RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/2/26
Three clubs made decisions on exclusive rights free agents on Monday. Here’s a look:
Tendered:
- Dolphins: CB Ethan Bonner
- Rams: OL Justin Dedich, K Harrison Mevis, WR Xavier Smith
- Seahawks: RB George Holani, S Ty Okada
As an 11-game starter for last season’s Super Bowl champions, Okada is the headliner on this list. After going undrafted out of Montana State in 2023, Okada combined for just nine appearances in his first two seasons. He barely factored in on defense then, but that changed in 2025. Not only did the 26-year-old play in all of the Seahawks’ games, but he recorded a 66.13% defensive snap share. Okada posted 65 tackles, six passes defensed, 1.5 sacks and an interception along the way.
Mevis, undrafted from Missouri in 2024, couldn’t crack an NFL roster until the Rams added him to their practice squad last fall. He later replaced the struggling Joshua Karty, whom the Rams cut in late November. Mevis converted 12 of 13 field goals and all 39 extra points in nine regular-season games. The 23-year-old was perfect during a three-game playoff run in which he knocked in six field goals and nine PATs.
Dolphins Release OL Liam Eichenberg
Liam Eichenberg missed all of the 2025 season. If he is to continue his NFL career, it will take place with a new team. 
The Dolphins announced on Monday that Eichenberg has been released. A knee injury landed the veteran offensive lineman on the PUP list during roster cutdowns in August. He remained there throughout the campaign, leaving open the possibility of a move such as this one. Eichenberg intends to play in 2026, but he is now a free agent.
After playing out his rookie contract with Miami, the Notre Dame product re-upped on a one-year deal. Since he was never activated from the PUP list, that contract would have tolled to 2026 had the Dolphins retained him. Instead, the team will move on while Eichenberg will begin the process of finding his next gig. His market will no doubt be tepid given the length of his absence. This move is coming with a failed physical designation, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.
Eichenberg made 60 appearances and 52 starts during his tenure with the Dolphins. The former second-rounder has seen time at every O-line position, and his versatility could be valued by interested teams. After playing as a tackle during his rookie campaign, Eichenberg has exclusively been used on the interior. He saw time at center in 2023, but otherwise his most common position has been guard.
The 28-year-old will thus likely be targeted as an option for starting guard duties during his time on the open market. That position has already seen changes in Miami’s case, with James Daniels one of the many incumbent players cut by the new decision-making tandem of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley. With this Eichenberg release now taking place, additions along the interior of the offensive line will clearly be a priority for Miami.
The Dolphins are narrowly under the 2026 cap ceiling as things stand. Further cost-shedding moves will be required as a result, although managing to add financial flexibility through a Tua Tagovailoa trade remains highly unlikely.
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).
Russini reiterated Minnesota still wants to develop McCarthy in the hopes that he can live up to his first-round draft status, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano likewise confirms the Vikings are not ready to give up on the Michigan product. Still, the club seems to want to make McCarthy 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.
Tua Tagovailoa Drawing Interest As Potential FA, Not Trade Target
The Dolphins will part ways with Tua Tagovailoa this offseason, and the entire NFL knows it.
As a result, other teams are not interested in the 27-year-old quarterback as a trade target, per Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline. There are multiple clubs, however, who would pursue Tagovailoa as a free agent. All they have to do is wait for Miami to cut him.
Moving any draft capital for Tagovailoa to then take on his massive contract – including $54MM in guaranteed compensation in 2026 (via OverTheCap) – is an over-investment in an asset that has rapidly depreciated over the last two seasons. Signing him as a free agent, however, would cost no draft picks and only a veteran-minimum salary, since Tagovailoa would still be receiving his pay from Miami.
Perhaps an enterprising general manager with plenty of extra cap space could take a creative approach.
The Dolphins are just $772K over the 2026 salary cap and badly need to clear space just to fill their roster, sign their draft class, and field a team this season. Releasing Tagovailoa will incur a dead cap charge of $99.2MM, some of which can be pushed into 2027 with a post-June 1 designation. That will still add $11.1MM to their balance sheet this year. That can be offset with a post-June 1 release of Bradley Chubb, but the Dolphins’ new regime probably wants to do more than balance the budget in their first offseason.
