Bush’s contract is reportedly worth $16 million.

The Lions also agreed to deals with former Houston Texans safety Glover Quin, cornerback Chris Houston and former Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Jason Jones on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Bush proved that he can be an every-down tailback in Miami, rushing for 2,072 yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons with the Dolphins.

He called the Lions’ offense “a running back’s dream.”

“The first thing we talked about, we’re watching film, seeing those safeties deep … it’s a running back’s dream. We have to be able to run the ball in that situation. That’s part of the reason I wanted to come here and be part of a balanced attack and take the pressure off Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford.”

Lions great Barry Sanders welcomed him to the Lions on Wednesday afternoon, in a tweet.

“Proud to be a @DetroitLionsNFL and excited to welcome @ReggieBush to the family,” he wrote.

In 2012, Bush played in every game for the first time since 2006 and fell just shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season, finishing with 986.

In 91 career games, Bush has 4,162 yards rushing, 2,730 receiving and 48 touchdowns (29 rushing, 15 receiving, four return).

Quin led the Texans with 84 tackles last season, along with two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a sack.

Quin moved from cornerback to safety when Wade Phillips took over the Texans defense in 2011. The 27-year-old defensive back has 314 tackles and five sacks in 63 career games.

Houston agreed to a five-year deal to return to the Lions. The terms of Jones’ agreement weren’t immediately known.

“I’m excited that it’s all over,” Houston told the Detroit Free-Press. “I’ve been through free agency before, and it was crazy that time. It was crazy this time, also, but I’m just happy that I have a home, a place to go and finish out my career. I’m not one of those guys out there who’s worried about where they’re going to be, so I feel pretty good.”

Houston had two interceptions, two forced fumbles and 56 tackles last season for Detroit, his third season with the Lions. He had a career-best five interceptions in 2011.

In 87 career games, he has 332 tackles, 11 interceptions and four forced fumbles.

Jones’ agent tweeted the news of his client’s agreement with the Lions.

Jones went to high school in Lathrup Village, Mich., and played college football at Eastern Michigan. He was a backup defensive tackle last season for the Seahawks. His season ended in December due to a lingering knee injury.

But the 6-foot-5, 276-pound Jones could play a bigger role with the Lions, who may lose defensive end Cliff Avril to free agency.

Detroit also released veteran Kyle Vanden Bosch last month.

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An undrafted free agent in 2009, Ellerbe is coming off his best season, one in which he recorded career highs of 92 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

A source said the Cleveland Browns are definitely prepared to try to sign Kruger. However, they will confront intense competition from the Indianapolis Colts, who will attempt to persuade Kruger to rejoin Chuck Pagano, the former Ravens defensive coordinator and current Colts head coach.

According to a source, the Colts have targeted Kruger as the replacement for Dwight Freeney, the franchise’s career sack leader who also hits the market next week. Kruger, a 2009 second-round pick, collected a career-high nine sacks this past season.

Freeney told ESPN he has not yet decided on a list of teams to visit.

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Wilson, who had been the longest-tenured player on the team, took a pay cut to stay with the Cardinals before last season, but knew as it was winding down that it would be his final one in the desert.

“In every franchise, there is a select group of players whose contributions earn them iconic status and for us, Adrian Wilson will always be one of those players,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said. “He joined us at a key time in our organization’s evolution and helped lead us into a new era. We will always be grateful for that and look forward to the day when he’s placed in the Ring of Honor at University of Phoenix Stadium alongside the other all-time great Cardinals.”

Wilson played 12 seasons with the Cardinals and is one of six NFL players with 25 interceptions and 25 sacks. A Pro Bowler in 2006 and 2008-11, he has 27 interceptions and 25.5 sacks, including eight in 2005, which were the most ever by a defensive back.

Wilson played 181 games with Arizona, fifth-most in team history, and was a team captain five times, including last season.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but it’s especially tough with someone like Adrian because he’s been such a special player and important part of this organization for the last 12 years,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said.

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The deadline for teams to use the franchise tag is 4 p.m. ET on Monday.

The team’s decision means that left tackle Jake Long and receiver Brian Hartline will become unrestricted free agents on March 12 unless the Dolphins can agree to contracts with both players before then.

