Falcons Sign QB Tua Tagovailoa
MARCH 13: Like Russell Wilson in 2024 and Kyler Murray on Thursday, Tagovailoa agreed to a veteran-minimum contract following a high-profile release. The former Dolphins starter, who will compete with Penix for the Falcons’ QB1 gig, will do so for barely $1MM, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones confirms. This will cut into Miami’s historic dead money bill, but not by much.
Exercising Tagovailoa’s 2026 option bonus before his release (per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson), the Dolphins will be tied to a $55.4MM dead money hit this year. That breaks Wilson’s single-season record ($53MM). Tagovailoa will count $43.8MM against Miami’s 2027 cap.
MARCH 9: The Dolphins are planning to release Tua Tagovailoa, and just a few hours later, he has found a new team. The 28-year-old quarterback will be moving one state north to join the Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As expected, Tagovailoa will receive a one-year, veteran-minimum deal in Atlanta, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, as Miami is still paying him $54MM this season. He will join fellow lefty Michael Penix Jr. in a Falcons quarterback room that will likely soon lose Kirk Cousins.
In fact, Tagovailoa projects as the team’s bridge starter as Penix works his way back from knee surgery, filling a role that could have kept Cousins in Atlanta. Instead, the veteran should now get the opportunity to pick a new team that he did not receive last offseason.
Considering Tagovailoa’s drastic fall since his 2023 Pro Bowl nod, Atlanta is a fine landing spot for the former first-round pick. The Falcons have been non-committal on Penix’s status as their franchise QB, and his injury will give Tagovailoa an opportunity to rebuild his stock surrounded by a strong supporting cast.
The Falcons have a solid offensive line and exciting young skill position players like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts. But Tagovailoa’s struggles over the past two seasons will still give him an uphill battle in convincing Atlanta’s new leadership that he, not Penix, is the quarterback to steward the team’s offense into the future.
Finding no trade takers, the Dolphins will designate Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut Wednesday. That comes as little surprise, as it will allow Miami to spread out the record-breaking $99.2MM dead money charge in this case over two years. Thanks to Tagovailoa’s guarantees on his contract, he could account for $67MM a dead cap charges in 2026 as the Dolphins move forward with their full-scale roster reset.
Benched before Week 16 last season, Tagovailoa would welcome a fresh start. His four-year, $212.4MM extension — which included a $54MM 2026 option bonus that shifted from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2025 — backfired quickly. Still, Tagovailoa played well for much of the 2022 and ’23 campaigns.
Tua, 28 in May, led the league in yards per attempt and passer rating in 2022, passing yards in 2023 and completion percentage in 2024. Concussion concerns resurfaced in 2024, and Tagovailoa missed six games that year. His 2025 season continued a downward trajectory. But at the veteran minimum, the Falcons will take a flier.
If Tagovailoa were to make that a serious consideration later this year, it would create a fascinating dynamic in Atlanta. The Falcons surprised many by selecting Penix with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft weeks after signing Cousins to a four-year, $160MM deal with $90MM guaranteed. Cousins started the regular season strong, but struggled with turnovers down the stretch and was replaced by Penix. He went into 2025 as the unquestioned starter with Cousins trying to force his way out of Atlanta. But Penix did not inspire much confidence himself before partially tearing his ACL, leaving the Falcons in a tricky spot this offseason.
Normally, a quarterback’s third season (second as a starter) is a good litmus test for their long-term capabilities. But Penix will not get that type of opportunity, as he is expected to miss offseason practices as the team transitions to Kevin Stefanski‘s coaching staff. Instead, Tagovailoa will have the first opportunity to impress the new regime on the field.
Dolphins, WR Jalen Tolbert Agree To Deal
The Cowboys franchise-tagging George Pickens gives them two high salaries at wide receiver. A four-year CeeDee Lamb supporting-caster will now relocate.
Jalen Tolbert is joining the Dolphins, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, who adds the parties agreed to a one-year deal. Pickens’ Dallas arrival cooled the momentum Tolbert established as Lamb’s top sidekick in 2024, and he will attempt to rebound as one of Malik Willis‘ targets in Miami. As Schultz points out, Tolbert and Willis have been close since playing in the Senior Bowl together four years ago.
In 2024, Tolbert broke through with a 49-reception, 610-yard season that produced seven touchdowns. That is an outlier on the former third-round pick’s resume, however. Tolbert has not eclipsed 300 yards in another season, and he combined for just three TDs between the 2022, 2023 and 2025 campaigns.
