Falcons sign free agent Jackson

Jackson, 30, had 1,042 yards rushing and four touchdowns with the Rams last season. It was his eighth straight season with more than 1,000 yards rushing.

Jackson has 10,135 yards rushing, the most of any active player. He set career highs with 1,528 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns with St. Louis in 2006.

Turner's average of only 3.6 yards per carry last season set a career low. The Falcons released Turner, defensive end John Abraham and cornerback Dunta Robinson on March 1.

Jackson averaged 4.1 yards per carry with the Rams.

The New England Patriots have agreed to terms with receiver Danny Amendola on a deal that would reportedly pay him $31 million over five years, moving quickly after the loss of Wes Welker, a fivetime Pro Bowl selection.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher also said Amendola had signed with the Patriots. The Patriots confirmed the deal later Thursday.

Amendola, 27, is a 5foot11, 188pound former rookie free agent from Texas Tech the same school as Welker. After signing with the Rams in 2009, Amendola led the NFL with 66 kickoff returns, 1,618 kickoff return yards and 1,978 total return yards. The next season, he led the NFL with 2,364 allpurpose yards, catching 85 passes for 689 yards and three touchdowns.

VIKINGS: Minnesota agreed to terms with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Vikings also were hosting Greg Jennings, a Green Bay Packers freeagent receiver.

Cassel agreed to terms with the Vikings, a deal first reported by Fox Sports, on the same day he was formally released by the Chiefs with two years left on his contract. He spent the past four seasons in Kansas City, making the Pro Bowl in 2010 after passing for 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. But he has struggled the past two seasons, with 16 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,796 yards with six touchdowns and 12 interceptions in nine games last year.

Cassel will replace Joe Webb as Christian Ponder's backup.

TEXANS: Houston met with free agent safety Ed Reed on Thursday.

The team said on its Twitter site that general manager Rick Smith is flying to pick up Reed in a private jet owned by team owner Bob McNair.

Signing Reed would make up for an otherwise disappointing week for Houston. The Texans cut receiver Kevin Walter, then lost tight end James Casey to Philadelphia and safety Glover Quin to Detroit after the opening of the free agency signing period.

Outside linebacker Connor Barwin, cornerback Brice McCain and linebacker Tim Dobbins were among Houston's other key unrestricted free agents.

Reed, 34, played for the Super Bowlwinning Baltimore Ravens. Reed is the Ravens' franchise leader in interceptions with 61, and his 1,541 return yards with those pickoffs is an NFL career record. He was the NFL's top defensive player in 2004 and a ninetime Pro Bowler.

RULES: The tuck rule could disappear from NFL games if owners approve a proposal from the competition committee to dump it.

The owners also will consider a change to instant replay rules allowing for a video review even when a coach makes an illegal challenge. The league meetings are next week in Phoenix.

If a passer is in the act of bringing the ball down into his body rather than throwing it and loses control, it has been ruled an incomplete pass under the tuck rule. The proposal would make it a fumble.

Detroit coach Jim Schwartz challenged what officials ruled BenJarvus Green-Ellis Jersey an 81yard scoring run by Houston's Justin Forsett last Thanksgiving. Because all scoring plays are reviewed, Schwartz was not allowed to throw the red flag, and by doing so he negated use of replay. Forsett clearly had been down by contact earlier in the run, but the touchdown stood.

TITANS: Tennessee has resigned kick returner Darius Reynaud to a oneyear contract.

The Titans announced the deal Thursday.

Reynaud joined the Titans last year as a free agent and wound up handling both punt and kick returns after Marc Mariani broke his leg in the preseason.

Reynaud returned two punts for touchdowns and a kickoff for www.bengalsofficialnfl.com/Authentic-Benjarvus-Greenellis-Jersey a third touchdown, and he ranked third in the NFL averaging 13.2 yards on punt returns.

GIANTS: New York has taken steps to improve its defensive backfield, agreeing to deals with safety Ryan Mundy and cornerback Aaron Ross in free agency.

Ross, a former New York No. 1 draft choice, played for the Giants from 20072011 and started in two Super Bowl victories. He played last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mundy arrives by way of Pittsburgh, where he played four seasons for the Steelers.

The moves came on the same day the Giants' chief rivals in the NFC East the Philadelphia www.bengalsofficialnfl.com Eagles also upgraded their secondary. Philadelphia, some two hours before New York announced its moves, added former Giants safety Kenny Phillips and former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams.

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