The 29-year-old Starks made the Pro Bowl as an alternate and is one of the anchors of Miami’s stout run defense. He was hard to move in the middle and showed enough athleticism to also register 4.5 sacks and an interception. Starks has 32.5 sacks and four interceptions in 140 career games.

Long, the Dolphins’ No. 1 overall pick in 2008, was placed on injured reserve in December because of a left triceps injury. Before that injury, the 27-year-old left tackle had missed only two games in five NFL seasons. He was chosen as a Pro Bowl starter each of the three years before 2012.

Long has become a less dominant blocker as his injuries accumulate. He was slowed by an ankle injury as a rookie and hurt his shoulder in 2010. In 2011 he battled back trouble, then missed the final game with a torn right biceps.

The 26-year-old Hartline posted career highs in receptions (74) and yards (1,083) as he provided a go-to target for first-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

He has 183 receptions, 2,753 yards and six touchdown catches in 60 career games.

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Jones’ decision means that the draft’s projected top linebacker and top running back, as well as one of the top quarterbacks and one of the top wide receivers, are not planning to work out at this week’s combine.

A two-time All-American at Georgia, Jones is one of 32 SEC underclassmen making the jump to the NFL this year. He is one of six underclassmen ranked among the top 10 prospects on Kiper’s latest Big Board.

During the 2012 season, Jones led the nation in sacks (14.5) and tackles for a loss (24.5), both Georgia records. In two seasons at Georgia, the USC transfer recorded 28 sacks and 44 tackles for a loss in 26 games.

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Seattle at Atlanta
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 13, 2013
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX.
Line: Falcons -2.5, O/U 46

Oddsmakers currently have the Falcons listed as 3-point favorites versus the Seahawks, while the game’s total is sitting at 45.

Seattle did not deviate from its game plan despite the early two-touchdown deficit at Washington and rallied behind rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and ran for 67 yards on eight carries. Wilson continues to play with the poise of a veteran, throwing 17 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in the past nine games. He has the luxury of a sledgehammer behind him in running back Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for a season-high 132 yards and a touchdown. Lynch, who finished third in the league with 1,590 yards, has reeled off five straight 100-yard games and 11 overall this season. He had only 24 yards on eight carries in last season’s 30-28 loss to the Falcons in Seattle. The defense suffered a huge blow with an injury to DE Chris Clemons, who leads the team with 11.5 sacks.

Last time out for Seattle, they were a 24-14 winner as they battled the Redskins on the road. The Seahawks covered in the match as a 3-point favorite, while 38 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

Seattle: 11-5 SU, 11-5 ATS
When playing in January are 5-5
When playing on turf are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 9-1
When playing outside the division are 8-2
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle’s last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle’s last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle’s last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games at home

Atlanta won its first seven home games before falling to Tampa Bay in a meaningless regular-season finale. That gave Ryan a 33-6 career record at the Georgia Dome. The former No. 3 overall pick posted career highs with 4,719 yards and 32 touchdowns passes and has perhaps the league’s most complete receiving corps at his disposal. Roddy White and deep threat Julio Jones each surpassed 1,100 yards and combined for 17 scoring passes while ageless tight end Tony Gonzalez hauled in 93 receptions for 930 yards and eight touchdowns. The running game ranked just 29th in the league with an average of 87.3 yards. Michael Turner posted only two 100-yard games and ran for more than 52 yards once in the second half of the season. Atlanta’s defense surrendered an average of 18.7 points and will hope sack leader John Abraham (10) is recovered from an ankle injury.

Atlanta was a 22-17 loser in its last match at home against the Buccaneers. They failed to cover the 2.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 39 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.

Atlanta: 13-3 SU, 9-6-1 ATS
When playing in January are 4-6
When playing on turf are 8-2
After being outgained are 7-3
When playing outside the division are 10-0
Atlanta is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta’s last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games when playing Seattle

Prediction: Falcons 23, Seahawks 21.

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Jones alluded to two losses — at Seattle in Week 2 and to Chicago at Cowboys Stadium in Week 4, when Dallas’ defense was almost completely healthy — as part of the reasons why he let Ryan go.