Dallas saw little from Tolbert in 2022 and ’23, but he moved into the starting lineup in 2024. His breakthrough receiving season came in a year in which Dak Prescott missed extensive time with a hamstring injury. Tolbert teamed with Cooper Rush down the stretch, catching a touchdown pass in three straight games. He then closed that season with four receptions for 98 yards in Trey Lance‘s only start. Tolbert, 27, will be working with a similarly unseasoned QB in 2026.
After the Dolphins cut Tyreek Hill, they have an opening for a No. 2 receiver alongside Jaylen Waddle. The team has added two NFC tertiary targets in Tolbert and Tutu Atwell, each likely representing low-cost additions for a team set to carry a single-year dead money record (Tua Tagovailoa‘s $55.4MM) to go with dead cap from the Hill and Bradley Chubb cuts. Malik Washington, a 2024 sixth-round pick, remains on the roster as well. Washington averaged just 6.9 yards per reception last season.
Dolphins Sign OL Jamaree Salyer
The Dolphins have been busy adding a number of defenders early in free agency. Miami still has a number of unanswered questions along the offensive line, however, and a move is being made to help address that. 
An agreement has been reached with Jamaree Salyer, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. This will bring about a change of scenery for Salyer, who played out his rookie contract with the Chargers. He amassed 40 starts over that period. The Dolphins have since announced the signing.
As a rookie, Salyer operated as the Bolts’ starting left tackle. He remained a first-team regular the following year but did so at the right guard position. The former sixth-rounder logged over 1,100 snaps during his second season but his PFF evaluation left plenty to be desired. Over the past two seasons, Salyer only totaled nine starts, seeing action at both guard spots but also left tackle in 2025 due to the injuries suffered by Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.
With Mekhi Becton having been released and Zion Johnson departing on the open market, losing Salyer will leave the Chargers in need of multiple O-line moves. One guard addition has already been lined up, with an agreement being reached with Cole Strange. For Miami, meanwhile, this signing may yield a starting presence at guard. Salyer, 25, could replace Strange (especially since Daniel Brunskill is a pending free agent); alternatively, he could serve as competition for 2025 second-rounder Jonah Savaiinaea.
The Dolphins have lost Strange as well as Larry Borom during the opening stages of free agency. The team still has right tackle Austin Jackson in the fold, though, after he accepted a pay cut ahead of his contract year. Depending on how Miami’s offensive line maneuvering shakes out, Salyer could find himself occupying a starting gig along the interior. At a minimum, he will serve as experienced depth up front.
Dolphins To Sign Tutu Atwell, Marco Wilson
After four years with the Rams, wide receiver Tutu Atwell is headed to South Florida. The Dolphins are adding the Miami native on a one-year deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
In addition to Atwell, the Dolphins are bringing in cornerback Marco Wilson on a one-year pact, according to Schefter. The Fort Lauderdale native and former Florida Gator spent the past year-plus with the Bengals.
The value of Atwell’s contract is unknown, but it is unlikely to approach the $10MM guarantee the Rams handed him a year ago. At the time, Atwell was coming off his first 17-game season and one in which he set career highs in receptions (42) and yards (562). The 26-year-old was unable to build on those numbers during an injury-shortened 2025. Atwell missed seven games as a result of a hamstring injury. During the 10 Atwell played, he did not offer a strong complement to the all-world Puka Nacua–Davante Adams duo. Atwell caught just six of 15 targets and one touchdown, though he did average a robust 32.0 yards per grab.
As a 2021 second-round pick, Atwell likely did not develop into the type of impact receiver the Rams thought they were getting five years ago. The Louisville product had a catch-less, eight-game rookie season that ended with a mid-November trip to IR. The Rams won the Super Bowl without him just under three months later. Atwell went on to total 105 receptions for 1,535 yards (14.6 YPC) and five TDs over his last four years with the Rams.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Atwell will now have a chance to earn a roster spot on a Miami team that needs capable complements to No. 1 receiver Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins released Tyreek Hill, leaving new quarterback Malik Willis with Atwell, Malik Washington, Terrace Marshall and Theo Wease behind Waddle.
Wilson is the latest in a long line of defenders to reach short-term agreements with the Dolphins this week. Like Atwell, Wilson entered the league as a member of the 2021 draft class. The Cardinals used a fourth-rounder on Wilson, who lasted two-plus years in their uniform.
