Titans’ Cam Ward Was Major Draw For OC Brian Daboll
Brian Daboll seemed to have a number of options during this year’s coaching carousel. He received interest regarding three head coaching jobs and three offensive coordinator positions, including a HC interview with his former team, the Bills.
Ultimately, Daboll took the Titans’ offensive coordinator job under new head coach Robert Saleh. One of his main reasons for doing so was the presence of quarterback Cam Ward, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The former No. 1 pick loomed large over Tennessee’s search for a new leader, both in terms of candidates’ interest in the job and the Titans’ interest in hiring them.
Daboll’s excitement about Ward is hardly surprising considering the Giants’ attempts to trade up to the first overall pick and take him last year. Daboll clearly believes in the young passer’s potential and jumped at the opportunity to work with him. Ward had a rough rookie year, but it became clear that he was the least of the Titans’ concerns. He could still see a major turnaround with a new coaching staff, similar to Drake Maye‘s sophomore leap this past season.
Daboll also built his coaching bonafides in Buffalo developing Josh Allen, which he parlayed into the top job in New York. Similar success with Ward could give him another chance at a head coaching gig.
Raiders Add Travis Smith, Rick Dennison To Coaching Staff
The Raiders hired Travis Smith to be their defensive line coach under new head coach Klint Kubiak, per a team announcement.
Smith is returning to Las Vegas after three years in Chicago (defensive line coach) and one in Tennessee (defensive run game coordinator). He was announced as the Titans’ senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist on Robert Saleh‘s staff, but is instead opting to reunite with the Raiders, for whom he coached from 2012 to 2021. He served in a variety of roles on the defensive side of the ball and worked closely with Maxx Crosby at the beginning of his career.
Also joining Kubiak’s staff is Rick Dennison, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Dennison, 67, has spent the last three decades coaching in the NFL, primarily working with offensive linemen with coordinator stints in Denver, Houston, and Buffalo. He and Kubiak have worked together since 2016, Dennison’s last year as the Broncos’ OC and Kubiak’s first as an offensive assistant.
The two then overlapped in Minnesota from 2019 to 2021, after which Dennison stepped away from coaching. He returned to the NFL in 2024 to join Kubiak’s offensive staff in New Orleans as a senior assistant and followed him to Seattle last year. Dennison then served as the Seahawks’ run game coordinator/senior offensive advisor in 2025 and will now join the Raiders in a yet-to-be announced role.
Kubiak is still looking to fill the quarterbacks coach position on his staff, and Vikings asst. OC/asst. QBs coach Jordan Traylor is a candidate for the job, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. He previously worked under Kubiak in New Orleans in 2024, on the same staff as Dennison and now-Raiders OC Andrew Janocko.
Tyreek Hill To Keep Playing After Dolphins Release
In 2023, Tyreek Hill said that he intended to play out his contract with the Dolphins – which then ran through 2026 – and then retire. He also said he wanted to reach 10 years in the NFL.
Hill missed the first milestone by a year, but he finished a decade in the league at the conclusion of the 2025 season. He faces a long rehab process from the brutal leg injury he suffered in September and has made other hints towards retiring in the past. In recent months, those factors – as well as his expected departure from Miami – stirred speculation that Hill may have played his last down in the NFL.
But after being released by the Dolphins on Monday, Hill made it clear (via a social media post) that he has no intention of hanging up his cleats. He thanked the Dolphins and their fanbase after his four years in Miami and promised that he “will be back.” When or where that will be are still open questions.
In addition to parting ways with Hill, the Dolphins also cut outside linebacker Bradley Chubb and offensive lineman James Daniels. Hill and Daniels are not receiving post-June 1 designations, which would allow the team to push some of their dead money into 2027. Miami would not, however, receive the resulting salary cap relief until that date. Since they need the cap savings from releasing Hill and Daniels to become cap compliant in the new league year, those moves had to be made right away.
