NFL Free Agency Tracker, March 16: Who’s coming, going as legal tampering begins?

The NFL’s legal tampering period opens Monday at noon ahead of Wednesday’s start of free agency. Check back throughout the day for the latest updates.

8:10 p.m.: Wow what a blockbuster day for the Miami Dolphins. They’ve in one day build a formidable defense, adding ex-Patriot Kyle Van Noy to their increasingly talented group.

Van Noy’s deal, according to NFL Network, is four years, $51 million. That includes $30 million guaranteed.

Van Noy and Shaq Lawson — who agreed to a contract earlier in the day — will patrol the edges for a suddenly potent front seven. And Byron Jones will lock down receivers along with Xavien Howard.

The makings of an excellent defense are there.

6:50 pm: According to a source, the Dolphins are signing Dallas’ Byron Jones, considered one of the top cornerbacks on the market. He has only two interceptions in five seasons but is considered well above-average. He joins Xavien Howard as Miami’s top cornerbacks. More to come on this shortly.

UPDATE: Here’s Adam Beasley’s story on the signing and what it means for the Dolphins.

6:45 p.m.: Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman has real currency inside Dolphins HQ. In addition to being Brian Flores’ right-hand man now that Karl Dorrell is gone, his unit is a priority in free agency.

The Dolphins have a three-year deal in place with Bengals safety Clayton Fejedelem, a reserve safety and excellent special teams contributor. That’s according to Fejedelem’s agent Mike McCartney, who announced the agreement on Twitter.

Fejedelem has never missed a game in four NFL seasons and while he’s played mostly on special teams (appearing in at least 80 percent of the Bengals kicking game snaps the last three years), he does have six starts on defense.

Fejedelem basically replaces Walt Aikens, who is a free agent.

6:20 p.m.: The Dolphins have reached out to Patriots free agent center Ted Karras, according to a league source. There’s no offer at the moment, but the sides plan to talk again this week. He’s possibly the best center option available, with Baltimore’s Matt Skura (coming off a major knee injury) and Denver’s Connor McGovern. Detroit’s Graham Glashow, who had been linked to the Dolphins before free agency, agreed to terms with Denver.

5:10 p.m.: Cleveland agreed to terms with right tackle Jack Conklin on a three-year, $42 million deal, thus taking the best free agent tackle off the market. That leaves Miami with limited options in free agency, a group headlined by Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga, Seattle versatile part-time starter George Fant, Carolina’s Daryl Williams and the Jets’ Kelvin Beachum.

Miami likely will need to find a longterm starting tackle in the draft.

4:30: The Dolphins tendered restricted free agents Vince Biegel and Matt Haack but did not tender safety Adrian Colbert and linebacker Deon Lacey. That means Miami will have a right to match any offers to Biegel and Haack, while Colbert and Lacey will become unrestricted free agents.

The Dolphins placed original round tenders on Biegel (who was selected in the fourth round by Green Bay) and Haack (who went undrafted). So if Miami doesn’t match an offer to Biegel, the Dolphins would get a fourth-round pick in return. The Dolphins won’t get a pick if they don’t match an offer for Haack.

The Dolphins discussed a multiyear deal with Biegel but couldn’t come to terms. But they would like to keep both him and Haack.

Biegel had 59 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season after being acquired from New Orleans before the regular season, in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso. He appeared in 15 games with 10 starts.

Colbert, a former Miami Hurricane and San Francisco 49er, started five late-season games for Miami at safety.

2:30 p.m.: The Dolphins are signing defensive end Shaq Lawson, per NFL Network. Please see the 1:15 p.m. update for more on Flowers and click here for a full Dolphins story on Lawson.

1:31 PM: A league source tells the Herald the Dolphins adding offensive lineman Ereck Flowers is a move to address a need at guard, rather than at tackle where Flowers played (and struggled) playing while with the New York Giants.

Flowers played better at guard for the Washington Redskins last season under offensive line coach Bill Callahan. The money in this deal -- at $10 million per season -- also confirms Flowers will play guard.

The Dolphins are more likely to address their need at tackle in the draft, a league source has told the Herald.

1:15 PM: The Dolphins are showing strong interest in Buffalo free agent defensive end Shaq Lawson, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

He had 32 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 15 games for the Bills last season, all off the bench. He had 16.5 sacks and started 17 games in four seasons in Buffalo.

1 PM: The Dolphins agreed to terms with former UM guard Ereck Flowers on a three-year $30 million contract with $19.95 million guaranteed, agent Drew Rosenhaus told The Miami Herald. He will play guard for the Dolphins and here are more details.

Flowers struggled at tackle for the Giants earlier in his career but was very good at guard last season for the Redskins. We’ll have more on this shortly.

12:25 p.m.: The Dolphins reportedly are among the teams to “discuss” interest in Cowboys free agent cornerback Bryon Jones, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, who listed the Jets, Raiders and Eagles among other potential suitors.

A source confirmed Dolphins interest.

But Jones will be very expensive, had no interceptions last season and only two in five seasons. Quarterbacks had a 94. 1 passer rating in his coverage area.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said one of the teams that doesn’t get Jones might trade for Detroit cornerback Darius Slay.

Among many cornerbacks on Miami’s radar: Tennessee’s Logan Ryan, Minnesota’s McKenzie Alexander and the Jets’ Brian Poole.

