Kirk Cousins will be available to sign with any team in two weeks once he's released by the Atlanta Falcons. Tua Tagovailoa could be on the move from the Miami Dolphins. Kyler Murray might not be in the Arizona Cardinals' plans.
Reliable quarterbacks have been of utmost importance for decades in the NFL, but long-term satisfaction with the position across the league is becoming increasingly elusive. Just because a team has paid top dollar for a franchise quarterback doesn't mean that decision won't be reconsidered the following year for cost, injuries, performance or all of the above.
For the handful of clubs either at a crossroad or committed to starting over this offseason, the timing is hardly ideal.
After Indiana national champion and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who's widely expected to be the first-overall pick in the draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, the rookie class thins quickly.
Finding a new starter on the open market is always tricky, and the bargain options are as scant as ever. Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis will be sought after in free agency, but he has only six career starts. Still, depending on how much a team is willing to pay, either against the salary cap or in trade currency with players and draft picks, there should be at least some viable upgrades available.
The Minnesota Vikings have found themselves in these predicaments as frequently as any franchise this century, entering this year with more uncertainty following an erratic and injury-filled debut by J.J. McCarthy.
While Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has said repeatedly he remains confident in McCarthy's makeup and skill, all the team has committed to for 2026 is bringing in a veteran not only for insurance but stronger competition for the job.
“We’re going to explore every opportunity, and I don’t think there’s anything specifically we’re looking for," said executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski, who's the acting general manager following the dismissal of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. "We can’t manufacture anything that’s not there. What are the options? Is it reciprocal? Is it financially doable? There are a lot of things that go into it.”
Cousins will again be the most certain option on the market next month, when the Falcons plan to cut him and fully pivot toward 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr., whose knee injury last year gave Cousins the job back. His familiarity with O'Connell and fondness for the Vikings could lead to a reunion. Cousins, who turns 38 before the season, would be a realistic bridge starter to give McCarthy more time to develop.
With a salary cap charge of about $56 million and new leadership in the front office and on the coaching staff, Tagovailoa's future with the Dolphins is unclear despite the extension he signed less than two years ago. After six seasons of injuries and inconsistency, including a career-most 15 interceptions in 2025, the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 draft is young enough at age 27 to attract attention from other teams.
"Everything's on the table, including the potential of a trade,” general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said. “We don’t know which way that’s going to go. There’s a lot of different factors in play, a lot of conversations being had.”
Limited to five games by a foot injury last season as the Cardinals slumped to 3-14, Murray is carrying a salary cap hit of about $52 million for a team that also has a new coaching staff. General manager Monti Ossenfort uttered the familiar refrain at the NFL combine this week: “All options are on the table.”
Murray, the first-overall pick in the 2019 draft, has not won more than nine games in a single season — or any in the playoffs.
“When you had the kind of year that we had, there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Ossenfort said. “We’ve got to find a way to do that.”
After signing a prove-it contract last season with the Indianapolis Colts, Jones was on his way to mirroring the success Sam Darnold — the biggest prize on the market last year — had with the Seattle Seahawks until Jones tore his Achilles tendon in December. Jones is still rehabilitating from the injury, lessening the league-wide interest, and general manager Chris Ballard said he's trying to re-sign the sixth-overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Aaron Rodgers at age 42 appears unlikely to switch teams again, as a reunion with coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh presents an attractive way to put off retirement.
Though Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have hit some bumps in the road together, the two-time NFL MVP is on track for a new deal. He wouldn't have had a voice in the coaching search if the Ravens were considering a trade. “I have spoken to Lamar about a lot of different things over the last month,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “He’s been very engaged.”
If there were any questions about how committed the Houston Texans are to C.J. Stroud after a third straight loss in the divisional round of the playoffs, general manager Nick Caserio didn't leave any room for guessing in his comments about the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“He's our quarterback,” Caserio said at the combine in Indianapolis. “He isn't going anywhere. We have a lot of confidence, a lot of belief.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, File)
FILE - Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Oct. 5, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the war against Iran may be short-lived despite the country's selection of a new hard-line supreme leader to oversee the fight for the Islamic theocracy’s survival.
But moments later, Trump hinted during a news conference that the worst fighting could still be ahead as he threatened intensified action if Iran made any “attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply." The back-and-forth sent oil prices and stock markets seesawing.
“We’re putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families,” Trump said.