The precise financial impact of Daniels’ release is still TBD, as he has $3.5MM of his 2026 salary guaranteed for injury. He ended the season on injured reserve due to a torn pectoral; if he is still injured, the Dolphins cannot release him until the start of the new league year, according to OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald. Even then, Daniels can file a grievance for his injury guarantees if he believes he is still hurt.
Chubb will not be released at the same time as Hill and Daniels, per Fitzgerald, suggesting that the team is considering a post-June 1 move (or even a trade). Rather than absorbing his full $24MM dead cap hit this year, the Dolphins could move almost $13MM into 2027. However, the team would not see the cap savings until the summer and would need to make other moves to clear up additional cap space before free agency. Chubb has yet to be informed if his official release will happen before or after June 1, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
NFC East Rumors: Giants, Okereke, Goedert, Eagles, Ertz, Cowboys
As our Giants Offseason Outlook covered, the team will be making some cost-cutting moves. Three “obvious” cuts are coming, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who tabs Devin Singletary, Graham Gano and James Hudson as soon-to-be released veterans. The Giants can save $5.25MM by releasing Singletary, $4.5MM by cutting Gano and $5.38MM by axing Hudson. Signed on the same day Saquon Barkley defected to the Eagles, Singletary was unable to remain New York’s starter for long. He lost his job to Tyrone Tracy in 2024 and saw Cam Skattebo leapfrog him last year. Tracy’s rookie deal runs through 2027, while Skattebo is signed through 2028. Gano has missed a staggering 28 games since signing a three-year, $16.5MM extension in 2023. The Giants benched Hudson, their hopeful swing tackle, after a penalty-filled Week 2.
While Jon Runyan Jr. was listed as a likely Giants cut months ago, Duggan places Bobby Okereke on the borderline. The team can save $9.25MM by releasing Runyan, while Okereke can bring back $9MM. Okereke, 29, is due a $3MM roster bonus on March 13. With the Giants projected to hold less than $7MM in cap space and making wholesale changes under John Harbaugh, significant roster changes are likely.
Here is the latest from the NFC East:
- The Eagles gave Dallas Goedert a pay cut in 2025, and while the longtime starter caught a franchise tight end-record 11 touchdown passes last season, The Athletic’s Zach Berman expects the sides to part ways soon. Goedert, 31, will be a free agent next month. A glaring hole will exist at tight end if/once the Eagles move on, but Berman anticipates the team adding a younger option. As PFR’s Connor Byrne noted in his Eagles Offseason Outlook piece, Goedert not being re-signed will tag the team with a hefty dead money bill ($20.49MM) stemming from void years. No other Philly TE surpassed 80 receiving yards in 2025.
- Goedert’s predecessor, Zach Ertz, is also unsigned for 2026. Coming off an ACL tear, Ertz does not want to retire just yet, ESPN.com’s John Keim notes. Ertz, 35, bounced back with the Commanders by combining for 1,158 receiving yards in his two-season tenure. Jayden Daniels relied on the 13-year veteran in 2024, and he posted a better yards-per-game figure (38.8) in 2025. Still, Ertz being in his mid-30s coming off an ACL tear will limit his market. It is quite possible he remains in free agency until he returns to full strength.
- The Commanders already took care of one free agent, re-signing punter Tress Way. The veteran specialist’s one-year contract is worth $3.04MM; almost all of that figure is guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap.
- The Giants will need to make a decision on their right tackle soon. Jermaine Eluemunor profiles as a player the team may want to retain. He started 34 games over the past two seasons in New York and was a fifth-round Ravens draftee in 2017, playing two Baltimore seasons. Eluemunor, 31, could draw between $7-$10MM per year, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes. With Eluemunor already earning $7MM per year on his 2024 Giants deal, it should be expected the proven starter fetches more. He joins Braden Smith, Jack Conklin and Jonah Williams as experienced RTs set to hit the market.