12:20 p.m.: In the last hour we estimated that Joe Thuney and Brandon Scherff would earn $15 million under the franchise tag. The real number is $14.8 million, according to an internal league memo acquired by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

Here’s the full list of franchise and transition tag values for 2020.

Noon: Time to tamper!

11:40 a.m.: The best high-end guard market is getting probably prohibitively expensive for the Dolphins. Patriots interior lineman Joe Thuney joined Washington’s Brandon Scherff on the list of franchised players.

Both will earn $15 million this year if not traded by their respective teams. So for the Dolphins to land either, they’ll almost certainly have to give up a premium pick and a big-money long-term extension.

Those odds are long, even for a team with nearly nine figures in salary cap space.

11:15 am: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL intends to keep the draft scheduled for the weekend of April 23-25 but will cancel public events that had been scheduled to be held in Las Vegas that weekend, the league announced Monday.

The NFL, in a statement, said “the league is exploring innovative ways for how the process will be conducted and will provide that information as it becomes available. The selection process will be televised.”

11 a.m.: Acquiring quality players through restricted free agency is always tricky, because you usually need to give up a pick as well as a multi-year deal for it to work.

But that’s not the case should the Dolphins pursue Baltimore’s Matt Skura, a center who allowed just one sack and committed just two penalties in 717 offensive snaps last year, per Pro Football Focus.

NFL Network reports that the Ravens gave Skura the low RFA tender. According to league rules, teams would only need to surrender a draft pick equal to the round the player was drafted under the low tender. The good news: Skura went undrafted!

So should the Dolphins and Skura agree to a contract extension — and assuming the Ravens don’t match it — they could land a replacement for Daniel Kilgore without surrendering a pick. Skura has started 39 games in three seasons.

But Skura’s availability for the start of the 2020 season is uncertain due a major knee injury sustained last season in Week 12 against Rams.

One more offensive line note: long-time Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga will likely be available after Green Bay reportedly agreed to terms with free-agent Rick Wagner.

Meanwhile the Chiefs have reportedly placed a second-round tender on running back Kareem Hunt.

10:30 a.m.: The Dolphins, like most teams, often gravitate toward players with whom they’re familiar. So it would not be surprising if the Dolphins pursue either of the Jets free agent tackles - left tackle Kelvin Beachum or right tackle Brandon Shell. Both played for new Dolphins offensive line coach Steve Marshall.

Beachum might be the best left tackle in the market in a very weak class. (Pricey Titans right tackle Jack Conklin is considered the best free agent tackle on the market, and the Browns and Jets are reportedly strong contenders for him.)

The Dolphins believe they can get a left tackle high in the draft - perhaps Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, Houston’s Josh Jones or USC’s Austin Jackson. But they need a competent veteran fallback option who’s superior to Julien Davenport. Seattle’s George Fant is another option and Miami likes former Colts starter Joe Haeg.

Miami is expected to quickly address interior line issues, with Detroit guard/center Graham Glasgow and Patriots center Ted Karras among expected targets. Former UM offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, who played well at guard for the Redskins last season, is among numerous other possibilities.

10:25 a.m: As of this weekend, the Dolphins hadn’t expressed interest in Chargers free agent running back Melvin Gordon, though ESPN reports Miami is expected to have interest. One name we’ve heard is on the Dolphins radar: Houston free agent Carlos Hyde (1070 yards, 4.4 per carry).

And it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dolphins express interest in Philadelphia’s Jordan Howard (505 yards on 4.4 per carry). Devonta Freeman, who is being released by the Falcons, averaged just 3.6 yards per carry last season... As expected, Tennessee placed the franchise tag on Derrick Henry, who would have been the top free agent running back in this class.

10:18 a.m.: Free agency is always full of players expected and not. The Falcons added two names to the list of available players Monday, cutting running back Devonta Freeman and offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo.

Freeman, a Miami native, hasn’t been the same since suffering a groin injury in 2018 but still is just 28 years old and has averaged 4.2 yards over his career.

Sambrailo — a tackle who has spent time with both the Falcons and Broncos in his five-year career — has appeared in 57 games, starting 13.

9:45 a.m.: Strike another edge defender off the list. The Steelers are franchising Bud Dupree, NFL Network first reported. Dupree would have been a prime candidate for the Dolphins, who ranked last with 23 sacks last year.

Dupree had a career-high 11 1/2 sacks in 2019 plus 17 quarterback hits. The pool of available pass rushers continues to shrink.

9:35 a.m.: Christian Kirksey, a linebacker who spent his first six seasons with the Browns, has agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with the Packers, according to multiple reports. That’s an important data point in setting the market for second and third-tier 3-4 linebackers.

9 a.m.: Despite the coronavirus shutting down much of the economy, the NFL remains open for business. Despite some criticism, both inside the league and out, free agency is set to begin Wednesday at 4 p.m. Which means the Dolphins, with some $100 million in space, better be prepared to use it.

Already some potential targets are off the board. There are now at least seven players either confirmed or reportedly getting the franchise tag: Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones, Ravens outside linebacker Matt Judon, Broncos safety Justin Simmons, Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, Buccaneers edge defender Shaquil Barrett and Redskins guard Brandon Scherff.

So who will the Dolphins target? Barry Jackson has an exhaustive look at the many options over on his blog, and Armando Salguero this morning breaks down the running back position.