond: Thurmond is now the tenth former Oregon Ducks member to be traded for or signed by Chip.  This would reunite the two defensive backs, who were a part of the “legion of boom” during Seattle’s Super Bowl run.

As for some of the smaller deals, the New York Jets have finally addressed their quarterback situation. They have given the Houston Texans a conditional seventh round pick for Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will instantly compete with Geno Smith for the starting job.

While Fitzpatrick had an up-and-down season in 2014 — which ended with a broken leg — he had some strong outings, including his six touchdown showing against the Tennessee Titans. In twelve starts, he had a completion percentage of 63.1, 2,483 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Also, the Minnesota Vikings signed the former Rams QB Shaun Hill, Raiders signed Dan Williams and Curtis Lofton and the Bengals reached a five-year $26 million deal with offensive lineman Clint Boling.

Article by Anthony Falco