Four soon-to-be NFL free agents were designated with the franchise tag for the upcoming season, and two drew the transition tag, which had not been used since 2011.
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, Washington Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo and New York Jets kicker Nick Folk were franchised.
Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Jason Worilds were designated as transition players.
A club can designate one “franchise” player or one “transition” player among its veteran free agents.
The salary offer by a player’s club determines whether the franchise player designation
The signing period for franchise players begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 11 and ends on the Tuesday following the 10th week of the season (Nov. 11).
The signing period for transition players begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 22 and ends on July 22. After July 22 and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following the 10th week of the season (Nov. 11), the prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.
—The San Francisco 49ers announced Monday that they agreed to terms with wide receiver Anquan Boldin on a two-year contract through the 2015 season.
Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but ESPN reported that Boldin agreed to a two-year deal worth $12 million, including $9 million guaranteed.
Boldin, 33, is coming off a season in which he made 85 receptions for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns. It marked the three-time Pro Bowler’s sixth-career 1,000-yard season, and his first since 2009.
In the playoffs, Boldin had 16 catches for 227 yards with one touchdown. He was named the recipient of the team’s Bill Walsh Award as the 49ers’ MVP as selected by the coaching staff.
—Donald Butler signed a seven-year deal with the San Diego Chargers that could make him one of the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL.
Butler’s contract includes $28 million guaranteed and with incentives could max out at just over $48 million.
Butler ranked second on the team with 99 tackles in 2013. He added nine tackles, including two for a loss, and an interception in two playoff games.
—Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning passed his physical exam Monday, planned primarily to gauge the status of his surgically repaired neck, and is cleared to play in 2014.
Manning passed the team’s exit interview physical last month but returned for physicians to more closely evaluate the neck area reconstructed in spinal fusion surgery in 2012.
Monday’s exam was a contractually required check-up on his neck that came along with the free-agent deal the Broncos gave Manning before the 2012 season.
Manning missed all of the 2011 season, his final year with the Indianapolis Colts, after undergoing four neck surgeries.
—Cornerback Brent Grimes signed a four-year contract to stay with the Miami Dolphins.
Grimes was the No. 2-ranked cornerback based on film evaluations by Pro Football Focus and one of the top players at the position ticketed for unrestricted free agency March 11.
Grimes signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Dolphins last season. He was designated the franchise player of the Atlanta Falcons in February 2012 but played in only one game.
He tore an Achilles tendon in the 2012 season opener, when he made $10 million on a one-year deal.
Grimes was a Pro Bowler in 2010 and has 17 interceptions during his seven-year career.
—Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman strongly disagrees with the NFL’s proposed rule banning the use of the N-word on the playing field.
Sherman told themmqb.com that penalizing players 15 yards for using racial slurs on the field is an “atrocious idea” and “almost racist.”
The NFL’s competition committee is expected to discuss the proposed rule soon.
Sherman said the N-word is not always used as a racial slur, especially among African-American players.
“It’s in the locker room and on the field at all times,” Sherman said. “I hear it almost every series out there on the field.”