National Football League roundup
March 5 (The Sports Xchange) - Quarterback Peyton Manning is officially returning to play for the Denver Broncos after passing his physical Thursday and signing a restructured contract for the 2015 season.
Manning, 39, agreed to accept a salary reduction from $19 million to $15 million for next season -- his 18th in the NFL.
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Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said the New England Patriots informed him they will not pick up the option in his contract.
Wilfork made the announcement on Twitter, thus ending his 11-year run with the franchise and making him a free agent when the league year begins Tuesday.
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Tight end Greg Olsen has a contract with the Carolina Panthers through the 2018 season after signing a three-year extension on Thursday.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Pro Football Talk that the deal is for $22.5 million and includes $12 million to sign.
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Former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett will stay in the NFC West, signing a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
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Five days before he was scheduled to become a free agent, linebacker Rey Maualuga signed a new three-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Maualuga, the team's second-round pick in 2009, just completed a two-year, $6.5 million deal.
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The Oakland Raiders released defensive end LaMarr Woodley, adding to an already full wallet for free agency.
Woodley's departure, along with the retirement of running back Maurice Jones-Drew, gives the Raiders about $7.7 million more to spend under the $143.3 million salary cap. They already had around $57 million to spend.
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Veteran running back Maurice Jones-Drew announced that he is retiring after nine seasons in the NFL.
The 29-year-old Jones-Drew spent the first eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before playing his final year with the Raiders in 2014.
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The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly are trying to trade wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and might release him if they cannot find a taker.
The Chiefs are determined to move on from Bowe, sources told NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, recovering from a torn ACL, said Thursday that he will be ready for training camp.
Palmer, who was injured in Week 10 last season, told AZCardinals.com that his recovery is going well and he's running and throwing five days a week.
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The Chicago Bears reportedly are exploring trade possibilities for mercurial wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
New general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox have been evaluating their roster and think moving Marshall would help "clean up the locker room," according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
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Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy is eligible to sign a free-agent contract even if he remains on the commissioner's exempt list.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Associated Press on Thursday that there is nothing to prevent players on the exempt list from signing contracts.
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New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell was among the 125 passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines jet that slid off a snowy runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday.
Six people reportedly suffered minor injuries when the plane -- Flight 1086 from Atlanta -- crashed through a chain-link fence and skidded to a halt at the edge of icy Flushing Bay. Donnell said he was fine.
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The Miami Dolphins re-signed offensive tackle Jason Fox to a two-year contract.
The deal is worth $2.5 million, according to the Miami Herald.
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed cornerback Mike Jenkins to a one-year contract.
Terms of the deal were not immediately known. The former first-round draft pick joined the Buccaneers in 2014 on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, but he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a pectoral injury in the season opener.
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The Atlanta Falcons signed safety Charles Godfrey to a contract extension.
Godfrey was signed by the Falcons on Oct. 28, 2014, after spending six-plus seasons with the Carolina Panthers.
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The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with long snapper Aaron Brewer on a four-year contract.
Financial details were not released.
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The New Orleans Saints released veteran running back Pierre Thomas on Thursday.
Thomas had signed a two-year, $4 million extension last year and was scheduled to earn $2.1 million next season.
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The Green Bay Packers signed linebacker Josh Francis on Thursday.
Francis, an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia in 2013, played with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League in 2014 and recently was with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks of the Indoor Football League.
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The Indianapolis Colts extended a qualifying offer to restricted-free-agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman and exclusive-rights tenders to outside linebacker Daniel Adongo, running back Daniel "Boom" Herron and outside linebacker Cam Johnson.
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The Buffalo Bills made exclusive-rights tendering offers to wide receiver Chris Hogan, defensive tackle Corbin Bryant and wide receiver Justin Brown. (Editing by Frank Pingue)