The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and sent fuel prices rising across the U.S. The fighting has also led foreigners to flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit sites including military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school.
The selection of hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as Iran's supreme leader sent oil prices surging and markets sliding. Investors saw it as a signal that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel.
Oil prices later fell, and the U.S. stock market closed higher after Trump told a group of lawmakers at his golf club near Miami that the conflict may end soon.
“We took a little excursion” to the Middle East “to get rid of some evil. And, I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion," Trump said.
Trump also had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war and other issues. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Putin “voiced a few ideas regarding a quick political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict following his conversations with Gulf leaders and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Khamenei, a secretive 56-year-old cleric, is only the third supreme leader in the history of the Islamic Republic. He has close ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989, was killed during the war’s opening salvo.
More than 20 heavy explosions were heard in Tehran in what was considered the heaviest air raid on the capital since the war started Feb. 28. Iranian media did not report on damages and casualties.
Israel said Monday that it was carrying out “a wide-scale wave of strikes” on the Iranian city of Isfahan, as well as Tehran and in southern Iran. The Israeli military said it hit dozens of infrastructure sites, including the drone headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said more missiles had been launched from Iran toward Israel late Monday.
Trump said the United States was nearing its goal to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile and its ability to produce and launch them. The administration has offered shifting rationales and timelines since the start of the conflict.
He also talked about "building a new country,” a comment that seemed to suggest the U.S. might be engaged in the building of a new Iran.
Thousands poured into a central square in the capital, Tehran, and other locations in a show of allegiance to the new supreme leader, waving flags and shouting phrases like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
The younger Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the war started, was long considered a potential successor — even before the killing of his 86-year-old father.
Trump told reporters that he was “disappointed” that Mojtaba Khamenei was picked and that he liked “the idea” of a leader drawn from an “internal” group of candidates, saying that this process “works well” with Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodriguez.
The younger Khamenei is seen as even less compromising than his late father. As supreme leader, he has the final say on all major policies, including Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Though Iran’s key nuclear sites are in tatters after the U.S. bombed them during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, it still has highly enriched uranium that’s a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose to do what his father never did — build a nuclear bomb.
Trump told reporters the war with Iran started because that country was starting work on a new site for developing material for nuclear weapons to replace one bombed last year by the U.S.
Israel has already described Khamenei as a potential target. Trump said Monday it “would be inappropriate” to say whether he would be targeted.
The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, the highest since 2022, back toward $90.
Iran’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried, and Iranian drones and missiles have targeted oil and gas infrastructure in major producers. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven mariners, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to the office of the supreme leader, told CNN on Monday that Iran is prepared for a long war. He said he sees no “room for diplomacy anymore” unless economic pressure prompts other countries to intervene and stop the “aggression of Americans and Israelis against Iran.”
Turkey, meanwhile, said NATO defenses had intercepted a ballistic missile that entered the country’s airspace for the second time since the war started.
Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following the drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states.
In the UAE, home to the futuristic city of Dubai, authorities said two people were wounded by shrapnel from the interception of Iranian missiles over the capital, Abu Dhabi. The Emirati Defense Ministry said 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired at the country on Monday.
Iran also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where it hit a residential area, wounding 32 people, including several children, according to authorities. Another attack appeared to have started a fire at Bahrain's only oil refinery, sending up thick plumes of smoke.
The U.S. State Department early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia. Several other U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials.
A total of seven U.S. service members have been killed.
Trump said Monday that family members of the soldiers told him during the transfer of their remains over the weekend in Dover, Delaware: “Make sure you win, sir."
Magdy reported from Cairo and Keaten from Geneva. Associated Press journalists around the world also contributed to this report.
People gather in a rally to support Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mourners pray during the funeral of Mehdi Hosseini, a man killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike, at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Relatives mourn over the flag draped coffin of Mehdi Hosseini who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike during his burial ceremony at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The coffin of Mehdi Hosseini, a man killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike, is carried for burial at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man carries shoes from his destroyed house that was hit by Israeli airstrikes hit several houses in Sir al-Gharbiyeh village south Lebanon, Sunday, March, 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Residents look on and take pictures as flames and smoke rise from an oil storage facility struck as attacks hit the city during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Alireza Sotakbar/ISNA via AP)
Two women from the Iranian Red Crescent Society stand as a thick plume of smoke from a U.S.-Israeli strike on an oil storage facility late Saturday rises in the sky in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, who has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
