The Miami Dolphins are yet to decide on whether to pick up Tua Tagovailoa's fifth-year option after the quarterback's career-best, but concussion-plagued 2022 season.

Tagovailoa, who was selected with pick five in the 2020 NFL Draft, is entering the last guaranteed season of his rookie deal and has an option for $23.2million in 2024.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters at the NFL scouting combine on Tuesday that no decision had been made on the 24-year-old QB's fifth-year option.

"Like any other player, you factor in every variable," McDaniel said. "I think it's important to recognize we have a congruence of interests by the Dolphins and the player, Tua, that we both want him to play at a very high level for a long time for the Miami Dolphins.

"We're probably best served to utilize the time [until the deadline]. That's kind of the way we're approaching it, but that doesn't mean that we're spending any long period of time not discussing it.

"This is something that [general manager] Chris [Grier] and I have been working through."

Tagovailoa set career highs in passing yards (3,548), passing touchdowns (25) and touchdown percentage (6.3 per cent) in the 2022 season.

He led the league for passer rating with a career-best 105.5 too, but missed several games due to two confirmed concussions.

The Dolphins have until the May 2 deadline to pick up Tagovailoa's option.

The Cincinnati Bengals have shut down any speculation about Tee Higgins being on the trading block.

Third-year wide receiver Higgins, 24, is about to enter the final year of his rookie contract, sparking rumours of a switch due to the fact that 23-year-old Ja'Marr Chase will be due one of the biggest receiver contracts in NFL history when his time to extend arrives next offseason.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, however, refuted those claims emphatically during the NFL scouting combine.

"I'm in the business of making the Cincinnati Bengals better, so trading Tee Higgins is not on my mind," Tobin told reporters.

"That's their problem. If [other teams] want a receiver, go find your own.

"In my opinion, Tee Higgins is a good piece for the Cincinnati Bengals, so the trade stuff is a little ridiculous right now."

Higgins is one of several players who are due for contract extension this or next year alongside Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow.

Tobin's comments indicate that the Bengals are willing to offer him a lucrative extension to remain with the 2021 AFC Champions.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor also scoffed at the Higgins speculation.

"That's why whenever you see the rumours floating around there, it's nonsense," Taylor said. "At the end of the day, I do get to call the plays and it's fun having [playmakers] out there. You don't really want to give that up."

Higgins scored a career-best seven touchdowns from 74 receptions for 1,029 yards in the 2022 regular season.

Leonard Fournette wanted to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers once Tom Brady retired, and the team are set to grant his wish.

Not long after Jason Licht described Fournette as someone who "still has several years left in him as a three-down back" on Tuesday, reports emerged of his imminent release.

But the development was of no surprise to Fournette, who had asked to be let go, he revealed.

"I asked after the season to be [released], and they respected my wishes," Fournette told the Tampa Bay Times. "So, no bad blood.

"Winning is everything. That's all. And in my last three years here, that's all we've done. But since my guy [Brady] left... that's why I came, so my time here was up."

Brady has retired again in Tampa, and the Buccaneers do not expect him to reverse his decision this time.

With him then goes a key member of the successful Super Bowl LV team, with Fournette having joined the Bucs alongside Brady.

Between three rushing touchdowns and one receiving TD, Fournette had a score in every round of that postseason after the 2020 season.

Sean Payton is the right man to get Russell Wilson's career back on track, according to the quarterback's former coach Pete Carroll.

Carroll and Wilson reached two Super Bowls together with the Seattle Seahawks after the latter was drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft.

Wilson earned Pro Bowl honours nine times with the Seahawks and threw two touchdowns as the team beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

But the relationship between Carroll and Wilson reportedly soured in the later years of their time in Seattle, and the quarterback was traded to the Broncos prior to the 2022 season for a haul of picks.

After signing a bumper $245million contract following the trade, Wilson's first year in Denver was one of the worst of his career, throwing a career-low 16 touchdowns as the team limped to a 5-12 record and finished bottom of the AFC West.

Nathaniel Hackett did not make it through a full first season as head coach, but the Broncos made a trade with the New Orleans Saints to bring the sought-after Payton in to replace him.

Payton won a Super Bowl during a successful spell with New Orleans before stepping away at the end of the 2021 season, and Carroll feels he could be the correct coach to get Wilson back to his best.

