Tagovailoa officially signed his one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Falcons on Friday.

Falcons GM Ian Cunningham confirmed Friday that Tagovailoa will compete with Michael Penix (knee) for the starting quarterback role in Atlanta, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com. Both are oft-injured left-handed quarterbacks, but Tua is the healthier of the two at the moment, as he passed a physical in order to effectuate his contract with Atlanta while Penix is recovering from November surgery to repair a torn ACL. Penix has a chance to be ready for the start of the regular season, but Tagovailoa could have the early edge in Atlanta's QB competition while Penix works his way back into form.

Falcons GM Ian Cunningham confirmed Friday that the team is bringing in Tua Tagovailoa to compete with Penix (knee) for the starting quarterback role, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.

Tagovailoa has agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Falcons and will join the team if he passes his physical. Both Penix and Tua are left-handed quarterbacks who have dealt with numerous injuries. Penix underwent surgery in November to repair a partially torn ACL in his left knee, but he's aiming to be healthy ahead of Week 1. Once healthy, Penix is slated to compete with Tagovailoa for the starting job.

McCarthy (hand) is unlikely to enter Week 1 as a starter after the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic.

For what it's worth, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell declined to comment on expectations for a 2026 starter when reporters asked him Thursday. Reading between the lines, McCarthy's poor 2025 performance would make him a major underdog if a job battle were to take place, even against a post-prime version of Murray (who turns 29 in August). O'Connell is saying all of the things one might expect about continuing McCarthy's development, but odds are it'll be happening from the bench for at least the early part of the 2026 campaign.

The Vikings signed Murray to a one-year contract Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

With Murray set to collect $36.8 million from the Cardinals in 2026 following his release from the team, Murray will earn the veteran league minimum from the Vikings, according to Schefter. The contract also contains a no-tag clause for next offseason, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Minnesota was always viewed as the likely landing spot for Murray, and he'll now be considered the slight favorite to win the QB1 job over J.J. McCarthy, though this will be one of the more fascinating position battles of the summer. After winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 followed by back-to-back Pro Bowl selections in 2020 and 2021, Murray's career was somewhat derailed by injuries and poor play. A fresh start appeared to be necessary, and he'll now have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at his disposal should he win the job over McCarthy.

The Cowboys released Grier on Thursday.

Grier inked a reserve/future contract with the team last month but is now out after Dallas signed Sam Howell as the team's QB3 this week. The 30-year-old Grier hasn't appeared in a regular-season NFL game since his 2019 rookie season with Carolina.

The Colts officially signed Jones (Achilles) to a two-year contract extension Thursday,

Jones' contract not only provides an extra year of security with Indianapolis beyond the transition tag, that was initially extended to him, but it gives him a base salary of $50 million for 2026, per Brigid Kennedy of SI.com, $12.2 million above the tag amount even before including his $6 million in incentives. The 28-year-old said Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show that he's fully recovered from the broken left fibula injury he dealt with in 2025 and that he's "making good progress with the rehab" from the right Achilles he suffered in December, as Grant Gordon of NFL.com reports. Jones said his goal is to "be back by Week 1 and ready to go," but it's far from a sure thing that he will be fully cleared for the start of the regular season, given the severe nature of his injury. Second-year quarterback Riley Leonard would be a candidate to start the year if Jones isn't ready to kick off there regular season, as Anthony Richardson (eye) is actively seeking a trade away from Indianapolis.

Fields (knee) is expected to be replaced by Geno Smith as the Jets' starting quarterback in 2026, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The Jets agreed Tuesday to trade for Smith from the Raiders, and the move was made official the following day. Fields remains on the roster for now, though the Jets could save $10 million in cap space by cutting the embattled quarterback. After signing a two-year, $40 million contract with the Jets last offseason, Fields posted a 2-7 record as a starter while averaging 140 passing yards per game. He finished the season on injured reserve due to a knee injury.

Rush was released by the Ravens on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Despite signing a two-year, $6.2 million deal with the Ravens last offseason, the team has decided to move on from Rush after just one campaign. The 32-year-old made four appearances (two starts) during his lone season in Baltimore, completing 34 of 52 pass attempts for 303 yards and four interceptions. Now a free agent, Rush could land a backup quarterback role elsewhere for the 2026 season.

Murray will visit the Vikings on Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

As Schefter notes, the belief across the league is that Murray's likely landing spot is Minnesota after he was officially released by the Cardinals earlier Wednesday. The Vikings are an ideal landing spot after J.J. McCarthy struggled to an 11:12 TD:INT and 58 percent completion percentage across 10 starts in his first season as a starter in 2025. On top of the struggles on the field, McCarthy was unable to stay healthy when on it. Murray likely sees Minnesota as one of his better chances to claim a starting job.

Browning plans to sign a one-year deal with the Buccaneers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

With starting quarterback Baker Mayfield taking quite a few hits last year, the Bucs are looking to bring in a tested backup. Browning played more than one offensive snap in four games for the Bengals during the 2025 season, totaling 757 passing yards and 6:8 TD:INT. The quarterback has started 10 games in his NFL career for a 4-6 record, adding a fifth win in Week 2 of the 2025 season when he passed 32 times against the Jaguars after Joe Burrow went down with a toe injury.