Falcons Release QB Kirk Cousins
New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham recently confirmed Kirk Cousins would be released at the start of the new league year. With that checkpoint having been reached this afternoon, Cousins is indeed a free agent. 
The Pro Bowl quarterback has been cut, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms. Cousins’ Atlanta run ends halfway through the four-year, $160MM pact he signed in free agency. A much less lucrative deal will await this time around. This is coming through a post-June 1 designation, per a team announcement. $2.1MM in cap savings will be generated with the Falcons taking on $22.5MM in dead money charges which can be spread out over the next two years.
Atlanta is set to move forward with Michael Penix Jr. at the quarterback spot. The team has also lined up a deal with Tua Tagovailoa, and the ex-Dolphin will operate as a highly inexpensive option under center. It has long been clear Cousins, 37, would be moving on from the Falcons this offseason. His attention will now turn to free agency, although a number of QB spots have already been filled at this point.
Cousins has been mentioned as a candidate to return to Minnesota. Over six years with the Vikings, he largely delivered strong play up to the Achilles tear which ended his 2023 campaign. Kyler Murray has also been released today, however, and Minnesota is widely regarded as the top landing spot in that case.
As a result, Cousins may soon be joining a fourth career team. The former fourth-round pick is likely to line up yet another short-term deal during the latter stages of his career. Pittsburgh was recently named as a potential suitor in this case. That would make sense in the event Aaron Rodgers – whose intentions are not yet known – decides not to play in 2026. The Steelers would be left as one of the few teams without a veteran starter in that instance.
Another team to watch in this case could be the Raiders. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports Vegas can be expected to pursue a Cousins agreement. Geno Smith has been traded to the Jets, leaving the Raiders without an experienced passer. Fernando Mendoza remains on track to be selected first overall in April’s draft. If Vegas prefers to have him sit at the start of his career, adding someone like Cousins could prove to be a prudent move.
Cousins struggled when atop the Falcons’ depth chart in 2024. He was benched in favor of Penix late that season. Cousins then won five of his eight starts during this past campaign, throwing 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He will likely be counted on as a bridge starter once more, depending on the QB situation he enters with his next deal.
Falcons To Sign OLB Azeez Ojulari
Azeez Ojulari is headed back to Georgia. The Marietta native and former Bulldog is signing with the Falcons on a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Ojulari, 25, will need to rebuild his stock in Atlanta after appearing in just three games for the Eagles last season. He will add edge rushing depth behind 2025 first-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce, the latter of whom could be facing league discipline as a result of pending felony charges.
The 2019 Giants second-round pick flashed high-end potential as a rookie with eight sacks. Injuries became an issue moving forward, as Ojulari appeared in just 29 games over the next three seasons, though he still put up solid production with 14.0 sacks when healthy. His trade value jumped in the final year of his rookie deal with five sacks in three games right before the 2024 deadline, but no team would meet New York’s asking price.
Ojulari then landed on injured reserve for the third season in a row and took a one-year, $3MM contract with the Eagles in the offseason. Philadelphia’s outside linebacker depth kept Ojulari from earning a consistent role in Vic Fangio‘s defense. He should get more opportunities in a Falcons edge rushing room that let Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd hit free agency.
The Eagles only played Ojulari for 67 snaps in 2025, so they will not need to find a dedicated replacement. However, Jaelan Phillips‘ departure to the Panthers will leave a much bigger hole in their defense.
Falcons To Sign DL Chris Williams
The Falcons have agreed to a one-year contract with defensive lineman Chris Williams, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It’s a $2MM deal.
Undrafted out of Wagner in 2020, Williams caught on with the Colts and spent his rookie season on their practice squad. The 298-pounder went on to play sparingly with Indianapolis from 2021-22, during which he appeared in 13 games and made six tackles.
After the Colts cut Williams in the spring of 2023, he had brief runs on practice squads in Kansas City and Cleveland. Although he did not play a snap for the Browns, they got some value from Williams in an August 2024 trade. The Browns sent Williams and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Bears for a ’25 sixth-rounder. Ian Cunningham, now the Falcons’ general manager, was the Bears’ assistant GM when they acquired Williams.
