Vikings Considering Kyler Murray, Geno Smith; Team Interested In Tua Tagovailoa?
We have been hearing for some time that the Vikings plan to add competition for quarterback J.J. McCarthy this offseason. During a recent appearance on the Scoop City podcast, Dianna Russini of The Athletic threw cold water on the notion that a Minnesota-Kirk Cousins reunion could be in the cards, though she did acknowledge that the Vikes could look to add to their QB room (video link).
Just as Russini reiterated Minnesota still wants to develop McCarthy in the hopes that he can live up to his first-round draft status, ESPN’s Dan Graziano confirms the Vikings are not ready to give up on the Michigan product. Still, the club seems to want McCarthy to earn the starting job in 2026, and in addition to Cousins, names like Kyler Murray and Anthony Richardson have been floated as possibilities.
There may be mutual interest between the Vikings and Richardson, who would be acquired via trade with the Colts. As ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted last month, a trade could be the most likely way for Minnesota to add McCarthy competition, because a free agent with options may not want to sign without assurances that they will be given first crack at the QB1 role. Other trade possibilities, per Graziano, include the Eagles’ Tanner McKee and the Texans’ Davis Mills.
Mills was linked to the Vikings in a November report, just like Murray was. Graziano says signs continue to point to a Murray release, which means he will be a free agent in short order (and therefore may not want to hitch his wagon to a team that still has high hopes for its incumbent starter).
Just as Arizona is likely to cut Murray, the Dolphins are expected to release Tua Tagovailoa in the near future, with Graziano confirming the cut will likely be made with a post-June 1 designation. With respect to their possible free agent targets, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (in the same Graziano piece linked above) reports the Vikings have Murray and the Raiders’ Geno Smith in their first tier of preferred options, with Cousins and Tagovailoa in the second tier.
Smith, though, may not make it to the open market. As our Nikhil Mehta recently suggested, it may behoove the Raiders to retain Smith as a mentor for Fernando Mendoza, whom Las Vegas is all but certain to select with the top pick in this year’s draft. Per Graziano, coaches from multiple QB-needy outfits are anxious to see if the Raiders will release Smith, as they believe the 35-year-old was held back by the Silver-and-Black’s offensive system in 2025. The Raiders may feel the same and could therefore keep Smith in the fold.
If they do choose to part ways, Fowler believes the Vikings make plenty of sense as a landing spot. He adds that many quarterbacks view Minnesota as an attractive destination, likely due to the presence of head coach Kevin O’Connell and wide receiver Justin Jefferson (though again, it is possible that McCarthy and Minnesota’s hopes for him could act as something of a deterrent).
It still seems fair to expect the Vikings to add a QB. Whether they can lure a high-profile player like Murray or Tagovailoa or will need to execute a trade for a passer like Mills or McKee is the question.
Jets Prepared To Tag RB Breece Hall
MARCH 1: The Jets are continuing to negotiate with Hall’s camp, per Hughes. The team prefers a new contract to a tag.
FEBRUARY 24: Breece Hall does not have a new Jets deal in hand at this point. Nevertheless, a departure should not be expected in his case. 
When speaking to reporters at the Combine on Tuesday, general manager Darren Mougey reiterated his desire for a Hall agreement to be reached in time for free agency. Failing that, Mougey said (via Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano) a tag will be used to ensure no departure will take place.
The franchise tag for running backs is projected to cost $14.54MM in 2026, while the transition tag is set to carry a value of $11.73MM. The latter option has been mentioned as a strong possibility in Hall’s case, so Mougey’s comments come as little surprise. Coming off a career-high 1,065 rushing yards, Hall would have been one of the top RB options on the open market had the Jets opted to go in a different direction.
Instead, the 24-year-old will remain in the fold for at least one season. Hall was not the subject of extension talks when Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn arrived last year, and uncertainty has loomed over his future ever since. During his latest public comments on the matter, Hall indicated an ambivalence toward remaining in New York or landing a notable pact elsewhere.
