NFL roundup: Hernandez agrees to five-year extension with Patriots

The Patriots agreed to a five-year contract extension with tight end Aaron Hernandez that could tie him to New England and All-Pro sidekick Rob Gronkowski through the 2018 season.

The deal includes $16 million in guaranteed money, including a $12.5 million signing bonus, according to the Boston Globe. He will average $7.5 million per year under the new deal, which totals $37.5 million.

Hernandez, 22, was a fourth-round pick in 2010. He has 124 receptions for 1,473 yards and 13 touchdowns and has also lined up at wide receiver in preseason games. Hernandez aligned as the running back in two games last season and had eight carries for 92 yards.

The Patriots signed Gronkowski, a second-round pick in 2010, to a six-year, $54 million contract extension in June.

Hernandez had two years left on his four-year, $2.785 million rookie contract, and was scheduled to earn $540,000 in base salary this season.

--The Colts should have wide receiver Austin Collie for the season-opener at Chicago on Sept. 9, coach Chuck Pagano said.

Pagano said Collie was day-to-day but likely to be cleared well before the Colts open the season at Soldier Field. Collie has had four concussions in his career but said Sunday that he's not considering retirement.

The Colts sent three players to injured reserve on Monday -- wide receiver Griff Whalen, offensive tackle George Foster and cornerback Brandon McKinney. Rookie nose tackle Josh Chapman and guard Justin Anderson were placed on reserve/physically unable to perform.

---Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs was placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list and will miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

Suggs has yet to return to the field as he continues to recover from Achilles surgery. He will now miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season.

Wide receiver David Reed (knee) was also placed on the Reserve/PUP list as the Ravens trimmed their roster to Monday's 75-player limit.

--The Detroit Lions acquired cornerback Kevin Barnes from the Redskins.

Barnes thought he was being released but was informed he had been dealt to the Lions on Monday morning.

The former Maryland cornerback was a third-round pick in 2009. He started three of 29 games with the Redskins and was likely to enter the 2012 season as the nickel cornerback.

--The Arizona Cardinals' quarterback competition plays on, but it won't be decided in Thursday's preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt will hold Kevin Kolb and John Skelton out of this week's preseason game and decide which quarterback will start the regular-season opener Sept. 9 based on practice performance.

--Where Dez Bryant goes, the Cowboys intend to follow. Or at least accompany. And possibly chauffeur.

Head coach Jason Garrett said the troubled receiver, who was arrested July 14 for allegedly assaulting his mother, is being assigned a strict set of rules and guidelines for off-field conduct by the Cowboys in the wake of his most recent bout with trouble away from the field.

Bryant will have a nightly curfew of midnight, is prohibited from drinking alcohol and attending strip clubs and will be accompanied by a security detail when traveling to and from team functions -- including daily practices and game day.

--The Dallas Cowboys made 11 roster moves on Monday. They waived eight players, including offensive tackle Levy Adcock, kicker Delbert Alvarado and wide receiver David Little, and placed interior offensive lineman Kevin Kowalski on the physically unable to perform list. He's ineligible to return to the active roster until the day after Week 6 is completed (Oct. 16).

--The New Orleans Saints will leave Louisiana on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CT and travel to Cincinnati, where they plan to practice Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Saints adjusted their schedule based on the projected landfall of Hurricane Isaac this week. Estimates Monday morning projected the storm would hit Tuesday night or early Wednesday after torrential rain over Cuba on Sunday.

--The Giants reduced their roster to 75 with a flurry or roster moves announced Monday.

Defensive lineman Chris Canty and tight end Travis Beckum were placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Cornerback Antwaun Molden had his contract terminated. Rookie offensive lineman Brandon Mosley, the team's fourth-round pick, was placed on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury. The Giants waived Ryan Purvis, defensive tackle Carlton Powell, cornerback Chris Horton, wide receivers Julian Talley and Brandon Collins, tight end Christian Hopkins, defensive backs Brandon Bing and Jojo Nicolas, running back Joe Martinek, offensive tackle Joel Reinders and defensive tackle Oren Wilson.