During his two-year run in Chicago, Williams played in 31 games and clearly impressed Cunningham along the way. In 2024, his lone 17-game season, Williams racked up 23 tackles, seven QB hits and three sacks on 367 defensive snaps. The 27-year-old was on the field for 14 games and 219 defensive plays last season. He finished the year with 14 tackles, two QB hits and a sack.
The Falcons’ defensive line took an obvious hit when David Onyemata left for the Jets on Monday. They have since added Williams and Cameron Thomas in low-cost moves.
NFL Restructures: Clark, Packers, Meinerz, Falcons, Saints, Eagles
As the Cowboys made another trade to acquire a higher-end Packers defender salary (Rashan Gary‘s four-year, $96MM deal), they are restructuring the one they added last summer. Dallas is reducing Kenny Clark‘s 2026 cap number with a restructure, per ESPN.com’s Todd Archer. As Connor Byrne’s Cowboys Offseason Outlook detailed, Clark was due an $11MM roster bonus Friday; Dallas is moving that into a signing bonus to open up $8.8MM in cap space. This will drop Clark’s cap number well south of its $21.5MM place, though it would create more dead money if he is not extended by the 2027 league year. An extension is on the Cowboys’ radar, even as the former first-round pick goes into an age-31 season. With Clark signed through 2027, however, it is possible this restructure will table any extension talks.
With the cap-compliance deadline less than 24 hours away, here are more restructure decisions:
- Trading Gary to the Cowboys and cutting Elgton Jenkins, the Packers are busy at work with cost-shedding moves. They also completed an Xavier McKinney restructure, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The move will save more than $9MM in space for Green Bay. McKinney will also secure an additional $11.54MM guaranteed — on top of his $23MM guarantee from March 2024 — according to Wilson, who adds the Pack included three void years to defray the bonus money. McKinney’s cap hit is down to $9.86MM.
- The Broncos have mostly used free agency to retain their own talent thus far, but the team is adding eight figures of cap space as of Tuesday. Denver is restructuring Quinn Meinerz‘s deal, according to the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson, who notes this is a simple restructure of the All-Pro guard’s 2026 base salary. Moving it to a signing bonus, the Broncos will free up around $11MM. The Broncos sit mid-pack in cap space, holding more than $23MM.
- Troy Andersen will be part of the 2026 Falcons. At least, he will have an opportunity to contribute, with SI.com’s Garrett Chapman reporting the linebacker agreed to a restructure to avoid his contract tolling from 2025. Andersen missed all of last season, spending it on the reserve/PUP list. A player who spends the season on the PUP can see his contract toll in the final year of a deal; a knee injury sidelined the former second-round pick last season. This amounts to a de facto re-signing, since Andersen’s four-year rookie deal was set to expire Wednesday. The team confirmed the restructure, per Falcons.com’s Tori McElhaney and Will McFadden.
- One of the NFL’s long-running restructure hubs, the Saints are adding another before the league year begins. New Orleans is saving $7.36MM in cap space by restructuring Erik McCoy‘s deal, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell tweets. One void year is being added to the center’s contract. McCoy’s deal runs through 2027; three void years are now included.
- The Jaguars completed a simple restructure of center Robert Hainsey‘s deal, according to Spotrac, with the move saving the team $4MM in cap space. Three void years are now on Hainsey’s deal, Wilson adds.
- Michael Carter II will stay with the Eagles in 2026, but it sounds like he has agreed to a pay cut. Carter’s deal is being restructured in order for the 2025 trade acquisition to remain on the roster, The Athletic’s Zach Berman tweets.
QB Kyler Murray Could Be Patient In Free Agency
MARCH 10: Murray has yet to formally be released, nor have the Cardinals publicly confirmed they will do so at this point. That should change tomorrow, but it remains to be seen how quickly Murray will act upon becoming a free agent. In any event, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirms (video link) the Vikings remain the “favorite” with respect to Murray’s destination at this point.
MARCH 8: Once Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray landed on injured reserve this year having only played five games, two years after being limited to only eight games, Arizona decisionmakers were forced to broach the topic of reevaluating the future of the franchise. As the season progressed without Murray, all signs started pointing to his eventual departure from Arizona. The lack of robust trade interest in Murray led to the conclusion that the team would plan to release him to free agency. 