"I don't think you can come up with a guy better at coaching quarterbacks than Sean," Carroll told reporters. "He's proven that.

"He's had such tremendous success. He's got a great playcaller mentality to him. They're very fortunate to have him."

Reports last week stated Wilson asked for Carroll and Seattle general manager John Schneider to be fired towards the end of his time with the Seahawks.

"My response to that is a similar response to what it's always been with guys I've coached,'' Carroll said.

"I'm always going to hang with them, I'm never going to leave them and I'm going to be there at the end. All of the good stuff, all of the bad stuff, I'm still going to be there.

"[It] doesn't matter who the guy is. Regardless of what had happened, what has taken place, things that have been said. [If] you hang with them, it all comes back around. I'd like to demonstrate that faith in the relationship and the depth of what we did together, and the growth challenges it brings to us along the way."

Kenny Golladay is expected to be released by the New York Giants, ending a miserable two years on the team.

Reports on Tuesday said Golladay would be released on the first day of the league year in mid-March, saving the Giants $6.7million against their salary cap.

The one-time Pro Bowl wide receiver was a big free agent signing ahead of the 2021 season but never rediscovered his best form.

After being limited to five games in his final season with the Detroit Lions, injuries have again hampered Golladay in New York.

He played in 14 games in his first season but failed to catch a single touchdown pass.

Golladay did have a sole TD in 2022, yet he finished the year with only six receptions having lost his place in the Giants' rotation.

The 29-year-old will head to free agency with his stock considerably lower than when he was last on the market two years ago.

The Green Bay Packers appear to be ready to acknowledge Aaron Rodgers may not be their quarterback for the 2023 season.

The Packers worked hard to keep Rodgers, then the back-to-back MVP, when he appeared to be entertaining the idea of a trade last year.

What followed was a record-breaking contract but an underwhelming season as Green Bay missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.

Rodgers, 39, has again delivered cryptic messaging on his future this year, leaving for a four-day "darkness retreat" to consider his options.

Regardless, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst would not commit to the team working to bring Rodgers back when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday.

Gutekunst's comments appeared to stand in contrast to the eagerness of previous years, as he said: "He's a great player, but until we have those conversations, I think all options are on the table right now.

"We really need to have those conversations. We want what's best for the Green Bay Packers, what's best for Aaron. So, we'll get to that once those conversations happen."

Despite last year's contract extension, Gutekunst has not been surprised by the way the issue of Rodgers' future has arisen again.

"I don't know if things shifted," he said. "I think with a player who's played as long as Aaron has and as we've gone the last few years, we realised for him it's been a year-to-year type of proposition.

"I think we've kind of known that moving forward, that last year when we did the contract it was going to be year to year. That's kind of where we're at. I don't think it really adjusted or changed too much.

"We've always kind of known it was going to be year to year with him.

"I will say our season last year certainly adjusted some things and our thinking a little bit. Obviously, it was a disappointing season. Not where we wanted to be.

"Whenever that happens, you're going to look at a number of things that you're going to change."

Gutekunst added it "would be helpful for our football team" if a decision was reached by Rodgers ahead of free agency in mid-March.

The Philadelphia Eagles are making Brian Johnson, the quarterbacks coach behind Jalen Hurts' progress, their new offensive coordinator.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Johnson's imminent promotion on Tuesday.

The Eagles needed a new OC after Shane Steichen landed the Indianapolis Colts head coach job.

Johnson was coached by Averion Hurts at high school and has remained close with Jalen, Averion's son and the Eagles' quarterback.

Hurts, working with Johnson and Steichen, led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in the 2022 season.

He threw for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season, adding another 13 scores on the ground. The Eagles were 14-1 with Hurts starting.

Marcus Mariota was released by the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday as Arthur Smith cut the quarterback from his roster after just one season.

The move seemingly boosts the prospects of Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick who played four times in his rookie season, becoming the regular starting QB for Atlanta.

The Falcons may still elect to bring in a more experienced starting signal caller, but the Mariota dalliance is over.

Recruited to take the place of Matt Ryan, who joined the Indianapolis Colts, Mariota ranked 27th among NFL quarterbacks in completion percentage (61.3 per cent), registering 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, also rushing for 438 yards.

The Hawaii-born 29-year-old had joined on a two-year contract last March and his release frees up salary cap space.

