The San Francisco 49ers have hired Hall of Fame candidate and FOX analyst John Lynch to be their new general manager, the team announced Sunday night.

Sources tell ESPN the deal is for an almost unprecedented six years.

Lynch has no front-office experience but has been connected to front-office jobs in the past. 

"So many opportunities are missed in the NFL because people don't want to do something different," Jed York said. "We're OK with that, because I am confident in Kyle and John. John has watched John Elway and how he's built a team in Denver. As easy as it is to say he hasn't built a team yet -- I get that -- I talk to Kyle, and he says John is the most prepared of all the TV [people] he meets in the production meetings before games.

"We understand we'll have to live with growing pains, but I'm willing to do that because I believe the upside with both of them is so great."

The Cleveland Browns and Jamie Collins have agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $50 million with $26 million guaranteed.

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Collins was acquired from New England in a trade midway through the 2016 season. 

"We are going to be aggressive about acquiring talent, and when we had the opportunity to trade for Jamie back in October, it was done with the intent of him becoming a long-term part of our defense," executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said in a statement released by the team.

Hue Jackson said in the statement that Collins is "an outstanding football player and a guy we think can be part of the foundation of a tremendous defense."

The New York Jets have signed guard Brian Winters to a four-year contract extension.

The deal is believed to be worth $7 million annually, but exact terms haven't yet been revealed.

Winters, 25, was projected to be one of the most coveted guards on the free agent market.

The Seattle Seahawks have signed Devin Hester to play on special teams in the wake of an injury to Tyler Lockett.

He averaged 7.2 yards per punt return on the season (17th in the NFL) and 24.5 yards per kickoff return before he was waived by the Baltimore Ravens in December.

Hester, 34, holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns: a record 14 on punts, five on kickoffs and one return of a missed field goal.