With his likely future set to begin later this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Murray “could choose to be methodical in picking his destination” once free agency opens up. There are multiple free agent and draft options available to teams looking to fill out their roster at quarterback, and at some point, those team’s roster spots will be filled. There’s certainly strategy in working to lock down a spot to make sure one has a guaranteed job and contract, but there’s strategy, too, in being reactive to the moves that get made in order to ensure that one has the most information possible on a potential decision.
There will likely be teams — and there have already been a few for Murray — who will make their interest known loudly, publicly. Once the opportunity to communicate opens up, those teams could come hard and fast to display just how interested they are in a prospect. They may offer a contract big enough to convince a player to abandon his plans to look around and test the market. Then, once they’ve locked the player into a contract, the situation that was promised to that player may end up getting altered. The general idea of this would be similar to what happened with the Falcons and Kirk Cousins. Though, that wasn’t a necessarily quick courtship, Cousins signed under the impression that he was the only guy at quarterback moving forward, then the Falcons went and spent a first-round pick to draft Michael Penix.
Murray could, instead, be more patient and reactive. Once officially released from his contract in Arizona, Murray can start taking visits. We’ve known Minnesota to be an interested party as they seek competition for starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. It was reported as recently as yesterday that the Jets were also showing interest, and Fowler mentions the Colts and Falcons as possibilities, as well, due to their current statuses with injured passers who may not be ready to start the season.
By being patient, Murray can take the time to truly consider team fit and city fit, instead of letting dollars and cents be the main factor of the decision-making process. The money is important, too, though, and seeing what other veteran free agents are signing for could help Murray leverage a better free agent deal for himself instead of being the one who acts first and sets the market. He also has a bit of freedom in what kind of contracts he can ask for, given he’s still due to receive a good amount from guarantees in his contract from Arizona. He’ll be able to see which teams really want him and which just really need a body to fill the room. Perhaps he’ll be open to joining the Vikings, Colts, or Falcons, who have talented rosters but eventual competition at quarterback, or perhaps he’ll desire a job with a team that needs more work as long as it provides him a secure starting opportunity.
Free agency could go in a lot of different directions once it really opens up this week. It will be interesting to see how quickly Kyler moves in his first bout with free agency. He may subject himself to a bidding war and go with the highest bidder early, or he may be slower and more deliberate in his approach to finding a new home.
TE Hayden Hurst Retires
Hayden Hurst will not be among the players lining up free agent deals this week. The veteran tight end will instead begin his post-playing career. 
Hurst announced his retirement on Tuesday. He did not see any game time in 2025, and instead of spending another offseason in search of a new contract the former first-rounder will hang up his cleats. Today’s news brings an end to a seven-year NFL career.
“It is a blessing how far sports have taken me in this life,” Hurst’s retirement message reads in part. “I was determined to make football work after baseball failed me, and I never let anyone tell me I couldn’t do anything… I fought daily to be the best version of myself that I could, and I hope it showed on the field with the passion 1 played with every snap and every game. To all the fans in the cities I played in, thank you for supporting me along the way, and I hope I represented your hometown well.”
Hurst certainly had an unorthodox path to professional football. A 2012 draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he wound up making only one start as pitcher in the minor leagues. With his baseball journey coming to an abrupt end, Hurst turned his attention to football and enjoyed a productive three-year tenure at South Carolina.
Hurst was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and he spent his first two seasons with the Ravens. Baltimore added Mark Andrews in the same draft, however, and the team committed to him as its top option at the tight end position. Hurst was traded to the Falcons, although he also dealt with the problem of being buried on the depth chart behind Kyle Pitts in Atlanta for one year.
During his first trip to free agency, Hurst signed a one-year deal with the Bengals. He was able to deliver strong production as a secondary option in Cincinnati’s passing game, something which resulted in a three-year Panthers contract. Hurst was limited to nine games in 2023, however, and his Carolina tenure was cut short after only one season. He spent 2024 with the Chargers, playing sparingly.
Hurst’s retirement announcement noted this news is probably one year too late, but in any case he can now turn his attention elsewhere at the age of 32. In all, Hurst played 93 combined regular and postseason games and amassed roughly $28.5MM in career earnings.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/26
Here are today’s tender decisions:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Vikings: LB Ivan Pace
Non-tendered:
- Cowboys: S Juanyeh Thomas
- Ravens: RB Keaton Mitchell
- Titans: CB Darrell Baker Jr.
