Tua Tagovailoa is officially a Falcon.
Word that Tagovailoa planned to sign a one-year deal in Atlanta surfaced before he was officially released by the Dolphins earlier this week, but the team formally announced the move on Friday afternoon.
The Falcons will only be paying Tagovailoa the league minimum because the Dolphins remain on the hook for the rest of his $54 million guaranteed salary for the coming season. Tagovailoa started 76 games for Miami over the last six seasons, but was benched late last season after throwing a career-high 15 interceptions in 14 games.
Falcons General Manager Ian Cunningham said that Tagovailoa and Michael Penix will be competing for the team’s quarterback job once Penix is cleared to return from his torn ACL.
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The Falcons haven’t officially signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa yet, but they have a plan in mind for when he is formally added to the roster in Atlanta.
Tagovailoa will be joining Michael Penix Jr. on the depth chart and Penix is coming off of a torn ACL, which has joined his past performance in keeping the Falcons from naming him as the starter for the 2026 season. General Manager Ian Cunningham reiterated that on Friday when he told reporters that Tagovailoa is not resigned to any role as he starts his time with the team.
“For Tua coming in here, he knows he’s coming in here to compete, like Michael knows he is coming in to compete, everybody quite frankly, not just those two at the quarterback position,” Cunningham said, via the team’s website. “There are no starters right now.”
Cunningham said the Falcons spoke to Penix when they decided to pursue Tagovailoa because “you don’t want to blindside somebody,” but the team’s clear message that Penix won’t be handed the job made it inevitable that they’d be bringing in another starting option once they parted ways with Kirk Cousins. Now all that remains to be seen is which player winds up under center to start the 2026 season.
Falcons edge rusher James Pearce was charged with three felonies by state attorneys in Miami-Dade County on Thursday.
Court documents viewed by multiple outlets show that Pearce has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence to his or her person after a February 7 incident involving his ex-girlfriend. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of stalking.
Pearce is accused of following the car of his ex-girlfriend and trying to collide with it. The woman, WNBA player Rickea Jackson, told police she was trying to drive to a police station at the time and Pearce is also accused of eluding police as well as intentionally hitting an officer with his car as he tried to avoid arrest.
Jackson said in a petition filed in court that Pearce “verbally and physically abused me on more than one occasion.” The court granted her request for an order of protection and a hearing about a permanent order is set for April 21.
The NFL is investigating the incident under the Personal Conduct Policy, but Pearce has not been placed on paid leave at this time.
Free agent pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie is heading to Philadelphia.
Ebiketie has agreed to a one-year deal with the Eagles, giving Philadelphia some additional depth in its pass rush.
It will be something of a homecoming for Ebiketie, who played his college football at Temple and then transferred to Penn State. He’s originally from Cameroon.
The 27-year-old Ebiketie has played his entire four-year career for the Falcons, who drafted him in the second round in 2022. He has 16.5 sacks while playing primarily as a situational pass rusher. Last season he played in all 17 games for the Falcons and was on the field for 35 percent of Atlanta’s defensive snaps.
Ebiketie is No. 66 on our list of the NFL’s Top 100 free agents.
The Cardinals made a pair of moves involving offensive linemen on Thursday.
They announced the signing of veteran Elijah Wilkinson. They also released Evan Brown.
Wilkinson is a familiar face in Arizona. He played in 10 games and made nine starts for the team during the 2023 season. Wilkinson moved on to Atlanta and started all 17 games at right tackle last season.
Wilkinson also saw action at guard for the Falcons in 2022 and saw action at both positions during stints with the Bears and Broncos earlier in his career.
Brown started 28 games at guard in Arizona the last two seasons. He’s played 85 overall games for the Cardinals, Seahawks, Lions, Browns, Dolphins and Giants.
The Falcons are adding another edge rushing option to their defense.
Agent Cameron Foster told Adam Schefter of ESPN that his client Samson Ebukam has agreed to terms with the Falcons. Those terms have not been announced.
Ebukam missed the entire 2024 season with a torn Achilles, but returned to play in 14 games for the Colts last season. He had 33 tackles and two sacks in that action, but had 9.5 sacks for the Colts in 2023.
The Falcons drafted Jalon Walker and James Pearce in the first round of the 2025 draft, but Pearce could be unavailable due to discipline from a February arrest on battery and stalking charges. They have also agreed to terms with Azeez Ojulari and Cameron Thomas this week.
The Falcons will have defensive lineman LaCale London back in 2026.
They announced London’s re-signing on Thursday morning. They did not announce any terms of the deal.
London had 30 tackles, five sacks and a forced fumble in 13 games during the 2025 season. The starts were the first of a career that’s also seen London play in seven games for the Falcons in 2023 and one game for the Bears in 2021.
The Falcons have made several additions to their front seven this week. They’ve agreed to terms with Chris Williams, Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas, Channing Tindall, and Christian Harris while David Onyemata and Kaden Elliss have moved on.
The Cardinals released quarterback Kyler Murray the moment the clock struck 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday to start the new league year. The Dolphins at least slept on it before cutting the cord on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa was released on Thursday morning.
Not that they had a decision to make with the benefit of some beauty rest. Or that they needed to dump his salary for cap purposes. By using the post-June 1 designation, he’ll remain on the books at his current salary until June 1.
Per the team, Tua’s 2026 option bonus was exercised prior to his release. That reduces the 2026 dead-money charge from $67.4 million to $55.2 million, and it increases the 2027 charge from $31.8 million to $43.8 million. It adds up to a record $99.2 million in cap charges over the next two years — due in large part to the fact that the Dolphins owe him $54 million this year.
That’s the better way to handle it. With the cap going up every year, the 2027 cap dollars will have a smaller relative impact than they’d have in 2026.
Regardless, one of the worst contracts in recent history, if not ever, has been terminated. The Dolphins, who were bidding against no one, gave Tua a market-level deal while he had a year left on his first-round rookie contract. It’s enough to justify firing former G.M. Chris Grier again, frankly.
Tua is now free to sign with anyone. He’s expected to agree to terms with the Falcons. There’s no reason to do anything other than a one-year, $1.3 million deal, with the Dolphins paying the $52.7 million balance.
The Ravens are making an addition to their offensive line.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to terms with Jovaughn Gwyn. It is a one-year deal for the former Falcon in Baltimore.
Gwyn only played in two games during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but appeared in all 17 games for the Falcons during the 2025 season. He played 11 offensive snaps and 73 special teams snaps in those appearances.
The move to Baltimore will allow Gwyn to keep working with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford, who joined the Ravens’ staff after spending the last five years coaching the offensive line in Atlanta.
Yes, quarterback Kyler Murray will visit the Vikings on Thursday — his agent, Erik Burkhardt, has confirmed that to NFL Media.
But here’s the interesting twist, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media: Burkhardt told him that Murray plans to meet by Zoom on Wednesday night and Thursday with executives from three to five teams that potentially have a quarterback need in 2027.
Possibilities (as we see it) include the Jets, the Steelers, the Browns, the Falcons, and the Rams.
It gives Murray an opportunity to get a head start on free agency next year, which underscores the likelihood he’ll sign a one-year, $1.3 million deal for 2026.
That makes a no-tag clause critical. He needs to be able to hit the market next year, if for whatever reason he plays well and doesn’t get a solid offer to stick around with the Vikings, or whoever he signs with.
The Vikings continue to be the clear favorite. There’s really no one else. And, as of last season near the trade deadline, the Vikings were one of the teams in which Murray was interested.
