The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to sign Aaron Donald to a six-year deal worth $135 million with $87 million in guaranteed money.

The deal is the richest ever for a defensive player.

A first-round pick in 2014, Donald was entering the final year of his rookie contract and scheduled to earn $6.9 million this season.

Donald is a three-time All-Pro.

Rob Gronkowski has agreed to an improved deal with the New England Patriots adding $4.3 million to his contract.

Gronkowski can make up to $13.3 million in 2018.

Gronkowski considered retiring in the offseason.

A number of players have received lucrative contract extensions this offseason, but Rob Gronkowski isn't one of them.

"I'm always open for that," Gronkowski said.

The 29-year-old has two years remaining on his current contract with the New England Patriots, which has base salaries of $8 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019. He is currently the fourth-highest paid tight end in the NFL.

"I mean, it is what it is," Gronkowski said. "That's not really my focus. I got a long season ahead, and just trying to focus on what I need to really do and just let everything else play out."

The Cleveland Browns have released Mychal Kendricks after he was charged with insider trading.

The Browns said they were aware of Kendricks' involvement prior to signing him to a one-year deal in June, but "circumstances have changed" and the team has elected to release him.

"I would like to apologize," Kendricks said in the statement released by his attorneys. "Four years ago, I participated in insider trading, and I deeply regret it. I invested money with a former friend of mine who I thought I could trust and who I greatly admired. His background as a Harvard graduate and an employee of Goldman Sachs gave me a false sense of confidence.

"To this point, I had worked my tail off since I was 5 years old to become a football player. I was drawn in by the allure of being more than just a football player. While I didn't fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions."

The Seattle Seahawks have signed Tyler Lockett to a three-year, $31.8 million contract extension.

The deal has a maximum value of $37.8 million and $20 million guaranteed.

The 25-year-old Lockett was entering the final year of his rookie contract. 

Lockett suffered a compound fracture of his leg in a Christmas Eve game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Lockett made it back by the start of last season but estimated recently that he was playing at about 75-80 percent while coming off the injury.

With the regular season a little more than a week away, the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald still have yet to reach a long-term agreement.

Pro Football Talk reported that the two sides are approaching deal worth $22 million annually.

"I'm very, very optimistic," Sean McVay said. "There is a level of increased optimism."

McVay also believes Donald will be on the field for Week 1 against the Oakland Raiders.

"Hopefully if we do get it done in the next couple days, we do feel good about him being ready for Oakland," he said. "The dialogue has increased, the level of urgency is extremely high on both sides."

Dez Bryant confirmed on Twitter that he will wait until later in the season to sign an NFL contract.

Bryant met with the Cleveland Browns last week.

Bryant, in answering a tweet from a fan where his Twitter handle was mentioned, wrote, "I just have to take care of me first" and "I will play ball this year just might be a lil bit later in the year."

Bryant turned down a three-year contract offer from Baltimore, preferring a one-year deal to re-establish himself in hopes of getting a bigger payday next season.

Kirk Cousins was offered a three-year, $90 million contract from the New York Jets in free agency, which was fully guaranteed.

Cousins was being offered $25 million per year from the Minnesota Vikings.

“We want the money to be guaranteed. My preference would be to get a fully guaranteed contract or do one-year deals,” he said.

Cousins agreed to a three-year, $84 million, fully guaranteed deal with the Vikings, or $28 million per year.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Carlos Dunlap have agreed to a three-year, $45 million extension.

Dunlap was a Pro Bowler in 2015 and 2016 at defensive end.

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to sign Geno Atkins to a four-year extension.

Atkins was scheduled to become a free agent in 2019.

Atkins is a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-team All-Pro at defensive tackle.

The Bengals selected Atkins in the fourth round out of Georgia in 2010.