Steve Smith has announced he will return for the 2016 NFL season.

Smith tore his Achilles on Nov. 1st, which is a difficult injury to come back from at any age.

Smith is 15th on the all-time receptions list (961) and 11th on the receiving yardage list (13,932).

Before his injury, Smith had announced he would retire at the end of the 2015 season with the Baltimore Ravens.

Drew Brees says he and Sean Payton will return to the New Orleans Saints in 2016.

"No, I don't," he said when asked if he can see a scenario in which he leaves the franchise. "I think we -- a plan was put in place throughout last offseason as to how we were going to build a foundation by which to make a run at it in the future. That includes some new faces, that includes some young players that, I think, will all have a chance to come together and kind of build a team that can make a run at it in the future.

"Unfortunately, we had high expectations going into this year and we fell a bit short. But I'm confident with the character, the leadership, the talent we have."

Ian Rapoport noted that Brees and Payton could both be elsewhere next season. Brees could be a victim of his massive, $30 million cap hit in 2016 and sources close to Payton note that he has his eye on potential landing spots should a change go down.

The New England Patriots will sign Steven Jackson to a one-year deal.

Jackson, 32, met with the Patriots on Wednesday and worked out with the team the following day.

Jackson was released by the Atlanta Falcons in February.

The Patriots have placed LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis on season-ending injured reserve.

Chip Kelly says the Philadelphia Eagles want to re-sign Sam Bradford in the offseason.

"Obviously, it's great to hear those things, but I don't think it really means a whole lot, and it's not going to change the way I approach things," Bradford said. "I'm sure I'll pay more attention to that stuff in the offseason."

The Eagles acquired Bradford in the offseason.

"That's a couple months away," he said when asked if he was looking forward to testing the free-agent market. "I'm really just worried about these next three weeks, obviously this week against Arizona."

Bradford was asked if he likes it in Philadelphia.

"I do like it here. Obviously it's a lot different than anywhere I've ever been before. But you know what? I really do enjoy it here," he said.

Christine Michael has returned to the Seattle Seahawks, signing with the team on Wednesday.

Michael was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in August and carried 15 times for 51 yards before he was released.

Michael has a chance to contribute with Thomas Rawls out for the season.

"He's been with us for a long time, so he does have a lot of background," Pete Carroll said. "That doesn't mean he's going to be the featured guy or starter or anything like that. He's just coming in here and trying to help us out, and we'll see how that works out. But it is good to be able to pull somebody in that has that kind of background."

The New England Patriots are working out Steven Jackson.

Jackson spent the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and has been a free agent all season.

Josh McDaniels worked with Jackson when they were both with the St. Louis Rams.

Bill Belichick has already been partial to reliable veteran running backs.

The Patriots have had a number of injuries at running back.

Ryan Mallett has agreed to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.

Mallett was released earlier this season by the Houston Texans after he missed the team's flight for a road game.

Joe Flacco is out for the season.

Antonio Gates will almost certainly continue his playing career in 2016.

“I don’t want to go out this kind of way,” Gates said Sunday night. “I don’t want to go out as a loser. Winning is the way, ideally, you want to go out. … I want to make one more run at it, and then if it doesn’t work, be like, ‘OK.’ That’s just my feeling right now.”

Gates will officially take a month or so after the season to assess his own desire and ability to continue playing.

Gates will also gauge how the San Diego Chargers are moving forward. Gates has been critical of the Chargers' youth movement.

“I’ll spend some time,” he said, “to see where I’m at, what’s being done, what changes there are, what our goals are.”

The Philadelphia Eagles would still like Sam Bradford to remain their quarterback long-term.

"We've always wanted that," said Chip Kelly. "We wouldn't have traded for him if we thought that he'd only be here for a year."

The Eagles traded Nick Foles for Bradford in the offseason.

Bradford and the Eagles were unable to agree upon an extension before the start of the season.

Washington has signed Pierre Thomas.

Thomas spent one week with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this season. Thomas has been one of the NFL's better pass catching running backs.

Matt Jones and Alfred Morris are in a positional share for Washington.