Safety Andre Cisco joining Jets on 1-year/$10M contract, agents say
Safety Andre Cisco has agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with the New York Jets, his agents, Andre Odom and David Mulugheta of Athletes First, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
Cisco fills a huge need in the secondary, as three of the Jets’ top four safeties from last season are unrestricted free agents. Cisco projects as one starter, possibly alongside Tony Adams, a restricted free agent who received a right-of-first-refusal tender ($3.2 million).
New coach Aaron Glenn, himself a former cornerback and secondary coach, made the position group a priority on the first day of free-agent negotiating. The Jets also agreed to a contract with former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens, who replaces D.J. Reed (Detroit Lions).
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Cisco, 24, in the third round (65th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft out of Syracuse.
In his four seasons with the team, he appeared in 63 games (47 starts) and had eight interceptions (including one pick-six), 24 pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
Cisco had issues with blown coverages in 2024 and was removed from the starting lineup in Weeks 13 and 14. But he re-entered it in Weeks 15-16 before missing the season finale with a groin injury suffered during pregame warmups.
Cisco also caused a stir last season when he said he saw “a lot of quit” from players in the Jaguars’ 35-16 Week 6 loss to the Chicago Bears in London.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini and Michael DiRocco contributed to this report.
Adam Schefter breaks down the Browns’ decision to trade for quarterback Kenny Pickett. (0:50)
The Browns are trading for Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett, sending Philadelphia a 2025 fifth-round pick and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
The Browns entered free agency likely to add at least one veteran passer with Deshaun Watson expected to sit out a significant portion of the 2025 season after tearing his right Achilles tendon for the second time. But with limited salary cap space — the Browns entered Monday with about $13 million, according to Roster Management System — Cleveland was likely to pursue options available for less expensive contracts, despite general manager Andrew Berry telling reporters the team’s cash and cap situation would not prohibit it from making moves if the right opportunity presented itself.
With Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick and the only other quarterback under contract for the 2025 season, sent to Philadelphia in the deal, another addition is likely.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler previously reported that Daniel Jones, Carson Wentz and Kirk Cousins, if the latter is released, are expected to be on the Browns’ radar.
Pickett, who turns 27 in June, is a former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers who was selected No. 20 in the 2022 NFL draft. In two years with the Steelers, Pickett went 14-10 as a starter and completed 62.6% of his attempts for 4,474 yards. He also threw 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. Last March, the Steelers traded Pickett and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Eagles for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round picks.
In his lone season with the Super Bowl-winning Eagles, Pickett served as Jalen Hurts’ backup and made one start. He completed 25 of 42 passes for 291 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Pickett is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Thompson-Robinson, 25, started five games in two seasons with the Browns. He went 1-4 as a starter, completing 121 of 230 passes (52.6%) for 880 yards, 1 touchdown and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 187 yards on 35 carries.
In another move, the Browns have notified defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson that he will be released at the start of the new league year Wednesday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Tomlinson will be designated as a post-June 1 cut but can officially sign with a new team Wednesday.
Tomlinson, 31, was set to enter the third year of a four-year, $57 million deal he signed in the 2023 offseason but had no guaranteed salary remaining. In 2024, Tomlinson recorded three sacks and 26 combined tackles.
The Dallas Cowboys agreed on a one-year, $3 million deal with free agent running back Javonte Williams, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
Rico Dowdle, who led the Cowboys with 1,079 rushing yards last season, is a free agent.
Williams, a second-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2021, saw his role slightly diminish over the past two seasons. He still led the team in carries (139) and rushing yards (513) in 2024, but he was also part of a Broncos running game that coach Sean Payton had called frustrating overall with the team unable to find the “right” rotation among its backs.
Williams, 24, had only 12 carries in Denver’s last three games, including its playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. That stretch included a zero-carry game in a Week 17 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals.
Williams was a revelation as a tackle-breaking rookie in 2021, rushing for 903 yards. But in 2022, he suffered a devastating knee injury in a Week 4 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders — Williams tore multiple ligaments and suffered other damage to the knee — and though he tirelessly worked to get back on the field, his production has not returned to his rookie level.
He has improved each year as a receiver and was one of rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s most reliable targets in 2024, when his 52 receptions ranked second on the team. But as a runner, Williams averaged fewer than 4 yards per carry in each of the past two seasons (3.6 in 2023, 3.7 last season), and some in the league said they had not seen the same explosiveness before or after contact since his injury.
According to NextGen stats, Williams’ maximum speed with the ball as he crossed the line of scrimmage last season (15.34 mph) was the slowest among all backs with at least 113 carries.
Overall, Williams has 606 carries for 2,394 yards and 11 TDs in his four NFL seasons. He also has 158 catches for 966 yards and 5 scores.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.
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Andre Cisco agrees to join Jets on a one-year deal
Free agent safety Andre Cisco has agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with the Jets, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Cisco is 100th on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
The Jaguars made him a third-round pick in 2021, and he spent his first four seasons in Jacksonville. He has appeared in 63 games with 47 starts.
Cisco has totaled 229 tackles, 1.5 sacks, eight interceptions, 24 pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
In 2024, he started 14 of the 16 games he played and recorded 68 tackles, an interception and seven pass breakups.
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Jets signing safety Andre Cisco to one-year deal
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John Flanigan
The Jets are adding a local kid to their secondary via free agency.
SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes has confirmed that Gang Green has reached an agreement with safety Andre Cisco on a one-year, $10 million deal.
Cisco grew up in Valley Stream, NY and he attended Syracuse University — where he was the first true freshman in program history to earn All-American honors.
Despite tearing his ACL during his sophomore season, he decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility to enter the NFL Draft, where he landed with the Jaguars in the third-round.
He began his career in a backup role but quickly established himself as a key contributor in Jacksonville’s secondary over the next few seasons, recording eight interceptions and 203 tackles.
Still just 24, Cisco presents another intriguing low-risk, high-reward addition for the Jets.
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