Although Wilson started in 37 of 43 games and intercepted three passes in Arizona, the team cut him in December 2023. Wilson has played a combined 21 games with the Patriots and Bengals since then, but he has not gotten another start or added any more picks. The 27-year-old appeared in four of Cincinnati’s games in 2025 before succumbing to a season-ending hamstring injury in late November.
Chiefs To Sign CB Kader Kohou
The Chiefs are signing former Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Kohou, 27, missed all of the 2025 season due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp. He served as Miami’s primary nickel for the previous three seasons with 47 appearances, 38 starts, and more than 2,500 defensive snaps. He only played sparingly on special teams with no involvement in 2024.
Kohou arrived in Miami in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M-Commerce. He was targeted more than any other defender in the league as a rookie, but allowed only 6.1 yards per target and three touchdowns. He regressed in 2023 with 7.7 yards per target and eight touchdowns but returned to his 2023 numbers the following year. That earned him a $3.26MM restricted free agent tag last offseason, though he will likely earn significantly less with the Chiefs.
In Kansas City, Kohou will look to prove his health and compete for a role in the Chiefs’ secondary, which has already lost three cornerbacks this week, including Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, two of their starters in 2025. Joshua Williams, who played key snaps in the previous three seasons but not 2025, is also gone, so the Chiefs will need to find new options on the boundary in 2026.
Kohou has played a majority of his career snaps in the slot, but 2023 fourth-rounder Chamarri Conner will likely keep that role next season. But his 743 snaps of experience on the boundary could help him compete for a job in a Kansas City pass defense that will look very different relative to last year’s unit.
NFL Restructures: Jackson, Goff, Falcons, Packers, Panthers, Colts
Austin Jackson has been unable to stay healthy for a sizable chunk of his Dolphins career, and the veteran right tackle is accepting a pay cut in the final year of his contract. The Dolphins are reducing Jackson’s 2026 compensation to $7MM, ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques tweets. The move created $8.5MM in cap space for Miami. Tied to a three-year deal worth $36MM, Jackson was to carry a $15.39MM cap number on the Dolphins’ 2026 payroll. That number is down to $6.9MM.
The Dolphins extended Jackson late in the 2023 season but saw him miss nine games in 2024 and 11 in 2025. This came after 15 absences in 2022. Jackson timed his 16-game 2023 season well, as it convinced then-Dolphins GM Chris Grier to extend him. A season-ending knee injury sidelined Jackson in November 2024, and he experienced a recovery setback during 2025 training camp. A toe injury sustained in Week 1 led Jackson to IR last season. The seventh-year veteran is still on track for free agency in 2027, but rather than try his luck on the market this year coming off two injury-marred seasons, the former first-round pick accepted this trim.
Here are the other deals recently restructured around the NFL:
- The Lions currently sit at $35MM-plus in cap space, getting there after releasing Taylor Decker and trading David Montgomery to the Texans. The main reason Detroit is that far under the cap, however, came when the team restructured Jared Goff‘s deal. The sixth-year Lions QB will see $40MM of his base salary converted into a bonus, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who notes a void year has been added to the deal. This saves $32MM in cap space for the Lions, who joined the Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys and Ravens in completing a recent QB restructure. Goff’s 2027 and ’28 cap hits are now beyond $62MM, likely leading the Lions to go to this well again.
- The Falcons are using the Jake Matthews contract to create more than $10MM in cap space. Matthews will see his salary knocked down to $2MM, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson noting a $14MM signing bonus will now be prorated into future years. As Connor Byrne’s Falcons Offseason Outlook noted, Matthews’ $27.27MM cap hit was the highest on the Falcons’ payroll. It is now at $16.77MM, saving the team nearly $10MM. One void year is now on this two-year, $45MM extension.
- Adam La Rose’s Packers Offseason Outlook noted Aaron Banks carried the third-largest cap hit on the roster ($24.79MM). That is now down to $12MM. The $12MM-plus in savings come from the team converting most of the guard’s salary into a signing bonus, Wilson adds. Two void years have also been added to Banks’ four-year, $77MM contract.
- Beyond the Michael Pittman Jr. salary dump and Daniel Jones‘ extension to move off the transition tag, the Colts created cap space by restructuring left tackle Bernhard Raimann‘s deal. Indianapolis dropped Raimann’s base salary to $2MM, moving his cap number from $17.51MM to $9.26MM. This $8MM-plus in savings will lead to two $2MM roster bonuses being inserted into the deal (in 2028 and ’29), Wilson adds. The adjustment also balloons the LT’s 2027 cap number to $30.61MM.
