Live updates: Dolphins Day 4 free agency; Atwell, Wilson, 9 sign; key QB news
Welcome to Day 4 of the Miami Herald’s around-the-clock Dolphins free agent blog. Keep checking back all day for updates:
Dolphins add Tutu Atwell, Marco Wilson
Miami added two players with local ties late Thursday afternoon, agreeing to terms with speedy veteran receiver Tutu Atwell and veteran cornerback Marco Wilson.
Atwell, 26, was a second-round pick of the Rams in the 2021 draft and has spent all five of his NFL seasons there, starting 27 games and catching 105 passes for 1535 yards and five TDs in 64 games. He was sidelined for eight weeks in the middle of last season because of a hamstring injury.
Of his 105 career catches, 72 have gone for first downs. At his best, he’s an electrifying playmaker.
Last season, he caught six passes for 192 yards in 10 games and four starts but was slowed by the hamstring issue, which landed him on injured reserve. His best season was 2024, when he caught 42 passes for 562 yards. He has 10 career punt returns for 54 yards and five kickoff returns for 87 yards.
Atwell starred as a quarterback at Miami Northwestern High, leading the team to a state championship as a senior in 2017. He moved to wide receiver at Louisville.
He joins Jaylen Waddle, Malik Washington, Terrace Marshall Jr., Tahj Washington and Theo Wease in the receiving room. At 5-9, he doesn’t fit this new regime’s preference to have bigger receivers; of those five, only Wease is six feet. But he’s shifty and explosive.
The 27-year-old Wilson, a fourth round pick of Arizona in 2021, started 13, 13 and 11 games in his first three seasons with the Cardinals but was released late in his third season. During the 2022 season, he snagged his only three NFL interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
He spent the 2024 season with New England (10 games) and Cincinnati (six games), and was a backup with the Bengals last season, appearing four games and logging just 22 defensive snaps. The 6-0 Wilson went on injured reserve in week 12 last season because of a hamstring injury.
Wilson, a Plantation American Heritage and UF alum, has 20 passes defended and three interceptions in 64 games. He won a state title at American Heritage after recovering from a torn ACL as a junior.
He’s the son of former Miami Hurricanes cornerback Chad Wilson and the younger brother of Quincy Wilson, who played for the Colts, Jets and Steelers in a five-year career.
Uche, Baker official
3:30 p.m. update: The Dolphins made official their signing of defensive end Joshua Uche. The Dolphins now have four veteran edge players under contract: Uche, Chop Robinson, Cam Goode and former 49ers defensive end Robert Beal. (More on Beal below.)
Uche, who had 7.5 sacks in his final season at Michigan, had 20.5 sacks and 76 tackles in 4 1/2 seasons for the Patriots, including 58 games and four starts. Of those sacks, 11.5 came in 2022.
In October 2024, the Patriots traded him to the Chiefs for a 2024 sixth-rounder, and he had 10 tackles in six games for Kansas City. Uche, who’s 6-1 and 240 pounds, signed a one-year deal with the Eagles last March 23.
He had 23 tackles and a sack in 12 games (all off the bench) and 244 defensive snaps for Philadelphia. His 23 pressures were more than any player who had as few pass rush chances (143).
Baker gives the Dolphins their most experienced cornerback, a player who started six games for the Colts in 2023 and nine and 10 for the Titans the past two seasons. His traits are intriguing, even though the production hasn’t been consistent (nine touchdowns allowed over the past two seasons).
He would project as a starter at the moment, but a lot could change before camp, including the possibility of Miami using its first round pick on a cornerback (Mansoor Delane or Jermod McCoy).
Kohou leaves
2 p.m. update: As expected, Kader Kohou left the Dolphins, joining the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. The Dolphins and Kohou’s camp had preliminary talks last week but were never close on a deal.
By Wednesday, Kohou was certain he was moving on.
Kohou was one of the Dolphins’ undrafted gems during the previous Chris Grier-led regime. He played three seasons for the team but missed his fourth season (2025) with a torn ACL sustained in training camp last season.
Willis signs and defensive lineman added
11:30 a.m. update: As the Dolphins formally announced the signing of quarterback Malik Willis, Miami added a backup defensive lineman in Robert Beal Jr., who has appeared in 25 games (no starts) in three NFL seasons for the 49ers, who drafted him in the fifth round of Georgia in 2023.
Beal, who is 6-4 and 250 pounds, has played 291 defensive snaps and 394 special teams snaps in his career. He had 14 tackles in seven games last season. He has 36 tackles (one for loss) and one sack in three seasons.
Patterson, two others re-signed
9:15 a.m. The Dolphins re-signed Riley Patterson, creating a kicking competition with Zane Gonzalez for the team’s kicking job.
Patterson went 27 for 29 on field goals last season while filling in for Jason Sanders, who missed the season with a hip injury. After Sanders declined to take a pay cut, Miami released him last Friday, and he signed with the Giants this week.
Gonzalez went 19 for 22 on field goals with the Falcons last season and historically has had more success on 50-plus yard field goals than Patterson has.
Gonzalez is 18 for 28 in his career on field goals of 50-plus yards. Patterson is 7 of 13 on such kicks in his career.
Coincidentally, both Gonzalez and Patterson auditioned for the Dolphins late last August after Sanders’ injury, along with Eddy Piniero and Greg Joseph. Miami signed Patterson after he went 13 for 13 in his tryout.
Besides Patterson, the Dolphins also officially announced the re-signings of linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and defensive tackle Matthew Butler, two developments that we reported here on Wednesday.
Dolphins make key Tagovailoa decision
9:10 p.m. update: Per a source, the Dolphins exercised Tagovailoa’s 2026 $15 million option bonus prior to his release. So his dead cap charge on the Dolphins’ 2026 books will be $55.4 million, as opposed to $67 million, which would have been the figure if Miami had cut him without exercising the bonus.
His dead cap charge will be $43.8 million in 2027, as opposed to the $31.8 million that it would have been if Miami hadn’t exercised the option bonus.
By releasing Tagovailoa with a post June 1 designation, Miami avoided taking on a $99 million cap hit this season, which would have been essentially impossible.
The upshot is that the Dolphins - if they remain very slightly above the cap - will have at least $20 million in cap space on June 2. That money can be used to sign a draft class, fill out a practice squad and add value free agents in June and July. Leftover space can be carried over to 2027.
Depending on how contracts are structured, Miami can add or subtract from that space if it opts to extend Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer or De’Von Achane.
Tagovailoa reportedly will sign a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons at the league minimum $1.3 million. That means Miami will be required to pay $52.7 million of his $54 million guaranteed salary in 2026.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 9:37 AM.