--The Buffalo Bills released quarterback Vince Young, who signed a one-year deal to be the backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick, but didn't impress in three preseason games.

Young completed 48.1 percent of his passes for 276 yards (25 of 52) and two interceptions. His passer rating was 48.2.

The Bills adjusted the depth chart with the acquisition of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson from the Seattle Seahawks in a trade for an undisclosed draft pick that was expected to be finalized Monday.

--The Oakland Raiders reduced their roster to 75 on Monday. The players released included linebacker Korey Bosworth, defensive end Mason Brodine, defensive end Wayne Dorsey, safety Aaron Henry, cornerback Terrail Lambert, wide receiver Thomas Mayo, wide receiver DeAundre Muhammad, quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero, safety Chaz Powell and fullback Manase Tonga.

Fullback Rashawn Jackson and offensive lineman Ed Wang were waived/injured and if they go unclaimed on waivers, both can revert to the Raiders' injured reserve list.

--The Patriots released defensive tackle Gerard Warren and wide receiver Donte' Stallworth on Monday before the 4 p.m. ET deadline to reduce rosters from 90 to 75.

--The Saints reduced their roster by 15 to reach the roster limit. They terminated the contracts for vested veteran defensive tackle Remi Ayodele, a sixth-year pro who won a Super Bowl ring with the Saints, and ninth-year quarterback Luke McCown.

The following players were waived: linebacker Aaron Tevis, center Brian Folkerts, tight end Jake Byrne, safety Johnny Thomas, wide receiver Derek Moye, offensive guard Paul Fenaroli, offensive tackle Hutch Eckerson, defensive end Donavan Robinson, wide receiver Kevin Hardy, cornerback Kamaal McIlwain, defensive tackle Swanson Miller, cornerback Cord Parks and wide receiver Marques Clark.

--Rashad Jennings will be the Jaguars starting running back barring an unforeseen change in the depth chart, coach Mike Mularkey said Monday.

All-Pro running back Maurice Jones-Drew's holdout reached Day 32 on Monday and while Mularkey said the door was open for Jones-Drew to return and possibly even start, it's less likely by the passing minute.

--The Chargers released veteran wide receiver and kick returner Roscoe Parrish and waived eight players to reduce their roster to the mandated limit of 75 on Monday.

The Chargers waived wide receivers Jason Barnes, Taylor Embree and Phillip Payne, defensive tackle Eddie Brown, long snapper Nick Guess, running back Michael Hayes, tight end Brad Taylor and tackle Phil Trautwein.

--Oft-injured Rams wide receiver Danario Alexander was waived/injured and defensive tackle Trevor Laws was placed on injured reserve.

The Rams waived 13 players, including fullback Todd Anderson, tight end Brody Eldridge, wide receiver Charles Gilbert, defensive tackle John Gill, wide receiver Brandyn Harvey, linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, offensive tackle Kevin Hughes, linebacker Noah Keller, kicker Garrett Lindholm, offensive tackle Ryan McKee, running back Calvin Middleton, running back Nick Schwieger and long-snapper Travis Tripucka.

--Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick sat out of Monday's practice with a sore left knee.

Kirkpatrick was first cleared to practice last week after fracturing a bone in his left knee in July, days before the start of training camp.

The 17th overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Alabama was pushing to see his first preseason action in Thursday's preseason finale at Indianapolis.

--The Lions placed running back Jahvid Best on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he'll be unavailable to practice with the team until at least Oct. 16, which is the one year anniversary of the injury that has left the former first-round pick idle for months.

Best suffered his second concussion of the 2011 season and third in his career in Week 6 -- Oct. 16, 2011 -- last season against the 49ers. He has met with teams of medical experts and concussion-specific physicians but had yet to be cleared for physical contact as the Lions prepared for their final preseason game this week.

--The 49ers designated rookie running back Jewel Hampton for the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List and linebacker Darius Fleming to the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List.