- Derrick Brown carried the top Panthers cap hit entering March ($24.5MM), but Wilson adds it has been reduced to $10.95MM via a restructure. The Panthers saved nearly $14MM in cap space here on a contract that runs through the 2028 season. The cost-saving move does inflate Brown’s two future Carolina cap numbers past $31MM, however.
Dolphins Release QB Tua Tagovailoa
MARCH 12: Tagovailoa’s release is now official. The Dolphins have designated their six-year starting quarterback as a post-June 1 cut. As a result, Miami will take on a record-smashing dead money number. Tagovailoa has secured another opportunity, landing with the Falcons.
Atlanta is planning to pit Tagovailoa against fellow left-hander Michael Penix Jr. in an open competition ahead of the 2026 season. As Russell Wilson was in 2024 (and as Kyler Murray may well be this year), Tagovailoa is expected to be tied to veteran-minimum money. The Dolphins have used both their post-June 1 designations, making the same move to jettison Bradley Chubb (who has since joined the Bills).
MARCH 9: Tua Tagovailoa‘s Dolphins tenure is about to officially end. His release will take place at the start of the new league year on Wednesday, per a team announcement.
“As we move forward, we will be focused on infusing competition across the roster and establishing a strong foundation for this team as we work towards building a sustained winner,” a statement from new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan reads in part.
“As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for the person and player he is. On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six seasons.”
This will be a post-June 1 release, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes. That comes as little surprise, as it will allow Miami to spread out the record-breaking $99.2MM dead money charge in this case over two years. Thanks to Tagovailoa’s guarantees on his contract, he could account for $67MM a dead cap charges in 2026 as the Dolphins move forward with their full-scale roster reset.
Alternatively, that dead money figure could be split more evenly. As Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap notes, Miami’s decision on a pending option bonus will dictate how this release is processed from a financial standpoint. The team could take on $55.4MM in dead money now with the remaining $43.8MM being delayed t0 2027.
In any case, today’s news confirms Tagovailoa will be among the veteran quarterbacks on the market this week. The former first-rounder was the subject of a tanking effort from Miami leading up to the 2020 draft. With Joe Burrow off the board, the Dolphins opted for Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert, who was selected one pick later by the Chargers. Burrow and Herbert remain in place with their respective teams and are attached to monster contracts. Tagovailoa, 28, inked a mega-extension of his own in 2024 but things did not go according to plan afterwards, to say the least.
The former No. 5 pick earned a Pro Bowl nod for his level of play in 2023, a year in which he led the NFL in passing yards. Tagovailoa managed a healthy campaign leading up to his extension agreement, but that was not the case in 2024. After being limited to 11 games that year, Tagovailoa’s future, as well as that of head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier was a talking point. Grier was fired in the middle of the 2025 campaign, one in which McDaniel (who was himself dismissed after the year ended) benched a healthy Tagovailoa. Since then, the Alabama product has been open to a fresh start.
Given the major guarantees present in Tagovailoa’s contract, interested teams have been willing to wait for a release before making a push to acquire him. A veteran minimum deal will now be in store from a suitor seeking an inexpensive option under center. The Vikings and Jets have been mentioned as possibilities, but more teams could be in the fold as well.
Miami, meanwhile, will seek out a new QB1 under Sullivan and former Packers colleague Jeff Hafley. The new GM-HC tandem’s Green Bay background has led to the expectation of a Malik Willis pursuit, but a less expensive option may be needed given the team’s cap situation. In any event, a new setup will be in place at the quarterback spot as a new Dolphins era begins in 2026.
Falcons To Hold Open QB Competition Between Penix, Tagovailoa
The Falcons now have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to left-handed quarterbacks, and both have a decent amount of starting experience. According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, Atlanta will have incumbent passer Michael Penix and newcomer Tua Tagovailoa work in an open competition for the QB1 position in 2026. 
The Dolphins struggled mightily to move the contract of Tagovailoa before they ultimately had to make the decision to cut him. Per Wolfe, they tried packaging money and draft picks into trade deals just so teams might be more at ease at the aspect of taking on such a heavy contractual obligation. But considering that one team, according to Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS, claimed it would take the inclusion of a first-round pick to convince them to take on Tagovailoa’s deal, Miami had no choice in the end but to cut bait and move on to bigger fish.