- The Cowboys have made three new coaching hires. They are adding Kyle Fuller as assistant O-line coach and Scott Symons as inside linebackers coach, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer and CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer report. Fuller, who played for six teams in a seven-year O-line career, served as a Raiders quality control coach in 2025. Symons will make a cross-town move, being hired after three years as SMU’s DC. The Mustangs finished as a top-35 defense nationally in each of the past three seasons, winning 31 games in that span. Dallas is also hiring Demeitre Brim as assistant D-line coach, per Zenitz. Brim comes over after one season with the Golden Knights, previously coaching at Nebraska and Lehigh.
- Wrapping this coaching roundup, the Commanders are hiring LSU’s Jake Olsen to their defensive staff, Zenitz adds. Olsen spent the past two seasons as the Tigers’ safeties coach. Olsen was at Mizzou from 2022-23 but coached under new Commanders DC Daronte Jones at LSU in 2021.
NFC West Notes: Cardinals, Rams, Gray
Kyler Murray did well to secure a rolling guarantee structure on his five-year, $230.5MM Cardinals extension. The deal provides advanced salary guarantees, and by the quarterback remaining on Arizona’s roster on Day 5 of the 2025 league year, his $22.84MM 2026 base salary locked in. A $13.97MM 2026 option bonus also triggered last year. If Murray remains on Arizona’s roster by Day 5 of the 2026 league year, his $19.5MM 2027 base salary guarantees. That will make trading Murray difficult, as an acquiring team would inherit the 2027 salary guarantee. While Murray is a two-time original-ballot Pro Bowler, he has trended downward in recent years. He coming off a foot injury that limited him to five 2025 games.
Although the Cardinals would like to trade the former No. 1 overall pick, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicated during a recent appearance on Fox Sports’ The Herd a release is the more likely outcome here. GM Monti Ossenfort did not design the Murray contract; predecessor Steve Keim did. The Cardinals could spread the $54.72MM dead money figure over two years by designating the QB as a post-June 1 cut. If the Cardinals cannot find a trade partner, that is the expected scenario. Breer mentions the Jets and Vikings as possible destinations. Minnesota came up as a potential suitor late last year.
A Russell Wilson-like scenario in which Murray plays for the veteran minimum following a release will be in play, and he would be a natural stopgap option as a free agent — while the acquiring team would hold exclusive negotiating rights with the 28-year-old passer until March 2027. Here is the latest from the NFC West:
- With the Raiders and Seahawks hiring offensive coordinators, the Rams are the only team left without one. The Cardinals hiring Mike LaFleur as HC seemingly opens the door to the Rams promoting pass-game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, but Breer mentions QBs coach Dave Ragone as an option not to be dismissed. Ragone, 46, served as a three-year non-play-calling Falcons OC from 2021-23 and has spent the past two seasons on Sean McVay‘s staff, overseeing Matthew Stafford‘s first two original-ballot Pro Bowl seasons. McVay pointed to an internal hire recently, and it appears he joins Scheelhaase as internal candidates.
- Former DC Jerry Gray is joining the 49ers as defensive backs coach, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz tweets. Formerly the Titans’ DC (2011-13), Gray has settled back on the position coaching tier over the past decade. He spent the past three years in Atlanta working under Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris. With the latter becoming the 49ers’ DC, Gray had a natural path to San Francisco. The former NFL cornerback spent the previous three seasons in Green Bay and the six before that on Mike Zimmer‘s Vikings staff as DBs coach. Gray has been an NFL assistant since 1997.
- The Rams are hiring Robert Wright as a defensive assistant, according to ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel. Wright is a former DC at Syracuse and Buffalo, serving in that role with the Orange over the past two seasons.
- More notably on the coaching front, the Cardinals have their new wide receivers and cornerbacks coaches lined up. Four-year Vikings assistant wideouts coach Tony Sorrentino will be the new Arizona WRs coach, ESPN’s Peter Schrager tweets. Sorrentino joins Brian Angelichio — the new Steelers OC — in defecting from Kevin O’Connell‘s offensive staff for a promotion elsewhere. The Vikings gig was Sorrentino’s first NFL job. Zac Etheridge is leaving his role as the Miami Hurricanes’ defensive pass-game coordinator to become the Cardinals’ CBs coach, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz adds. Etheridge spent one season at Miami, coaching DBs at Houston (2024) and Auburn (2021-23) before that.