Falcons head coach Smith had previously worked with Mariota at the Tennessee Titans, where the quarterback had a four-and-a-half-season stint as a starter, eventually losing his place to Ryan Tannehill.

A subsequent spell with the Las Vegas Raiders saw Mariota serve as back-up to Derek Carr, before the Falcons swooped for him.

Although Ridder lost out to Mariota for the start initially in the 2022 season, the 23-year-old usurped his senior colleague towards the end of the campaign. Mariota finished with a 5-8 record in a 7-10 season for the Falcons, with Ridder 2-2 over the closing four-game stretch.

Smith, quoted on the team's web page, praised Ridder but offered no assurances over who would be his starting QB, saying: "As always, all options are on the table."

The Buffalo Bills will be without defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in 2023 as he plans to take a year out of coaching before returning in 2024.

Frazier has been the Bills' DC since 2017, in which time he has overseen one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Indeed, across six seasons, Buffalo have given up only 314.9 total yards per game to lead the league over that period.

A statement on Tuesday revealed Frazier was stepping away for a year, however, dealing the Bills a big blow.

Frazier would then return to coaching in 2024, although the statement did not clarify whether that would be with the Bills, who will now have to recruit a replacement for the 2023 season.

Dak Prescott’s seventh season with the Dallas Cowboys was an up-and-down affair.

Prescott helped lead Dallas to a 12-5 regular-season record and a Wild Card Round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - just the Cowboys’ fifth playoff victory since 1996.

But Prescott also threw 15 interceptions last season - tied for the most in the NFL - in just 12 games, and backup Cooper Rush was 4-1 while Prescott was out with a broken thumb.

Despite Prescott’s inconsistent year, executive vice president Stephen Jones believes the Cowboys have the right quarterback to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the 1995 season.

“I've got all the faith in the world we can win this thing with Dak,” Jones told reporters Monday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.

"Because we know him. We know what he's about. His leadership skills are undeniable. Impeccable work ethic. Other than he hadn't won some key playoff games, he's everything you want in a quarterback.

"From the day he walked in the door, he's won a lot of games. We just got to get over the hump."

Prescott is signed through 2024, and his contract carries a cap hit of over $49 million in the 2023 season.

Assuming Dallas is as confident in him as Jones’ comments indicate, the Cowboys could sign Prescott to a contract extension to create extra salary cap space over the next few seasons.

“We've got to have a plan to ultimately extend Dak,” Jones said.

The Cowboys’ offense is poised to undergo a transformation after the departure of Kellen Moore, who served as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022.

Brian Schottenheimer takes over as OC in 2023, but veteran head coach Mike McCarthy will assume offensive play-calling duties.

“Obviously he's the head coach of this football team, and he made a compelling argument that making him the playcaller was going to help us,” Jones said. “I mean that's part of the coaching, be one click better. He feels good about it. He's had a lot of success as a playcaller.

“And he's observed for three years. I think he's been a super leader in that aspect in terms of having the respect for Kellen and the offensive group working with Dak, that that was the better way of doing it.”

Despite the continuity of McCarthy and Prescott remaining in place, Jones thinks that the Cowboys’ offense could evolve in 2023.

“I think [McCarthy] believes now, although they believe in a lot of things the same, there's that 15-20% that they don't. And I think that Mike just thinks that they'll do more with the way he wants to do it [and] that we'll be a better offensive football team.

“I just think it's some of it's the fundamentals, how you block it, how you coordinate and marry the run game to the pass game, what your pass game is philosophically, what your run game is philosophically.”

Carson Wentz has been released by the Washington Commanders a year after the team traded for the quarterback.

The Commanders moved for Wentz ahead of the 2022 season, sending two third-round picks to the Indianapolis Colts and swapping their second-round pick last year.

But it was another injury-wrecked year for Wentz, whose departure from the team was confirmed in a statement on Monday.

The statement read: "The Commanders believed that Wentz could use his veteran experience to push Washington to the playoffs, but after missing over half the season with his injury, those hopes ultimately did not pan out."

Wentz has never rediscovered the form that earned him an All-Pro selection in the 2017 season before he missed the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win through injury.

There were promising signs at the start of his year in Washington as he threw for 650 yards and seven touchdowns across the first two games.