Back to that enterprising GM: he could try to acquire Tagovailoa via trade and ask the Dolphins to give him better draft capital in exchange for taking on his massive salary. Miami would not package Tagovailoa and a draft pick in exchange for no return, but perhaps a pick swap upgrading one of the acquiring team’s selections could be equitable.
The new club would have a potential bridge starter, and the Dolphins will have minimized the financial impact of moving on from their former first-round pick. There are also a number of teams that need to spend rather aggressively this offseason to meet the league’s three-year cash spending requirement, and absorbing Tagovailoa’s salary is one way to contribute to that effort.
Still, the most likely path is an outright release followed by Tagovailoa signing for the veteran minimum with a new team. He will likely be looking for a starting opportunity, or at least the potential to earn one.
2026 NFL Offseason Outlook Series
Pro Football Rumors is breaking down how all 32 teams’ offseason blueprints are shaping up. Going forward, the Offseason Outlook series is exclusive to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, and that link provides details on how to sign up for an annual membership.
This post will be updated as more Outlooks are published.
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
Malik Willis Could Receive $30MM AAV In Free Agency; Too Much For Miami?
FEBRUARY 28: Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes one “theory” in league circles is that Willis will ultimately land between $20MM and $25MM per season on a two- or three-year contract. That would mark a major contrast to other notable QB deals given Willis’ lack of starting experience, but demand from a long list of suitors could of course produce an even more lucrative agreement.
FEBRUARY 24: Could Malik Willis be the NFL’s next successful quarterback reclamation project?
Teams are certainly interested in finding out. The 2022 third-round pick is set to hit free agency in March with considerable hype about his potential as a starter.
Projections for his market value have grown over the last few months, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport predicting that Willis could get anywhere from $30MM to $35MM per year in free agency during a recent appearance on NFL Daily. Host Gregg Rosenthal added that he could see Willis getting as much as $42MM per year. Veteran insider Jordan Schultz adds a $30MM-per-year deal, at least, appears to be a “foregone conclusion” for Willis.
That is a steep price for a quarterback with just six career starts, three of which were rough rookie performances in Tennessee. Willis has made huge strides since arriving in Green Bay in 2024, but those projections would pay him similarly to Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold after they had proven themselves as full-time starters. Willis may not have to take a lower one-year ‘prove it’ deal as Mayfield and Darnold did, but matching or exceeding their AAVs feels like a long shot.
Teams may still be willing to pony up for a young quarterback with exciting athletic traits and the ability to develop under the right coaching. Willis’ lack of starting experience may work in his favor, too. Justin Fields‘ known limitations capped his market last offseason, but teams have only seen Willis thrive in Green Bay in the last two years.
The Dolphins have emerged as an obvious landing spot for Willis after hiring Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their next head coach/general manager duo. However, they have a tight cap situation and will already be paying Tua Tagovailoa $54MM in 2026, per OverTheCap.
“I don’t know that Miami has the money,” Rapoport said. But don’t just take it from him.
In response to a question about Willis at the Combine, Sullivan himself acknowledged that the Dolphins have “a bit of an uphill climb” when it comes to their finances.
“Have we had conversations about Malik? I think anybody that is potentially in the quarterback market would be lying if they said they have not,” Sullivan said (via C. Isaiah Smalls of the Miami Herald). “The reality of the situation is we have 30-plus unrestricted and restricted free agents. And we got eight picks as we sit here today and not a ton of money to do stuff in free agency.”
The Dolphins could certainly find a way to get Willis to Miami, but doing so will take a combination of cuts, restructures, and a creative contract structure. Even then, as Sullivan notes, the team has more areas to address, and concentrating $90MM at quarterback will limit their ability to invest in other positions.
