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.
Falcons To Sign K Nick Folk
Nick Folk‘s NFL career will continue with another new team in 2026. The 41-year-old kicker has agreed to a Falcons contract, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. This will be a two-year deal.
Recently expressing interest in playing a 20th NFL season, Folk clearly knew a market awaited. The Falcons experienced kicking issues last season, bidding farewell to Younghoe Koo early in the year. They are picking up the most accurate kicker over the past three NFL seasons.
The Falcons will be Folk’s sixth NFL team. The 2007 UDFA has played for the Cowboys, Jets, Buccaneers, Patriots and Titans. He displayed elite accuracy during his seasons with the Titans and back with the Jets. Folk made between 95.5% and 96.7% of his field goals. Last season, the second-stint Jet went 28-for-29; this included a 7-for-8 ledger from beyond 50 yards.
After kicking in less-than-ideal conditions in New York, Folk will enjoy an indoor environment for the first time since his Dallas days (and even that was not fully indoors). He has kicked in 258 NFL games. Among players throughout NFL history, that ranks 50th all time. Among kickers, Folk sits 19th in NFL annals. If Folk makes it through two Atlanta seasons with perfect attendance, he can climb into the top 20 for games played in league history.
Koo’s eight-season run halted early last season, when the Falcons released him in September. The Falcons used two more kickers — Zane Gonzalez, Parker Romo — with the latter making fewer than 80% of his tries. With a new staff coming in, the team will aim for kicker consistency like Koo once provided.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Falcons To Sign P Jake Bailey
More punter movement is taking place during the early stages of free agency. Jake Bailey will be on the move in 2026.
Bailey has agreed to a three-year deal with the Falcons, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a $9MM pact with $5MM in full guarantees. Bailey’s career to date had been spent in the AFC East, but that will no longer be the case.
The Falcons have added two AFC East specialists today, agreeing to terms with Bailey and 2025 Jets kicker Nick Folk. Bailey spent the past three seasons with the Dolphins, moving to Miami after playing out his rookie contract with the Patriots. This marks an interesting reunion for Bailey and Folk; they were teammates from 2019-22, each playing four years with the Pats.
This will be Bailey’s first time as primarily an indoor punter, and he has a standout season on his resume. Bailey’s 2020 season produced a first-team All-Pro honor, as he averaged a career-best 48.7 yards per boot for the Pats that year. The Patriots replaced Ryan Allen with Bailey following Super Bowl LIII, which featured quite a few punts; special teams aficionado Bill Belichick drafted Bailey in Round 5 in 2019.
Last season marked Bailey’s best in terms of distance as a Dolphin, with the Stanford alum averaging 47.7 yards per punt. Miami has not replaced the 28-year-old specialist on its roster just yet.
Falcons, TE Austin Hooper Agree To Deal
Austin Hooper will return to his original NFL team in 2026. The veteran tight end has agreed to terms with the Falcons on a one-year, $3.25MM deal, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report.
The former third-round pick played out his rookie contract in Atlanta, where he got into 59 games. He had his most productive NFL seasons during his time with the Falcons, including a 2019 campaign where he hauled in 75 catches for 787 yards and six scores.
That performance earned him a four-year contract from the Browns, but he failed to repeat those numbers. He ended up lasting only two seasons in Cleveland, averaging 390 yards per year. He bounced around the league over the next two years, spending time with the Titans and Raiders before catching on with the Patriots ahead of the 2024 campaign.
He ended up inking a pair of one-year deals with New England. He only missed a single game through his two seasons with the organization, tallying 66 catches while mostly serving as a backup to Hunter Henry. Hooper’s lack of blocking skills ultimately made him expendable with the Patriots, and he’ll now land in a familiar spot in Atlanta.
The team’s TE outlook has obviously changed since the last time Hooper played for the Falcons, with Kyle Pitts now leading the depth chart. The Falcons ended up slapping Pitts with the franchise tag, and he’ll continue to garner most of the snaps at the position in 2026. Still, Hooper’s familiarity with Kevin Stefanski should afford him some extra reps in his latest stop.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.