But Wentz's performances had fallen away even before he broke his right ring finger in Week 6, ruling him out until the fourth quarter of the Week 16 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Wentz becomes a free agent ahead of the 2023 campaign, with his release saving the Commanders around $26million in salary cap space.

The Chicago Bears are seriously considering trading their number one pick ahead of this year's NFL draft.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bears are "leaning towards" accepting a trade from one of the many teams looking to bring in a top quarterback prospect, believing their priorities to lie elsewhere.

The Bears have the top pick heading into the draft after a disappointing 3-14 season in 2022.

General manager Ryan Poles has already given his support to Justin Fields as Chicago's starting quarterback heading into the 2023 season, recently saying that a QB prospect would have to amaze him for the Bears to draft one with their top pick.

"We're going to do the same as we've always done," Poles said last month. "We're going to evaluate the draft class, and I would say this: I would have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision."

Fields was one of the few positives in a Bears campaign that concluded with a franchise-worst 10-game losing streak.

The number 11 pick in the 2021 draft claimed 1,143 rushing yards overall, averaging a league-leading 7.14 yards per rush and had an NFL-best four rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards.

In terms of his throwing, though, among the 32 quarterbacks with a minimum of 250 pass attempts, Fields ranked 25th in passer rating (85.2), 31st in completion percentage (60.4) and 32nd in yards per game (149.5).

Of teams in the top 10 picks of the draft, at least five could be looking to select a quarterback first, including the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.

Alabama's Bryce Young, Kentucky's Will Levis and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud are three quarterbacks all projected to be drafted in the top 10 in late April.

The Kansas City Chiefs have promoted Matt Nagy to offensive coordinator for the 2023 season, the team announced on Friday, filling the void created by Eric Bieniemy's departure.

Nagy is a longtime mentee of head coach Andy Reid and previously served as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator from 2016-17.

Nagy was head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2018-21, compiling a 34-31 record and collecting honours as the AP's Coach of the Year in 2018.

After he and the Bears parted ways, Nagy returned to Kansas City last February as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach, helping the Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in franchise history.

Bieniemy had served as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator for the last five seasons before leaving this offseason for Washington, who named him their assistant head coach and OC.

Nagy has been professionally connected to Reid since 2008, when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles' staff as a coaching intern.

After playing quarterback for the University of Delaware, Nagy was not selected in the 2001 NFL Draft and ended up in the Arena Football League, where he threw over 300 touchdown passes from 2002-08.

Eric Bieniemy is content with his new role as offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders and insists he is not already looking for a head coaching opportunity.

Bieniemy has joined the Commanders after his second Super Bowl win in five years as the Kansas City Chiefs' OC.

Despite his success in that job, the 53-year-old repeatedly failed to land a position as an NFL head coach following a number of interviews.

It is something that will appeal to Bieniemy again in the future, he suggested, but his sole focus for 2023 is on the Commanders.

"Being a head coach right now is not in my thought process," Bieniemy said. "What I'm focused on is being the best coach today; everything else will take care of itself.

"I live in the moment. Right now, my feet are planted here.

"[Getting a head coaching job] hasn't happened. It's not anything that's going to impact me moving forward.

"All that stuff about being the head coach, we can talk about that next year sometime. I'm focused on the job at hand."

Bieniemy's Chiefs offense led the league with 413.6 total net yards per game in 2022 as the Commanders ranked 20th (330.3 yards per game).

That was merely the Chiefs' third-best season under Bieniemy in that regard, while their worst performance saw 379.2 yards per game in 2019 – a mark Washington have topped only four times in their history.

Bobby Wagner has agreed an imminent departure from the Los Angeles Rams after only a single season on the team.

Reports revealed Wagner had come to an agreement with the Rams on Thursday, meaning he will return to free agency ahead of the 2023 season.

The linebacker spent the first 10 years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, winning Super Bowl XLVIII and earning six First-team All-Pro selections.

Wagner then entered free agency for the first time last year and joined the Rams, then the defending Super Bowl champions.

A dismal season saw the Rams finish with a 5-12 record and miss the playoffs, although Wagner – having signed a five-year, $50million deal with $20m in guarantees – was a Second-team All-Pro for the third time.

With the Rams $13.7m above the salary cap approaching the new league year, they have saved $5m in space by releasing Wagner.

He will be free to join a new team as soon as the agreement is made official.