- The Cardinals, however, will lose a member of their scouting staff to the college ranks. Stephen Wise is leaving Arizona to join Georgia Tech’s front office, Zenitz notes. Wise had been with the Cardinals since 2021, working as a low-level scouting staffer.
Chiefs Likely To Release RT Jawaan Taylor
The Chiefs needed to give Jawaan Taylor a player-friendly contract in order to sign him in 2023, when the former Jaguars right tackle stood as one of the top free agents available. While Kansas City achieved success during Taylor’s stay, the blocker has not lived up to expectations.
Taylor signed a four-year, $80MM contract with the Chiefs. Because of his lofty status in that year’s free agent pool, the Chiefs included language that guaranteed Taylor’s 2025 salary in March 2024. That effectively gave him three years’ worth of security. The Chiefs indeed stuck with Taylor in 2025, but now that they are beyond the guaranteed portion of the contract, they are not expected to let him play out the deal.
Kansas City cutting Taylor is anticipated, per The Athletic’s Jesse Newell. Our Chiefs Offseason Outlook post pegged Taylor as the Chiefs’ most obvious cut candidate, and moving on would save Kansas City $20MM. The team did not tamper with Taylor’s contract, as void years would have increased the dead money total in a release (it stands at $7.39MM presently). With the Chiefs projected to be well over the cap, this move will almost definitely happen before the legal tampering period begins March 9.
As Taylor has struggled mightily with penalties (40 in three Chiefs seasons), he has also generated scrutiny for uncalled false starts. The Chiefs also have an in-house replacement in Jaylon Moore, who signed a two-year, $30MM contract. Moore’s price tag surprised even 49ers GM John Lynch, and he entered last season as the NFL’s most expensive non-Kirk Cousins backup. Moore was called upon to fill in for left tackle Josh Simmons last season, as the first-round rookie was away from the team for unspecified reasons, but Newell points to this being an easy solution for the Chiefs post-Taylor.
A four-year Jaguars RT starter, Taylor made it to free agency when Jacksonville franchise-tagged Evan Engram in 2023. Taylor then started for both Chiefs Super Bowl teams in 2023 and ’24. Pass block win rate placed Taylor 15th among all tackles in 2024 and seventh last season. At 28, Taylor should land an opportunity to start elsewhere in 2026. But he will not command a $20MM-per-year salary as he did as a first-time free agent. The Florida alum also underwent knee surgery last summer and finished the season on IR. Though, the Chiefs shelved several players after being eliminated from playoff contention.
Mike Danna also resides as a cut candidate, per Newell. The Chiefs’ top need may be at defensive end opposite George Karlaftis, and cutting Danna — who has not lived up to a three-year, $24MM deal — would save $8.94MM. The Chiefs have given Danna 49 starts since drafting him in the 2020 fifth round. He combined for 11.5 sacks from 2022-23 but only tallied 4.5 in 28 games over the past two seasons. Kansas City has also not seen 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah provide much of anything, creating a glaring D-end need.
QB Cole Payton Rising On Draft Boards?
An annual tradition involves quarterback prospects making climbs based on pre-draft workouts and meetings. With a big gap emerging between Fernando Mendoza and the field this year, room for growth exists to bridge it. A familiar program has produced a candidate generating buzz to potentially be this year’s second quarterback chosen.
North Dakota State’s Cole Payton is generating early praise, with Sportsboom.com’s Jason La Canfora indicating some in the scouting community view him as this draft’s second-best QB prospect. Early-second-round grades have followed within this contingent.
The Bison, whose status as the top Division I-FCS program has triggered an upcoming move to the Mountain West Conference, have seen two of their quarterback prospects become top-three picks over the past 10 years. Carson Wentz completed a radical pre-draft rise in 2016, going second overall. Trey Lance went third overall five years later. Both the Eagles and 49ers’ moves required monster trade packages to move up. In between, Easton Stick was drafted in the 2019 fifth round.