But Hafley and Sullivan should also know how team leadership can be defined by their ability (or inability) to acquire quarterback talent. 26-year-olds with starting potential rarely hit unrestricted free agency, so the Dolphins may be best served by prioritizing Willis now and building the roster around him over the next two offseasons in the hopes of getting back to playoff contention by 2027.
Dolphins Almost Hired Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard As HC?
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was a finalist for the Dolphins’ head coaching job that went to Jeff Hafley. His comments this week indicate he might have been the runner-up.
“Full disclosure, I was in communication with the Dolphins for about two weeks,” Sheppard said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “After the interview I was contacted by three people from that front office.” Sheppard not provide more details into his communication with Miami , but said information he received was “as real as it gets.”
Hafley interviewed with the Dolphins on January 17 and Sheppard followed the next day. Hafley’s was announced the evening of Sheppard’s interview. That raised some concern that Sheppard’s interview was a sham, intended only to fulfill the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirement. But he is appreciative of the invitation nonetheless, as the Dolphins were the first team to express formal interest in him for a head coaching jog.
“Real or not, I got the opportunity to do it,” Sheppard said. “Real or fake, I went through the process and I learned a lot and I grew from it, so that’s what I’m taking from it.”
The 38-year-old faced an uphill battle in his first year as Detroit’s defensive coordinator. Several of his top players went down with injuries during the season, forcing them to limp to the finish line as they missed the playoffs. A bounce-back year in 2026 could raise his profile around the league and get him in the mix for vacancies next hiring cycle.
Dolphins, Tyreek Hill Did Not Discuss Pay Cut; Hill’s Market ‘Tepid’
The Dolphins ended the four-year Tyreek Hill era when they released the decorated wide receiver on Feb. 16. The move opened up significant savings for the Dolphins. Hill was due to count an untenable $51.1MM against the cap before the Dolphins gave him his walking papers.
Miami could have attempted to retain Hill at a lower price tag, but that was never an option for the team. Agent Drew Rosenhaus revealed that he and the Dolphins did not discuss a pay cut for Hill, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Rosenhaus added that Miami’s goal is to assemble a younger roster. Keeping Hill, who will turn 32 on March 1, would have worked against that plan.
While Hill plans to return for an 11th season in 2026, he is on the mend from a severe knee injury that could continue to hinder him in the future. Hill’s season ended in Week 4 when he tore multiple ligaments, including his ACL, and dislocated his knee.
In yet another factor that should lower the value of Hill’s next contract, the NFL is investigating domestic violence accusations against him. There have been three known domestic violence allegations against Hill dating to his time in college. Oklahoma State kicked Hill off its football and track teams in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to domestic violence. Hill resurfaced on West Alabama’s football team the next year. The Chiefs took the speedster in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, and he has since put together a Hall of Fame-caliber career.
Although Hill is an eight-time Pro Bowler and a five-time first-team All-Pro, he has encountered a “tepid” market since the Dolphins cut him, Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom reports. Multiple league executives who are seeking receiver upgrades told La Canfora they want no part of Hill. There are concerns over Hill’s fading physical skills and his questionable locker room presence, sources informed La Canfora.
“No chance. We think he’s done,” one general manager said. “He isn’t a difference-maker anymore. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Not even as a vet-minimum guy for us.”
Combining his age, injury and off-field troubles, Hill looks like a prime candidate for a prove-it deal in 2026. The 5-foot-10, 191-pounder was productive during his most recently healthy campaign in 2024, though he began showing signs of decline that year. Hill’s numbers (81 catches, 959 yards and six touchdowns) fell well short of his typical output, and his stock has continued to drop since then.
Tua Tagovailoa Has Not Requested Trade
As it stands, the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa chapter is nearing an end. Most likely, that conclusion will come via release. No trade market is believed to exist for the slumping passer, and the Dolphins have been closely linked to Malik Willis.
A Tagovailoa release would tag the Dolphins with a record-setting $99.2MM. While that could be spread over two years via a post-June 1 designation, it would make reuniting Willis and new HC Jeff Hafley difficult. Tagovailoa has spoken highly of a fresh start, but new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) the six-year veteran has not requested a trade.
