Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars continued to add to their receiving corps by reaching a one-year, $555,000 deal with wide receiver Matthew Hatchette, ESPN.com's John Clayton reports. Included in the deal is a $25,000 signing bonus.

Hatchette, 29, led NFL Europe with 61 catches for 790 yards and seven touchdown passes playing for Amsterdam. He was only receiver among to top 15 to be a free agent who had not been allocated from an NFL team.

For Hatchette, NFL Europe provided a chance to get his most extensive playing time. He had been a third- and fourth-receiver with Minnesota and the New York Jets. He signed with the Raiders last year but didn't make the team.

The 6-3, 193-pound Hatchette joins former 49ers veteran J.J. Stokes with the Jaguars. Stokes signed a one-year, $805,000 contract earlier this week.

Cleveland Browns: Moving to secure the services of their most effective pass rusher for another season, the Browns on Wednesday signed defensive end Mark Word to one-year contract extension, through the 2004 campaign, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports.

The extension is significant for several reasons, not the least of which is that Word would have been a restricted free agent next spring, and likely would have gotten considerable attention because of his pass rush skills. The new deal generates more money for Word and means the Browns won't have to contend with someone attempting to pirate him away next spring. He would still be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the '04 season.

Under the extension, Word received a $400,000 signing bonus and his base salary for 2003 remains at $375,000. His salary for 2004 is $550,000 and he also receives a roster bonus of $75,000.

Word, 27, led the Browns with eight sacks in 2002 and also forced four fumbles. In all, Word had 21 tackles and, in some cases, he outperformed Courtney Brown, the first player taken in the 2000 draft. A former Jacksonville State standout, he began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers have thinned out an overstocked quarterback corps, releasing first-year free agent Zak Kustok, a move that reduced their depth chart to five passers, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports. The release of Kustok, who played collegiately at Northwestern, was not surprising, given that the Packers last week signed veteran Akili Smith.

Kustok was in the Miami Dolphins training camp last summer as an undrafted college free agent, but was released in the cutdown to 65 players. He signed with the Packers earlier this year and had participated in all the offseason organized workouts and in the team's mini-camp. As a starter at Northwestern, he threw for 6,822 yards and also had 42 touchdown passes.

Green Bay now has five quarterbacks on the roster: Brett Favre, Doug Pederson, Smith, Craig Nall and Eric Crouch.

New Orleans Saints: Jerome J. Benson, 74, brother of Saints owner Tom Benson, has died in Tucson, Arizona, the team announced.

Benson died Tuesday after a long illness, the team said. He was an early Saints investor and recently served as advisory director on the team's board of directors.

"We are all very saddened by the death of Jerome,'' Tom Benson said in a statement. ``I just spoke with him yesterday and he was so very excited about getting back to New Orleans and attending training camp this year.''

Services had not been set Wednesday.

New York Giants: Continuing to complete early agreements with their late-round draft choices, the Giants have signed wide receiver Kevin Walter to a three-year contract, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports. The deal is worth $934,250, and includes a signing bonus of $24,250 and rookie minimum salaries of $225,000 (2003), $305,000 (2004) and $380,000 (2005).

Walter becomes the fourth of the Giants' 11 choices to reach contract terms, joining guard Dave Diehl (No. 5), wide receiver Willie Ponder (No. 6a) and wide receiver David Tyree (No. 6c). Walter was the last of New York's three choices in the seventh round and the 255th prospect chosen overall in the draft.

The former Eastern Michigan star totaled 211 receptions, 2,838 yards and 20 touchdowns while playing in 44 games and starting 33 of them. Last season, he had 93 catches for 1,368 yards and nine touchdowns.

The also signed defensive end Radell Lockhart, who played the past two seasons for NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores. The Giants released defensive lineman Brad Harris, who played this spring for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.

San Francisco 49ers: In the latest moved aimed at bolstering a secondary that ranked as one of the league's most generous in '02, the 49ers have signed cornerback Antuan Simmons, one of the top coverage defenders in the NFL Europe League this spring, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports.

Simmons, who auditioned last week for team personnel officials and coaches, becomes the third addition to the 49ers secondary in the past week and a half. San Francisco also signed a pair of veteran unrestricted free agents, cornerback Fred Weary and safety Scott Frost, in that period.

A four-year starter at Southern California, where he posted 208 tackles and posted nine interceptions, Simmons was in camp with the San Diego Chargers last summer, but was released before the start of the regular season. Playing for the Barcelona Dragons, he had 44 tackles and one interception this spring. Simmons was generally regarded among the top unallocated defensive backs in the NFLE in 2003.

Washington Redskins: The Redskins grabbed two NFL Europe free agents, ESPN.com's John Clayton reports. They reached a two-year, $680,000 deal with safety Rashidi Barnes, who was being recruited by eight teams. He had four interceptions and 45 tackles for the champion Frankfurt Galaxy.

Defensive end Andre Arnold was the second Redskins addition. He agreed to a two-year, $530,000 contract that will pay him $225,000 this season. He played for the Rhein Fire.

Information from ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com's John Clayton and The Associated Press was used in this report.