While Wentz enjoyed an MVP-worthy 2017 and led the Eagles to the playoffs in 2019, neither he nor Lance ultimately justified their draft slots. That may play into teams’ evaluations of Payton, who is only a one-season starter at the FCS level. That season brought a strong dual-threat profile, with the 6-foot-3 prospect passing for 2,719 yards (with a 16-4 TD-INT ratio) and rushing for 923 — to go with 13 rushing scores. Payton averaged 12.1 yards per attempt and finished third in voting for the Walter Payton Award, given to the FCS level’s best player. This reminds of Lance’s 2019 season. Lance, however, was long held as a first-round prospect before San Francisco’s monster trade-up. Payton has yet to make inroads to that level and probably will not.
With Dante Moore and Arch Manning returning to school and other 2026 prospects not delivering on hype last season, a void exists. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is generally regarded as this draft’s second-best QB, so it will be interesting to see if Payton — who impressed at the Senior Bowl — can turn more heads as the pre-draft process progresses. With a host of teams needing help at the position and Mendoza almost certainly ticketed for Las Vegas at No. 1 overall, teams talking themselves into other options on Day 2 — or late in the first round — will be a draft storyline to follow.
Eagles Expected To Name Parks Frazier QBs Coach
The Eagles will have a number of new staffers on the offensive side of the ball in particular in 2026, highlighted of course by OC Sean Mannion. Several returnees are in position to handle different roles next season while continuing to work under head coach Nick Sirianni.
One of those is Parks Frazier. In 2025, Frazier worked as Philadelphia’s pass-game coordinator. He is still in the fold, and a new title is likely to be finalized shortly. Frazier is expected to be named quarterbacks coach, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports.
Scot Loeffler held the role of QBs coach last season, but he was not retained upon Mannion’s arrival. An outside hire has no doubt received consideration, and Greg Olson was named as a potential Loeffler replacement. Instead, it appears as though Frazier – whose coaching career began in 2015 – will become Jalen Hurts‘ latest position coach. Frazier’s resume includes an interim offensive coordinator stint with the Colts, but he has never held the title of QBs coach to date.
The offense remained a talking point in the Eagles’ case through 2025. This past season, the team ranked 23rd in passing offense and 19th in scoring. Improving on those totals will be imperative for Mannion (Kevin Patullo‘s replacement) during his first coordinator gig but also his assistants. It appears as though Frazier, 34, will be one of the more important figures on the sideline.
Elsewhere on the Eagles’ staff, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports assistant offensive line coach Greg Austin along with offensive quality control coaches Eric Dickerson and Montgomery VanGorder will all be retained. Each of their roles for next season have yet to be finalized, however. Further shuffling with respect to job titles could be coming as a result. Tight ends coach Jason Michael will not return in 2026, per McLane.
Meanwhile, Zenitz reports the Eagles are bringing in Bills nickels coach Mike Pellegrino. He will serve as the team’s new defensive backs coach. The secondary will remain a strength of Philadelphia’s defense in 2026 if all goes according to plan, and Pellegrino will face high expectations upon arrival.
‘No Trade Market’ For Tua Tagovailoa
FEBRUARY 16: The Dolphins’ preference remains a trade at this time, NFL insider Jordan Schultz confirms. He adds the team does not want this situation to “drag too long,” so a decision could be coming shortly. It could very include a release in the absence of a market on the trade front.
FEBRUARY 13: As the new league year is fast approaching, the Dolphins have been working desperately to figure out a way out of the corner they’ve painted themselves into. As it’s been reported recently that Miami is nearing a decision on the future of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it appears one option may be getting taken away from the team. 
According to SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora, there is “no trade market” for Tagovailoa. All conversation from both the Dolphins and Tagovailoa concerning the future has revolved around the idea of a trade. At season’s end, Tagovailoa made it known that he would welcome a fresh start elsewhere, while the team made it known their hope was to trade him.
Our most recent update before this indicated that the Dolphins were still focused on the trade route for Tagovailoa’s exit, and they expressed a willingness to eat some of money owed to the quarterback in order to make it happen.
