NFL Player News

The Panthers have reportedly been getting calls about Dalton regarding a potential trade, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Dalton has one more year left on his deal with Carolina, but as David Newton of ESPN.com suggests, moving the veteran signal caller could make sense for the team, considering GM Dan Morgan indicated Tuesday that Dalton would have to compete for the backup job (behind Bryce Young) with a younger QB to be added through free agency or the draft. Dalton drew just one start during four regular-season appearances with the Panthers in 2025, but overall, the 38-year-old, who entered the NFL as a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2011, has 169 regular-season starts to his credit.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski said Tuesday that the Vikings are "exploring all possibilities" at quarterback, a scenario that could lead to McCarthy (hand) facing competition for the team's starting job, Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

As the coming season approaches, the report notes that Vikings are aiming to see a "baseline" level of quarterback play that's higher than what they had in 2025, a campaign in which McCarthy dealt with multiple injuries, including a right hand issue that forced him out of the team's regular-season finale. When asked if he still believes McCarthy -- the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- can be a franchise quarterback, coach Kevin O'Connell said, "I believe the answer to that question is yes.'" That said, Brzezinski's comments suggest that the Vikings could look to explore bringing in signal-caller help via various avenues. With that in mind, as NFL free agency looms next month, Brzezinski noted "we have a couple of weeks, and so we're just exploring every option that could be out there. We're casting a wide net."

Bears GM Ryan Poles said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine that teams have called about the availability of Bagent via trade this offseason, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Bagent was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Shepherd in 2023 and started four games as a rookie, completing 94 of 143 passes for 859 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions across five total appearances. He's attempted just six regular-season passes over the last two campaigns but has looked good during the preseason when on the field. Bagent has two years remaining on his contract at $4 million each season, so he's very affordable and could be a stop-gap option for a rebuilding team.

On Tuesday, GM Monti Ossenfort said that "all options are on the table" regarding Murray's future with the Cardinals and the team's plans at quarterback, Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic reports.

Per Ossenfort, "as it pertains to that position -- as it pertains to every position on our team -- we're going to look at every avenue to improve, and we're going to continue to go through our process with that." For now, the Cardinals have Murray, Jacoby Brissett and Kedon Slovis under contract, but the status of the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft -- who played just five games last season after suffering a foot injury in Week 5 -- remains unclear. A decision could come by mid-March, given that if Murray is on Arizona's active roster on the fifth day of the upcoming league year, he'd be due a guaranteed roster bonus for 2027 of $19.5 million.

The Texans have no plans to trade Stroud, DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN reports.

Per Bien-Aime, the QB's name surfaced online in trade speculation in the wake of a playoff run that included seven turnovers. However, GM Nick Caserio firmly denied such a possibility Tuesday, while noting of Stroud, "we are not trading the guy. He's our quarterback. He's going to be playing quarterback for the Houston Texans in 2026." Stroud, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is coming off a 2025 regular season in which he threw for 3,041 yards, with 19 TDs and eight interceptions in 14 games. Looking ahead, WR Christian Kirk is the team's most notable pass catcher in line to become a free agent next month, but otherwise Houston's top wideouts and tight ends are on track to be available options for Stroud this coming season.

New Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said Tuesday that "everything is on the table, including [the] possibility of a trade" regarding Tagovailoa's future with the team, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Sullivan noted that Tagovailoa hasn't officially requested a trade, though the quarterback expressed a desire to play elsewhere after a tough 2025 campaign. The 27-year-old inked a massive four-year, $212.4 million contract in July 2024 but appears to have worn out his welcome with the Dolphins after throwing for just 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions across 14 regular-season appearances last season. Sullivan stated in unequivocal terms Tuesday that the team will draft a quarterback this offseason, per C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald, as well as pursue options at the position in free agency such as Malik Willis, per Bill Huber of SI.com. If a trade partner willing to accommodate Tagovailoa's massive salary guarantees can't be found, the expectation is that he will be released.

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Tuesday that he's confident a new contract extension with Jackson will be finalized this offseason, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million extension in April 2023, but with his cap hit set to jump to $74.5 million for 2026 and 2027, a new deal to lower that number is a priority for Baltimore. After his career year in 2024, Jackson encountered multiple hurdles in 2025, most notably missing four regular-season games due to injury. He finished the year with a lackluster 2,549 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions after throwing for over 4,000 yards and a 41:4 TD:INT the year prior, while also having his rushing totals decline to just 349 yards and two scores on 67 carries.

Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday that the team has informed Cousins he will be released March 11, the first day of the new league year, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.

Cousins restructured his contract with Atlanta in early August to provide the team with increased cap flexibility, and now the Falcons will owe him $67.9 million guaranteed if he's still on the roster at the start of the new league year. Finding a trade partner prior to that date is highly unlikely, and as a result the 37-year-old quarterback will be released. Quarterback-needy teams may see Cousins as a candidate for a starting gig in 2026, while Atlanta will need to prioritize finding another reliable option at the position while Michael Penix (knee) works his way back from November surgery to address a torn left ACL.

Mahomes (knee) recently agreed to restructure his contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The Chiefs add $43.56 million in cap space with the restructure, but they'll still need to make other moves to become cap-compliant before the start of the new league year March 11. Mahomes is in the early stages of his rehab process after undergoing surgery in mid-December to repair ACL and LCL tears. He said in mid-January that he was aiming to be ready for Week 1 of 2026, though he acknowledged that he "can't predict what happens throughout the process," per The Associated Press.

The Falcons waived Jones on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Jones spent the 2025 campaign on injured reserve after sustaining a concussion during the preseason last summer. The 25-year-old quarterback spent the previous two seasons in the Atlanta organization but has yet to appear in a regular-season contest.