Tua Tagovailoa, Falcons agree to one-year deal

Tua Tagovailoalanded on his feet quickly after being released by the Miami Dolphins.

Tagovailoa has agreed to a one-year contract to join theAtlanta Falconsin 2026 NFL free agency, according toreports. He is signing the veteran minimum which will be $1.3 million for 2026.

The deal cannot be finalized until Tagovailoa is released Wednesday.

The Falcons entered the 2026 NFL offseason in need of a veteran quarterback behind 2024 first-round pickMichael Penix Jr.after parting withKirk Cousins. Tagovailoa will fill that need, and the 28-year-old left profiles as a good fit for Kevin Stefanski's offense.

OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades

OT Tytus Howard:Traded to Cleveland Browns(previous team: Houston Texans)

Tagovailoa is coming off his first losing season as an NFL starting quarterback. The 2020 first-round pick posted a 6-8 record across 14 starts while completing 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions – good for second-most in the league behind only Geno Smith (17).

The Dolphins benched Tagovailoa in favor of rookieQuinn Ewersfor the final three games of the 2025 NFL season, throwing his future with the team into question.

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Days before free agency, Miami officially announced it would be releasing Tagovailoa – and absorbing an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead-cap space to do so – at the start of the new league year.

The Falcons will be hoping Tagovailoa – who made the Pro Bowl in 2023 – can enjoy a bounce-back season with a change of scenery.

Falcons QB depth chart

It isn't yet clear whether Tagovailoa will battle Penix for the team's starting job or just serve as high-upside insurance in case the third-year pro needs extra time to return from a torn ACL he suffered midway through last season.

Here's how things will look when Tagovailoa officially signs on Wednesday:

• Michael Penix Jr. (injured)

• Tua Tagovailoa

Easton Stick– the third quarterback on the Falcons' roster in 2025 behind Penix Jr. and Cousins – is a free agent.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tua Tagovailoa signs: Falcons to sign QB to deal in NFL free agency

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Tua Tagovailoa, Falcons agree to one-year deal

Tua Tagovailoalanded on his feet quickly after being released by the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa has agreed to ...

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Pats' Christian Barmore battery, assault charges dropped by prosecutors

Prosecutors in Massachusetts are dropping the case againstNew England Patriotsdefensive lineman Christian Barmore.

During an arraignment Monday in Attleboro District Court, prosecutors said they would not be able to prove a case against Barmore, 26, who faced assault and battery charges.

A woman who shares a child with Barmore and was previously his girlfriendfiled a criminal complaint in Decemberthat said Barmore threw her to the ground during a domestic dispute that allegedly occurred Aug. 8, 2025. The woman did not want to travel out of state for the case, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III told reporters,according to the Associated Press. Barmore was never arrested.

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The NFL and Patriots were aware of the charges and let the legal process play out. Barmore had been the second Patriots player charged with a physical crime after former wide receiver Stefon Diggs had been accused of felony strangulation of a former personal chef (Diggs pleaded not guilty Feb. 13).

"I think that these are allegations, like you mentioned in your question, it's things that we have to handle," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said after the charges against Barmore were reported. "Everyday there are distractions. Some are smaller than others. Confident that we'll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals that you mentioned will be able to handle the ongoing legal process."

Barmore started 16 games last season and had 2.0 sacks. He's been with New England since the organization drafted him in the second round (38th overall) of the 2021 draft. The Alabama Crimson Tide product is under contract with the team through the 2028 season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Patriots' Christian Barmore has battery, assault charges dropped

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Pats' Christian Barmore battery, assault charges dropped by prosecutors

Prosecutors in Massachusetts are dropping the case againstNew England Patriotsdefensive lineman Christian Barmore. ...

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Tarik Skubal won't make another WBC start, citing spring plan and contract stakes

HOUSTON (AP) — Tarik Skubal didn't get a lot of sleep the last two nights as hemulled whether to pitch againfor the United States in the World Baseball Classic.

In the end, theDetroit Tigersace and reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner decided against it.

"My spring training start days were scripted out in January with the original plan being starting and then being done," Skubal said. "And obviously when I got here my emotions kind of changed a little bit, my thought process changed a little bit and tried to make it work but just couldn't. And I hate it, but it's all right."

He said he made the decision after consulting with the Tigers and manager A.J. Hinch, his agent Scott Boras and his teammates in Houston and at spring training in Florida.

"The resounding message was to kind of be done but still be around the team as much as I can," Skubal said.

Skubal is eligible to become a free agent after this season and is expected to secure a nine-figure contract. He said his decision would have "probably" been different if not for the contract implications.

Skubal gave up a home run to Nate Eaton on his first pitch Saturday night but allowed just one single after that while striking out five in three innings ofa 9-1 victoryover Britain.

Manager Mark DeRosa fully understands why he chose not to start again and supports his decision.

"I know what's at stake for him," DeRosa said. "I'm over the moon he decided to show in the first place for us — I really am — and take the ball for us. I think it meant a lot to a lot of guys in that room. We know where his heart is. If he was in a different situation, he wouldn't be leaving."

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Last month, Skubal said he intended to make only one WBC start regardless of how far the U.S. advanced because he wanted to remain on a regular spring training regimen and ramp up for opening day with Detroit.