The team also waived the following 12 players: fullback Cameron Bell, outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown, defensive tackle Patrick Butrym, wide receiver Ben Hannula, wide receiver Joe Hastings, defensive tackle Matthew Masifilo, cornerback Cory Nelms, cornerback Deante' Purvis, tight end Joe Sawyer, offensive lineman Jason Slowey, kicker Giorgio Tavecchio and wide receiver Brian Tyms.

--The Mike Wallace watch is on again.

According to an NFL Network report, Wallace will end his holdout from the Pittsburgh Steelers and sign his one-year, $2.742 million restricted free agent tender Tuesday.

Wallace led the Steelers with 72 receptions for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

---The Jaguars trimmed their roster to the 75-player limit. Center John Estes (knee), guard Drew Nowak (foot), guard/center Jason Spitz (ankle) and tight end Matt Veldman (knee) were placed on injured reserve, ending their 2012 seasons. Fullback Brock Bolen (knee) was waived/injured and will revert to injured reserve if he clears waivers.

Defensive end John Chick (knee) and linebacker Clint Session (concussion) were moved from the active physically unable to perform (PUP) list to the reserve PUP list and don't count against the 75 active players.

---Cornerback Walter McFadden and tight end Justin Peelle were among the 15 players released by the Steelers before Monday's deadline for teams to reduce their rosters to 75 players.

Also released were linebacker Ryan Baker, defensive tackle Mike Blanc, wide receiver Paul Cox, cornerback Andre Freeman, kicker Daniel Hrapmann, offensive lineman Kyle Jolly, long snapper Matt Katula, tight end Jamie McCoy, safety Myron Rolle, wide receiver Juamorris Stewart, defensive tackle Kade Weston and wide receiver Jimmy Young.

Linebacker Mortty Ivy was placed on the Waived/Injured list.

---The silver lining during training camp for Redskins right tackle Jammal Brown is that his problematic right hip hadn't required surgery.

However, Brown was unable to fix the injury through rehab and a pair of cortizone shots and finally underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament last week, according to The Washington Post. Brown is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and will likely begin the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he will miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

---Graham Gano has won the Redskins' kicking job for now with the release of Neil Rackers on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Redskins signed the veteran Rackers during the offseason to provide competition for Gano, who has a big leg but has been inconsistent through his first three seasons.

---Running back Ryan Mathews continues to target the Chargers' regular-season opener as he recovers from a broken clavicle.

General manager A.J. Smith signed veteran tailbacks Ronnie Brown and Jackie Battle to one-year deals in the offseason, but no one on the Chargers has rushed for more than 50 yards during the preseason in Mathews' absence.

---Left tackle Jason Peters was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list by the Eagles, meaning he will miss at least the first six weeks of the season as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

Defensive tackle Mike Patterson was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list, guard Mike Gibson was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a minor hip flexor injury and wide receiver Jamel Hamler was waived as Philadelphia got down to Monday's 75-player roster limit.

---Place-kicker Olindo Mare was released by the Panthers just one season into a four-year, $12 million deal.

Justin Medlock is the only other kicker on the roster.

The Panthers also released veteran punter Nick Harris and will go with rookie sixth-round pick Brad Nortman.

---Nick Folk has won the Jets' place-kicking job with the team releasing Josh Brown following a neck-and-neck three-week battle.

The Jets waived/injured fullback Josh Baker and released linebacker Damario Ambrose, running back Jeremy Stewart and wide receivers Stanley Arukwe and Wes Kemp.

---Long snapper Lonie Paxton was waived by the Broncos, who also placed defensive end Jason Hunter on injured reserve.

Denver also waived linebacker Elliot Coffey, wide receivers Mark Dell and Cameron Kenney, defensive end Cyril Obiozor, tight end Anthony Miller, running back Xavier Omon, free safety Anthony Perkins, offensive tackle Mike Remmers, cornerback Ramzee Robinson, fullback Austin Sylvester and guard Austin Wuebbels.

---Running back DuJuan Harris was claimed by the Steelers, who were seeking depth with several injuries to their backfield.

Harris played in five games as a rookie for Jacksonville last season, rushing for 42 yards on nine carries. He signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted rookie out of Troy on July 26, 2011.