Just before the 2024 NFL season, Miami made the move to sign Tagovailoa to an extension following a season in which he led the NFL in passing yards while starting every game of the season for the first (and only) time in his career. In the wake of several other record-breaking contracts at the position, the Dolphins agreed to a four-year, $212.4MM deal with over $167.17MM in guaranteed money. Since then, Tagovailoa has missed a combined nine games in two seasons and, after averaging over 260 yards per game in three straight seasons, saw his average yards per game plummet to 190 this year.
We knew that Tagovailoa’s benching this year, combined with his huge contract and injury history, made a trade difficult, forcing the Dolphins to offer up the possibility of throwing in some offsetting cash. Per La Canfora, though, Tagovailoa isn’t a difficult trade piece; he’s a non-starter. Backed by input from several top NFL executives, La Canfora seems to indicate that teams in the league are already so turned off by Tagovailoa’s poor play and frequent concussions that they’re not even willing to take him on at a reduced rate.
La Canfora included a series of quotes from said executives, with several not limiting themselves to the language of polite society. One general manager simply told La Canfora, “They’re (screwed).” He went on to call the contract untradeable, saying that, even with Miami “willing to eat a (boat)load of” Tagovailoa’s contract, they “just don’t see a market for him.”
Another top exec relayed to La Canfora a “four-pronged” list of reasons Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were stuck with each other. It started with Tagovailoa’s inability to effectively push the ball down the field and make plays consistently anymore. It then moved to perceived leadership issues with concerns that he couldn’t move a locker room and comes off as ingenuine. The third prong called his concussion history alone “a no-go for a lot of teams,” and the fourth ended by calling his deal a “terrible…contract that nobody wants to touch.”
If Miami is unable to trade Tagovailoa, they will then be forced with the new decision of whether to cut him or keep him. In keeping him, the Dolphins would be retaining perhaps the most expensive backup quarterback in the NFL. As they attempt to obtain a new, young option at the position this offseason with which to move forward, Tagovailoa’s continued presence could also create uncertainty and doubt in the locker room. Cutting the 27-year-old, though, would shoulder the Dolphins with $99.2MM in dead money without providing any cap savings. Cutting him now would lock that money in for the 2026 season alone, whereas the best-case scenario would see the team designate him as a post-June 1 cut, allowing them to split that $99.2MM over two seasons — still a dire result.
Essentially, though the Dolphins seem to believe they’re making a decision between three options, the rest of the league appears to have limited them to two. Miami will need to figure out how best to work around the massive contract obligations that remain tied to Tagovailoa as they attempt to move on to a new era of quarterback.
Jaguars Re-Sign RB DeeJay Dallas
The Jaguars have kept a pair of veterans in the fold with today’s moves. In addition to Matt Dickerson, DeeJay Dallas will be in place for the offseason.
Dallas split his time between the Panthers and Jags in 2025. The veteran running back wound up making three appearances with each team, continuing in his familiar role as a special teams presence. Dallas will be counted on to remain a core piece in the third phase for Jacksonville in 2026, with the team announced on Monday that he has been re-signed.
During his time with the Seahawks (2020-23) and Cardinals (2024), Dallas did not manage to establish himself as a regular on offense. His career high in carries for one season is 35, and it is unlikely that will change with the Jags. Today’s news will ensure depth in the backfield as the team contemplates its options with Travis Etienne.
Etienne is not expected to receive the franchise tag, meaning a trip to free agency looms. Etienne topped 1,000 rushing yards for the third time in his career in 2025, and he could be one of the top backs on the market provided no Jacksonville agreement is reached. The Jaguars also have 2025 draftees Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen in place, and they are likely to once again have a role on offense next year.
The same will likely not be true of Dallas, 27, even if he manages to survive roster cuts this summer. Nevertheless, he could carve out a role for himself as a kick returner. Dallas has amassed 2,254 yards in that regard over the course of his career, and that figure could increase during his first full season in Jacksonville.