“We’re evaluating the entire roster,” Sullivan said at the Combine. “As it pertains to Tua, we’ve had conversations with Tua and his representation. Everything is on the table, including the potential of a trade. We don’t know which way that’s going to go. There’s a lot of different factors at play, a lot of conversations being had.”
These comments remind of Sullivan’s most recent remarks from a Dolphins fan event, where the former Packers exec mentioned he had spoken to Tagovailoa about his future. It would surprise if Miami found a trade taker. In the event one does form, the Dolphins would need to eat plenty of the southpaw QB’s $54MM 2026 guarantee.
With Zach Wilson a free agent, the Dolphins have Quinn Ewers — their end-of-season starter following Tua’s benching — as a possible starter. Sullivan reiterated he plans to infuse his new QB room with competition. That would point to a free agency addition and a draft choice coming in. This is not viewed as a deep quarterback class on either front, potentially pointing to Ewers — a 2025 seventh-round pick — having a legitimate shot to start in the event Miami cannot lure Willis.
As PFR’s Dolphins Offseason Outlook notes, Miami will need to act by March 13. Another $18MM guarantee — via a $15MM option bonus and $3MM 2027 salary guarantee — will vest for the embattled QB on that date. It would be stunning if Tua remained a Dolphin after that date. It is widely expected this process will remind of the Broncos’ 2024 Russell Wilson ending, when the AFC West team cut the disappointing arm to bring a record-shattering $84.6MM in dead money. The Dolphins are on the verge of eclipsing that number by a wide margin, barring something unforeseen.
Dolphins Add Jon Robinson To Front Office
New Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan is adding a former GM to his front office. The Dolphins are hiring Jon Robinson as a senior personnel executive, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Robinson met with the Jets about their GM gig in December 2024 and later conducted two interviews with the Jaguars for their vacant post last winter. He didn’t land either position, though, and will now return to the NFL for the first time since the Titans fired him as their GM in December 2022.
Before his seven-year reign in Tennessee, Robinson worked in scouting roles with the Patriots from 2002-12. He left the dynastic Pats to serve as the Buccaneers’ director of player personnel from 2013-15.
The Titans’ firing of Robinson came as a surprise at the time. While the club finished a lackluster 7-10 in 2022, it was 7-5 when owner Amy Adams Strunk canned Robinson. His teams won between nine and 12 games in each season from 2016-21. The Titans earned four playoff berths and two AFC South titles along the way, but they never got past the conference championship game.
Robinson’s ouster happened to come shortly after Eagles receiver/ex-Titan A.J. Brown torched his former club for eight catches, 119 yards and two touchdowns in Week 13. The timing was curious, though Strunk said she had already decided Robinson’s fate before the Titans lost a 35-10 blowout that day. Despite extending Robinson’s contract during the previous offseason, she quickly grew displeased with his roster.
Robinson was wise to spend a 2019 second-round pick on Brown, who developed into a star. On the other hand, in trading Brown to the Eagles for a first- and third-round pick in 2022, Robinson wasted a prime asset. He used the first-rounder, No. 18 overall, on former Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks. The Titans waived Burks last October after he busted over three years in their uniform.
Robinson’s last draft in Tennessee also included third-round quarterback Malik Willis. In assessing the former Liberty passer then, Robinson said: “He was the best player on the board, and excited to add him to the team. … Good arm, athletic, moves around well. Got a really good skillset. Throws a good ball. He is tough to tackle.”
Although Willis did not pan out with the Titans after Robinson chose him 86th overall, that pick is aging better. Willis’ stock is soaring on the heels of a successful two-year stint as Jordan Love‘s backup in Green Bay. Now two weeks away from hitting free agency, Willis will cash in big in March as he seeks a starting job. Robinson’s new team is among the rumored suitors.
New Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley, the Packers’ defensive coordinator during Willis’ time there, reportedly wants to sign the 26-year-old. Sullivan also came to South Florida from Green Bay. The fact that the GM who drafted Willis is now a member of Miami’s front office adds yet another interesting connection between the team and the coveted QB.