After missing the playoffs in back-to-back years Hakeem Butler Jersey , the Green Bay Packers are spending big in free agency to try to get back the postseason.Tuesday with edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, linebacker Preston Smith, safety Adrian Amos and offensive lineman Billy Turner. The signings should improve a defense that ranked 18th in the NFL in 2018 and add some more protection for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.Za’Darius Smith is getting the biggest deal: $66 million over four years with $34.5 million in the first two years, according to his agency, SportsTrust Advisors. Smith, 26, led the Baltimore Ravens with 8½ sacks last season — including three in one game against Tennessee — and has 18½ in his 58-game career.Smith is one of four defenders the Ravens have already lost in free agency, along with linebackers C.J. Mosley (Jets) and Terrell Suggs (Cardinals) and safety Eric Weddle (Rams). The money Smith got from Green Bay was too high for Baltimore to consider matching.“Unfortunately for us, the market is irrational at times, and we can’t be held responsible for what other teams want to pay,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “All we can do is try to negotiate in good faith with agents and the players.”The Packers certainly aren’t afraid to pay for upgrades.Preston Smith agreed to a $52 million, four-year contract with $16 million guaranteed, according to a person with knowledge of the move. Smith, who had four sacks last season with the Washington Redskins, tweeted “Blessed beyond measures” with cheese emojis and the hashtag #GoPackGo after agreeing to his deal.The Smiths should upgrade a Green Bay pass rush that was third to last in the league in QB hits last season. General manager Brian Gutekunst is making changes there Chris Lindstrom Jersey , too, as the team released 28-year-old linebacker Nick Perry after 81 games in seven seasons.“We want to thank Nick for his contributions to the Green Bay Packers and the community over the last seven seasons,” Gutekunst said. “He did a tremendous job on the field, was a great teammate and a true professional.”Amos agreed to a $37 million, four-year contract, according to a person with knowledge of the move. Amos, 25, started all 16 games for the NFC North-rival Chicago Bears last season and had two interceptions.Turner gets a $28 million, four-year contract, according to a person with knowledge of the move. Turner, 27, started four games at left guard and seven at right tackle for the Denver Broncos last season and brings versatility to a unit that used nine linemen in 2018.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contracts cannot become official until the new league year opens Wednesday. Zach Ertz went out wide in the formation in yet another play-calling twist by Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson, facing one-on-one coverage from New England safety Devin McCourty with the Patriots leading the Eagles by one point late in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

Ertz cut inside on a slant pattern, causing McCourty to stumble and trail the route, and moved into perfect position to catch the pass from Nick Foles and launch his body across the goal line with 2:21 left .

The NFL’s frequently contested and often confusing process-of-the-catch rule left some doubt for the Eagles http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/kaleb-mcgary-jersey , with a nerve-wracking wait for the replay review to confirm the touchdown before the Eagles were officially in the lead.

There’s no mystery about this, though: Ertz has turned himself into one of the league’s elite tight ends.

”He just really had a solid year, all the way around,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. ”He really improved on his blocking this offseason, took a lot of things to heart. Just became a better football player, man, and caught that touchdown there at the end. I just couldn’t be happier for him. He works his tail off.”

Ertz had seven catches for 67 yards to help Foles and the Eagles outlast the Patriots 41-33 in a Super Bowl that featured the most combined yardage gained in the history of the NFL in the modern era.

The most important of the nine times Foles threw his way was that play that culminated with the ball popping up in the air after Ertz landed on the green Eagles paint in the end zone.

Ertz caught it on the ricochet, but the key for the legality of the play was going to be whether he turned himself into a runner before crossing the plane or if he was still in the process of making the catch. The former was the ruling.

”That seemed like an eternity over there. I mean, if they overturn that, I don’t even know what’s a catch anymore,” Ertz said.

”I had three steps in the ground. I extended for it. My back leg dragged on the ground. The city of Philly would’ve been hot if they’d have overturned that. Luckily for our city they did not.”

With a career-high eight touchdown catches with 824 receiving yards in 14 games during the regular season, Ertz came through with the kind of performance that he needed after a trying year for both him and the team in 2016.

During a December defeat that season in Cincinnati, Pederson said afterward that not all of his players gave maximum effort. Ertz was caught on camera sliding through a pair of Bengals defenders , including hard-hitting linebacker Vontaze Burfict, during one play while quarterback Carson Wentz scrambled out of bounds.

”I never really shied away from that situation I had to endure. There were some people that would say it was definitely just. It was tough. I love that the fans never gave up on me Kendall Sheffield Jersey ,” Ertz said. ”I told them at the time that they would never question my effort again, and I’m lucky to be in this situation playing for this city, and I never take it for granted.”

With Rob Gronkowski on the other side, Ertz was automatically going to be the bridesmaid tight end in this game , despite his emergence as one of the NFL’s best.

Now Ertz will not only have the Super Bowl ring that Gronkowski already possessed in double, but he’ll be able to catch up in the trophy case at home. His wife, Julie Ertz, has a World Cup championship from 2015 for the U.S. national soccer team . They were married last March.

”She’s just so happy for me,” Ertz said, adding: ”Our marriage is extremely strong even though we’re pulled in 1,000 different directions.”

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