The Dolphins shouldering the burden of the $54MM in guaranteed money still owed to Tagovailoa gave the 28-year-old quarterback the freedom to not worry about the financial aspect of his next contract. With guaranteed money on its way to the bank, Tagovailoa could accept a deal for the league minimum if that’s what it would take to land in the best situation for him.
Utilizing that freedom, Tagovailoa landed in Atlanta, where Wolfe reports new head coach Kevin Stefanski sold him on the idea of being in an open competition for the starting quarterback job with Penix. Luckily for Stefanski, this year’s quarterback battle should be a bit easier to handle than last year’s in Cleveland. The late-season battle between rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders posed a unique problem. Stefanski wanted each rookie to have the opportunity to make their NFL debuts in offenses designed specifically for them. Though they played in similar offensive systems in college, the two played with two different playing styles and threw the football with opposite hands.
In Atlanta, Stefanski now, at least, has his two quarterbacks throwing from the same side of their body. Both have starting experience but, for both, that experience came in a different offensive system that what Stefanski was doing in Cleveland. The change in leadership at the top of the coaching staff helped ease news of the competition to Penix. Instead of being told by a coach that had given him a starting job that he was losing it, Penix’s new head coach informed him of the team’s move to acquire Tagovailoa, per Wolfe, and told him to come ready to compete, when healthy.
Tagovailoa showed an incredibly high ceiling during his time in Miami, throwing for a league-leading 4,624 passing yards in 2023 and completing a league-high 72.9 percent of his passes in 11 games the next season, but his 2025 campaign is one he’ll surely want to forget. He’ll be ready to move on with a focus on utilizing a new group of weapons to beat out his incumbent competition and prove he can still be a starter in the NFL.
After getting slow played into a starting role in his rookie year, Penix displayed a safe but tepid offense through 11 games as a starter before tearing his ACL. The team hopes introducing Tagovailoa into the mix as competition will jumpstart their hopeful franchise quarterback into a higher gear, once he returns to full health. They expect Penix to be cleared to compete sometime in the offseason, at which point they will begin the competition to see who will be named the best left-handed quarterback in Atlanta since Michael Vick.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/26
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: RB Zonovan Knight
- Signed: LS Casey Kreiter
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: C Corey Levin, LB Channing Tindall
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: DE Trevis Gipson, TE James Mitchell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Jack Stoll
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Tyrus Wheat
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: FB Adam Prentice
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: OLB Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: LS Josh Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Zayne Anderson, TE Ben Sims
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Mike Brown, TE Julian Hill
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Zaire Barnes
New York Jets
- Re-signed: OT Max Mitchell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: OL Jack Driscoll
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: RB Patrick Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LS Chris Stoll
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Malik Herring
Dolphins Sign CBs Darrell Baker, A.J. Green, Alex Austin
The Dolphins continue to make additions on defense. Cornerback Darrell Baker has agreed to terms on a one-year deal, per his agents (via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network).
[RELATED: Dolphins To Sign DB Lonnie Johnson Jr.]
In addition, the team has announced the signing of fellow corner A.J. Green. Those two will join a new-look secondary in 2026. Miami agreed to terms with Lonnie Johnson Jr. earlier today. And to top it all off, the Dolphins have agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Alex Austin, per Jordan Schultz.
Baker is coming off a two-year stint with the Titans, where he emerged as a part-time starter. He started 19 of his 34 appearances between 2024 and 2025, collecting 95 tackles and 12 passes defended. He primarily played as an outside cornerback during his stint in Tennessee, although he also made same cameos at safety, at slot corner, and in the box.
The former UDFA out of Georgia Southern started his career with the Cardinals before catching on with the Colts practice squad. After making only three appearances with Indy as a rookie, he got into 14 games (six starts) in 2023. He inked a one-year extension with the organization during the 2024 offseason, but he was waived by the Colts at the end of that year’s preseason.
Green had a four-year stint with the Bengals to begin his professional career. He’s since bounced around a bit, spending time with the Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins. He split the 2025 campaign between Miami and Los Angeles, where he mostly appeared on special teams.
Austin spent the majority of his three-year career in New England, where he got into 26 games. He started six games during his Patriots tenure (including two in 2025), but he mostly earned his worth on special teams. Austin got into 220 ST snaps during his time in New England, including 120 this past year.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.