He said he was surprised with how emotional pitching for his country made him and it caused him to rethink his decision.

"I totally misread how I would feel," he said. "And I feel like I'm genuinely a guy that kind of understands emotions, I pitch with a lot of them, but, yeah, I missed it there, and that's what made this decision tough."

He added that he will make the trip from Tigers camp in Lakeland, Florida, to Miami to be with the team if the U.S. advances there for the semifinals and the finals.

He was asked if he was at peace with his decision.

"No, no, I'm still not," he said. "I think the only way I'll be at peace with it is in Miami celebrating after we win the whole (expletive) thing."

Skubal added that he would love to pitch in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if MLB players are allowed to participate and that he'll be the first to sign up for the next WBC.

"I love America," he said. "I love our country. I love everything that this tournament is about."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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Tarik Skubal won't make another WBC start, citing spring plan and contract stakes

HOUSTON (AP) — Tarik Skubal didn't get a lot of sleep the last two nights as hemulled whether to pitch againfor the U...

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Alexander brothers, top NY real estate brokers, convicted at sex trafficking trial

By Luc Cohen and David Thomas

High profile real estate agent brothers Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, and Tal Alexander in New York

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Three wealthy brothers, including two of New York's top real estate brokers, were found guilty on Monday at a closely watched sex ‌trafficking trial over allegations they lured women and girls to exclusive parties where they drugged and raped ‌them.

Oren Alexander, 38, Tal Alexander, 39, and Alon Alexander, 38, had each pleaded not guilty to all charges they respectively faced in an ​indictment alleging trafficking and other criminal conduct related to seven victims.

A federal jury in Manhattan convicted the three brothers after deliberations began on Thursday following a months-long trial.

"This verdict cannot undo the effects of heinous abuse the Alexanders' many victims endured, but it does send a message: New Yorkers want to bring an end to sex trafficking in all our ‌communities," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said ⁠in a statement.

Howard Srebnick, an attorney for Alon Alexander, said in a statement they disagree with the jury's verdict and they plan to appeal. Attorneys for Oren and Tal ⁠Alexander did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oren and Tal Alexander co-founded the luxury real estate brokerage Official, while Alon Alexander was an executive at a private security company.

Tal Alexander faced seven charges in total, and his twin brothers Oren ​and ​Alon faced six.

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Over the course of a six-week trial in ​Manhattan federal court, 11 women testified that one ‌or more of the brothers sexually abused them.

In his closing argument on March 3, prosecutor Andrew Jones said the brothers masqueraded as party boys but really were predators.

"They used a consistent playbook to lure, isolate and rape their victims," Jones said. "They did it with callousness and a perverse sense of pride."

Defense lawyers acknowledged that the brothers had discussed sex amongst themselves in crass terms and behaved in ways that angered women with whom they had relationships. But ‌they argued the sexual encounters at issue were consensual.

"He should ​be and is embarrassed by how he behaved over these years," Srebnick, ​a lawyer for Alon Alexander, said in his ​closing argument on March 3. "That doesn't make the conduct a crime."

The three brothers were arrested ‌in December 2024 and have been jailed since ​then at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention ​Center.

Each brother had his own legal defense team. Oren Alexander's lawyers include Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who last year defended rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs at his sex trafficking trial.

Combs is serving a ​four-year prison sentence after being convicted on ‌prostitution charges, but acquitted of the more serious sex trafficking charges he faced that could have ​landed him in prison for life.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and David Thomas in ​Chicago; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Rosalba O'Brien and Lincoln Feast.)

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Alexander brothers, top NY real estate brokers, convicted at sex trafficking trial

By Luc Cohen and David Thomas High profile real estate agent brothers Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, and T...

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North Korean leader's sister criticized US-South Korea for proceeding with joint drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the United States and South Korea for proceeding with theirannual joint military exercisesat a perilous moment for global security and warned that any challenge to the North's safety would bring "terrible consequences."

North Korea Party Congress

Kim Yo Jong'sstatement Tuesday came a day after the allies started their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise involving thousands of troops, while Washington also wagesan escalating warin the Middle East.

Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim said the U.S.-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is "collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues."

Freedom Shield is one of two annual command-post exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies' joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. As usual, Freedom Shield will be accompanied by a field training program, called Warrior Shield.

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Mentioning the country'sexpanding nuclear program, Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will continue to bolster its "destructive power" against what it sees as external threats and "constantly and repeatedly convince the enemies of our war deterrence and its fatality."

North Korea has long portrayed the allies' joint drills as invasion rehearsals and often used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations or weapons tests. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry last week described the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression" carried out under the pretext of "fake peace."

Amid a yearslong diplomatic freeze with Washington and Seoul, Kim Jong Un has increasingly framed his foreign policy around the idea of a new Cold War, deepening ties withMoscowand Beijing while portraying Pyongyang as part of a united front against Washington.

Pyongyang and Tehran were among the few governments to support Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and both have been accused of supplying Russia with military equipment.

byGreen Magazine

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3:42:00 PM

North Korean leader's sister criticized US-South Korea for proceeding with joint drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the United States and South K...

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