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• Dolphins extend Tua Tagovailoa on 4-year, $212M deal

  The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have agreed to a four-year, $212.4million contract extension, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

  The contract, which is the largest in franchise history, reportedly includes $167million in guarantees, which ranks eighth among NFL quarterbacks.

  With a long-term deal in place, Tagovailoa can focus on preparing for the upcoming season. He had been a minimal participant in Miami’s initial training camp sessions.

  Drafted fifth overall out of Alabama, Tagovailoa has had a passer rating over 100 in each of the last two seasons and answered durability concerns by starting all 17 games last year.

  While some pundits had been hesitant to endorse a large extension for Tagovailoa, but Dolphins general manager Chris Grier was determined to keep the left-hander in Miami.

  "We're strong believers in him. And you guys all feel [coach Mike McDaniel's] passion about him when he talks about him," Grier said in February.

  "Just in the two years of what he's done, he's grown in areas to where he led the league in passing and did some great things this year. And we all feel there's still another level he can take it.

  "The way he's attacked this and wants to be great, and the combination of Mike and working with that and that trust and belief in each other, we do think there's still another level which he could go."

  Tagovailoa completed 69.3 percent of his passes last season for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while leading the Dolphins to an 11-6 record. The Dolphins’ play-off appearance was brief, ending in a 26-7 loss in frigid Kansas City in the wild-card round.

  Since McDaniel took over as head coach, Tagovailoa ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards (8,172), fifth in passing touchdowns (54) and second in passer rating (102.9).

• Atlanta Falcons QB Cousins cleared to practice

  Quarterback Kirk Cousins was on the field for the Atlanta Falcons' first training camp practice after being cleared to participate by the team's medical staff.

  Head coach Raheem Morris told reporters Thursday that Cousins, recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon sustained in October, will be under slight restrictions during camp but is still expected to handle the majority of first-team reps during team drills.

  "Obviously, we'll do some sort of our own modifications [like] some of the things we did with Kirk during the spring, but he's ready to go," Morris said.

  "He's fired up, the team's fired up. The limitations for him, you won't notice."

  Cousins suffered the injury on Oct. 29 in what turned out to be his final game with the Minnesota Vikings. The four-time Pro Bowl selection signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March to address the team's most glaring need, a top-tier starting quarterback.

  The soon-to-be 36-year-old is expected to open the season as Atlanta's starter despite the Falcons selecting former University of Washington star quarterback Michael Penix with the eighth overall pick of this year's draft.

  Cousins did take part in some drills during the Falcons' offseason training activities in May, but was mainly limited to individual work.

  "I think the precaution [in OTAs], I think was pretty much helpful for how we go about the business of keeping people away from him," Morris said. "Now there will be people to be around him, and we feel comfortable with that moving forward and doing some of those things.

  "Obviously, some of these limitations will come in our individual drills, making sure we don't wear him out to the point where we want to get all the team reps with him."

  Cousins was in the midst of another strong season in 2023, as he was leading the NFL in touchdown passes (18) at the time of his injury in Week 8. The 12-year veteran completed 69.5 per cent of his passes for 2,331 yards with five interceptions in eight games, though the injury prevented him from likely reaching 4,000 passing yards for a fourth straight season.

  Morris is also in his first season as the Falcons' permanent head coach, though he went 4-7 as the team's interim coach in 2020 after Atlanta fired Dan Quinn during the season.

  Atlanta has finished 7-10 in each of the last three seasons and has missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, tied with the Carolina Panthers for the longest active drought among NFC teams.

• Rodgers enjoys 'great' relationship with Saleh despite being fined by Jets

  Aaron Rodgers insists he enjoys a "great" relationship with New York Jets coach Robert Saleh, despite being fined for skipping a mandatory mini-camp last month.

  Legendary quarterback Rodgers joined the Jets ahead of the 2023 season after 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, only for a ruptured Achilles to end his campaign in Week 1. 

  The four-time NFL MVP is hoping to make a more meaningful contribution in his second year in New York, but his offseason has not been without controversy.

  He joined edge rusher Haason Reddick in skipping a mini-camp in June, with Saleh saying both players would be subject to fines after failing to provide an explanation.

  Rodgers was on vacation in Egypt at the time of the missed camp and while he regrets the scheduling conflict, he says there is no ill feeling between Saleh and himself.

  "It's obviously more of an issue outside the building than there was inside the building," Rodgers said after practice as the Jets returned for preseason this week. 

  "Robert and I are great. We had great conversations throughout the offseason. [We] had a fun one last night in his office until later on. So, it is what it is.

  "I'm an adult. I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming and also knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt.

  "I wish there hadn't been a conflict scheduling-wise, but it was what it was."

  Saleh also played down the incident on Wednesday, telling reporters: "I've had dialogue with Aaron throughout the summer. I got some cool pictures from him. 

  "We had our normal conversations. Nothing has been broken, but the mini-camp stuff, we talked beforehand, so we are on the same page with everything that happened."

  As the 40-year-old approaches his 20th year in the league, his sole focus is on guiding the Jets to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

  "The goal is New Orleans. That has to be the focus," Rodgers said. "It's going to take a nice training camp to feel like myself."