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Falcons: DL Elijah Garcia
- Patriots: FB/TE Jack Westover
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/26
Here are the minor move from a frenzied free agency first day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Natrone Brooks, LB Christian Harris, DE Cameron Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: P Mitch Wishnowsky
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Akayleb Evans, CB Robert Rochell
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Dominique Robinson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OLB Dennis Gardeck
- Released: TE Johnny Mundt
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to two-year deal: K Matt Gay
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LS Joe Cardona
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: TE Greg Dulcich
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Chris Manhertz
New York Jets
- Signed: FB Andrew Beck
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DL Esezi Otomewo
NFL Announces 2026 Compensatory Picks
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2026 draft. Based on an add/subtract formula that covers the 2025 free agency period, comp picks span from Round 3 to Round 7. The higher picks go to the teams that endured the most significant free agent losses.
This year, the NFL awarded 33 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks.
Sorted by round and by team, here are the league’s 2026 compensatory selections:
By round:
Round 3: Vikings (No. 97), Eagles (98), Steelers (99), Jaguars (100, from Lions*)
Round 4: 49ers (No. 133), Raiders (134), Steelers (135), Saints (136), Eagles (137), 49ers (138), 49ers (139), Jets (140)
Round 5: Ravens (No. 173), Ravens (174), Raiders (175), Chiefs (176), Cowboys (177), Eagles (178), Jets (179), Cowboys (180), Lions (181)
Round 6: Steelers (No. 214), Eagles (215), Steelers (216)
Round 7: Colts (No. 249), Ravens (250), Rams (251), Rams (252), Ravens (253), Colts (254), Packers (255), Bronc0s (256), Broncos (257)
By team:
- Baltimore Ravens: 4
- Philadelphia Eagles: 4
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 4
- San Francisco 49ers: 3
- Dallas Cowboys: 2
- Denver Broncos: 2
- Indianapolis Colts: 2
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2
- Los Angeles Rams: 2
- New York Jets: 2
- Detroit Lions: 1
- Green Bay Packers: 1
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 1
- Kansas City Chiefs: 1
- Minnesota Vikings: 1
- New Orleans Saints: 1
* = awarded for Lions DC Aaron Glenn becoming Jets’ HC
The Bears lost a minority executive to a GM role, with Ian Cunningham taking over in Atlanta. But the NFL will not award Chicago two third-round picks for that hire because the Falcons have Matt Ryan positioned as their president of football. Although Cunningham — Chicago’s assistant GM for four years — holds plenty of organizational say, Ryan is atop its front office hierarchy. The Bears disagree with the NFL’s ruling, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo.
Bears GM Ryan Poles confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin) the team spoke with the NFL about the matter, but the league did not rule in the team’s favor. Had this decision gone the Bears’ way, they would have received third-round picks in the 2026 and ’27 drafts.
Falcons To Sign WR Jahan Dotson
A busy Monday continues for the Falcons. The team’s latest contract agreement has been reached with wideout Jahan Dotson.
Atlanta has agreed to a two-year deal with Dotson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This pact will have a base value of $15MM with a maximum of $17MM. Dotson will collect $10MM guaranteed, Schefter adds, while NFL insider Jordan Schultz notes $8MM will be paid out in 2026.
Dotson will come over after two seasons as an Eagles auxiliary wide receiver. For a player discarded by the Commanders two seasons into his career and deemed a tertiary target in Philly, this represents a decent payday for the Penn State product.
The Commanders traded Dotson to the Eagles just before the 2024 season, moving on months after an organizational overhaul. Drafted by the Ron Rivera regime in the 2022 first round, Dotson caught seven touchdown passes in 12 rookie-year games. Dotson topped 500 receiving yards in both his Washington seasons but failed to eclipse 300, with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith playing ahead of him in an increasingly run-based offense, in Philadelphia. Dotson did snag two passes for 42 yards in the Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl LIX win, however.
Dotson, who will turn 26 next week, joins a Falcons team that just released two-year No. 2 wideout Darnell Mooney. Atlanta re-signed Olamide Zaccheaus, who caught passes from new front office boss Matt Ryan during his rookie contract. Zaccheaus and Dotson pose as complementary cogs at best, with this roster appearing to lack a qualified No. 2 opposite Drake London. The draft may be a play to look here, especially with London likely to land an extension averaging more than $30MM per year, but free agency is only one day old.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.