“You know, I don’t know,” the former second-rounder said during an interview with the New York Post. “I’ve addressed this for the last six, seven months now. But now I’m just kind of like whatever happens, happens.”
Hall added a level confidence that he will ultimately “get everything that’s coming” to him from a compensation standpoint. That could take the form of a long-term deal, but there have been no indications an agreement is imminent on this front. The running back market includes nine deals averaging at least $10MM per year, but that figure outpaces what Javonte Williams landed on his new Cowboys contract.
Connor Hughes of SNY notes Hall would likely not be willing to accept a three-year, $24MM offer like the one Williams took. The Jets could nonetheless remain close to those terms during negotiations knowing the one-year tag is still a fallback option. With nearly $80MM in cap space, the team will easily be able to afford either tag figure if applying one becomes necessary.
Patriots Brass Discusses Key FAs; Team Not Inclined To Make Blockbuster Trade?
The Patriots have a small free agent class, but that class includes a number of players who held key roles in the team’s surprise run to Super Bowl LX, such as defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga. As Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald relays, New England HC Mike Vrabel said he would love to retain Chaisson and Tonga, as well as offensive tackle Vederian Lowe.
Chaisson, 26, will come with a notable price tag. The former first-round pick of the Jaguars never reached his ceiling in Jacksonville and, after a stopover with the Raiders in 2024, joined the Pats via a modest one-year pact last offseason. Chaisson posted a career-high 7.5 sacks for New England in the regular season and then added three more during the club’s postseason march. Two front office executives from other teams tell ESPN’s Mike Reiss they expect Chaisson to land a contract paying him between $8MM-$11MM annually.
Like Chaisson, Tonga signed a one-year accord with the Patriots last March. After appearing in 14 games (eight starts) and enjoying a career-best 40% snap share in 2025, Tonga is due for a raise, with Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian of MassLive.com reporting that the 29-year-old is expected to have multiple suitors if he hits the open market. Daniels and Guregian say Tonga and the Pats were close on an extension before the 2025 playoffs got underway but were unable to strike an agreement. Tonga enjoyed a strong postseason – which included the first sack of his career – and his price tag has gone up as a result. It seems New England’s most recent proposal will not be enough to keep the BYU product in Foxborough.
While Lowe’s run as the Pats’ full-time starter at left tackle in 2024 did not go well, he showed improvement filling in for an injured Will Campbell last season. It stands to reason Vrabel would want a known commodity to remain on the roster in a swing tackle capacity.
We previously heard safety Jaylinn Hawkins, another out-of-contract contributor, wants to return to the Patriots, and Kyed confirms the interest is mutual. EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who announced last week that the team had commenced contract discussions with its pending FAs, also said he would welcome Hawkins back to the fold (though he did add that Hawkins has earned the right to see what the market could have in store for him).
Hawkins spent the past two seasons in New England, but the team’s Vrabel-led staff was willing to give him a larger role than the former regime. Hawkins ended up leaping both Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers on the depth chart en route to a strong season. The 28-year-old started all 15 of his appearances, finishing with 71 tackles, six passes defensed, and 1.5 sacks.
Since they just won the AFC and have starting quarterback and MVP runner-up Drake Maye on a rookie deal, it is fair to wonder whether the Patriots will take some big swings in the free agent and/or trade markets. However, Reiss says Wolf, Vrabel & Co. do not see themselves as being one player away from a return to the Super Bowl, meaning they are not necessarily inclined to pony up a massive trade package for an established star.
New England has been connected to Raiders DE Maxx Crosby and Eagles WR A.J. Brown, who both profile as trade candidates, in recent weeks. Vrabel and Wolf, though, have reiterated the team’s commitment to the draft and supplementing their existing core, thereby suggesting they may not have the appetite for a Crosby or Brown blockbuster.