The Cowboys lost to the Seahawks, 27-7, but two special-teams turnovers put Dallas into a 10-0 hole in the first quarter. As a defense, the Cowboys were missing only one starter, nose tackle Jay Ratliff, to injury.

In the 34-18 loss to the Bears, quarterback Tony Romo threw five interceptions, with two of those returned for touchdowns. The Cowboys were missing two defensive starters to injury in that game, Anthony Spencer and Ratliff.

“I didn’t like the way we were playing in a lot of cases,” Jones said in the taped interview that will air in its entirety Saturday night on KTVT-TV in Dallas. “I thought we could play better before the injuries, and so I factored that in. It wasn’t like we had a lot of injuries out here when we played Chicago. It wasn’t like we had a lot of injuries when we played Seattle. I didn’t like the way we played there.

“It’s not hard for me to go to those games and say what can we do to improve when we played Seattle and when we played Chicago, and I liked the way we played in subsequent games and I know we didn’t have the talent level on the field that we had when we played Seattle and Chicago.”

The Cowboys played a bulk of the season without five starters and two major contributors to their defense. In the last two games of the regular season, Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who led the team with 11.5 sacks, played with one arm. He was dealing with injuries to his elbow and shoulder and he will undergo surgery to repair a right shoulder injury Thursday.

During the season, the Cowboys never used the injuries to the defense as an excuse, but Ryan noted he had to mix and match personnel because of it.

“When we weren’t short-handed, we were kicking ass,” Ryan said Tuesday night after being released. “We weren’t at full strength ever, but we were pretty damn close and pretty damn good. We were a long way from 31st. If I’m fired on the last six games, that’s OK.”

As a defense, the Cowboys finished 19th overall, 22nd against the run and 19th against the pass.

But Jones was hoping for a much better effort from the defense.

“It’s not hard for me to go back there and say, ‘OK, we had all of our players out there we had our talent level there,’ ” Jones said. “That’s what we’ve been saying we didn’t have. Now let’s evaluate that. When we had all of our talent level, we’ve got to be able to beat Chicago at home and we’ve got to be able to go to Seattle and win that game there.

“We know they’re formidable. We know Seattle had a good football team and I don’t think we underestimated Seattle at all when we played them. But you’re going to have to get to where we want to go and you have to go into Seattle and win games in Seattle.”

Jones also acknowledged that the Cowboys’ poor recent performance against their divisional rivals factored into his decision.

“We certainly do need to not change for change sake,” he said. “But basically we need to look at what we’re doing. I’ve heard it even criticized that maybe we shouldn’t look at the matchups. We play six games in a 16-game schedule against our division, and we need to be successful in that division. We let Washington beat us twice this year, Philadelphia beat us twice last year — so all of those things are under our consideration.”

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New York Giants Vs New England Patriots
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium
When: Sunday, February 5

Oddsmakers currently have the Patriots listed as 3½-point favorites versus the Giants, while the game’s total is sitting at 55.

These teams have their advantages in this Sunday game. As for the patriots, their defense makes them have an upper hand. This is an advantage that can be evaluated even though these teams were among the worst in this season’s league. The Patriots ranked position 31 in defense, while the Giants were positioned 27, according to the statistics, this is not good ranking but we need to preview and predict how the game might turn out.

New York’s defense line has players that are valued and believed to give the best in the game. Jason Pierre-Paul leads the way with 16.5 sacks in 2012; Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora also make up great defense, they are back after missing a couple of games in this season from their injuries.

The Giants have their advantage as their team is made of a special team. Some of their valued players are; Williams, and Tyler Sash. These two players were added to the team at a crucial time when the team needed support in the sixth round for upgrading a unit that had let down the team in recent years.

Team records:
New York: 10-7 SU, 9-7-1 ATS
New England: 14-3 SU, 9-7-1 ATS

New York most recently:
When playing in February are 1-0
When playing on turf are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 8-2
When an underdog on the road are 6-4

New England most recently:
When playing in February are 3-1
When playing on turf are 9-1
After being outgained are 8-2
When favored at home are 9-1

A few trends to consider:
NY Giants are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Giants last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Giants last 5 games when playing New England
NY Giants are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing New England
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New England’s last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England’s last 5 games when playing NY Giants
New England is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Giants

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