Done deal: Falcons sign CB A.J. Terrell to a four-year, $81 million contract.
Sources: Falcons sign CB A.J. Terrell to 4-year, $81M deal
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A week after acquiring two Pro Bowl newcomers, the Atlanta Falcons have reached a deal with one of their longtime top players, signing cornerback A.J. Terrell to a four-year, $81 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.
The deal includes $65.8 million in effectively full guarantees, sources said, which represents the largest guarantee ever given to a cornerback on a four-year agreement. The contract was negotiated by Terrell’s agents David Mulugheta and Trevon Smith of Athletes First.
Terrell is now the second-highest-paid cornerback on a per-year basis at $20.25 million. That trails only the Green Bay Packers’ Jaire Alexander, who makes $21 million per year.
The Falcons announced the four-year extension that runs through the 2028 season without disclosing financial terms.
“We are very glad to be in the position to provide this extension for A.J., who is certainly well deserving of it,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said in a statement. “A homegrown player, he embodies the characteristics and traits we want as a Falcon. He leads by example with his work ethic, and as a great teammate he does anything he can to help this team win on a continuous basis. We appreciate the support of our owner, Arthur Blank, for providing the resources to reward players who operate the right way.”
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At the start of training camp last month, Terrell had acknowledged the talks on a new deal but said he was “so focused on just being with the team.”
“So it’s easy for me to just come out, come to work and not think about it and know that it’s in good hands,” he said.
Terrell, 25, was a second-team All-Pro in 2021 and has been regarded as an upper-echelon cornerback. The Falcons drafted him with the 16th overall pick in the 2020 draft, and he is set to make $12.344 million this season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal.
In 2021, Terrell had three interceptions and 16 passes defensed (sixth in the NFL). He has not had an interception since then but has 36 pass breakups over his four NFL seasons.
Last week, the Falcons signed free agent safety Justin Simmons to a one-year, $8 million contract, adding the two-time Pro Bowler to a secondary that includes Terrell and Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III. Atlanta also added four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon via trade from the New England Patriots in exchange for a third-round pick.
Panthers to play Bryce Young in preseason finale vs. Bills
CLHARLOTTE, N.C. — Second-year quarterback Bryce Young and the rest of the Carolina Panthers starters will make their preseason debut Saturday against the Buffalo Bills in the final game before the regular season.
This will be Young’s first live action against another team outside of a joint practice against the New York Jets in the new system implemented by first-year head coach Dave Canales.
Canales decided to play starters on offense and defense for the first time this preseason even though the Bills are playing their reserves in the 1 p.m. contest at New Highmark Stadium.
Canales did not play starters in the first two preseason games, losses to the New England Patriots and Jets, due to a few injuries and the team not having a complete “grasp of the system.”
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“So it was like, ‘Why don’t we wait another week to get a stronger group to put out there,'” he said Thursday. “Watching the practices, watching those first couple of games and seeing, ‘OK, if feels like we have a good grasp of what we’re doing so we can go out there and be confident.’
“I didn’t want to go out there and just kind of stumble around stuff as we’re still trying to figure out our scheme.”
Canales didn’t commit to how long he would play the starters past the first series or two. He said the hope is everyone will play, including starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who sat out Thursday’s practice with an illness.
“I’d love to get them sweaty,” he said. “So we’ll have to play that one by ear.”
Canales also hopes to get backup quarterback Andy Dalton some reps.
Young said earlier in the week he trusted whatever decision the coaching staff made about playing him Saturday and he’d be “confident” entering the regular season regardless.
Young is coming off a historically bad season for a quarterback, particularly one taken with the No. 1 overall pick. He had only 11 touchdown passes, tied for the fewest in NFL history for any quarterback with at least 500 attempts.
“We’re very, very multiple,” Young said of Canales’ offense, which helped Baker Mayfield have a career season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. “It’s a good mixture of run, play pass, dropback movement. Some creative stuff that we do as well.
“Just being able to have different ways to attack similar things, that’s really important.”
PHILADELPHIA — When the Eagles signed star running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal at the start of free agency in March, receiver Jahan Dotson responded on social media: “Whose MUT team is this?” — the “MUT” standing for Madden Ultimate Team.
Now he’s part of the upgrade for an organization clearly operating in Franchise Mode.
The Eagles sent a third-round pick and two seventh-round picks to the Washington Commanders Thursday for Dotson and a 2025 fifth-round pick. In doing so, they answered one of the last remaining questions about their personnel on offense.
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In short, the Eagles were struggling to identify a third wide receiver to play alongside standouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Veterans Parris Campbell, John Ross and Britain Covey all got work with the first team as did rookie Johnny Wilson. While each had good moments, no one separated from the pack and they continued to split reps throughout training camp.
Dotson, 24, comes in as the clear favorite to assume that WR3 role. In two seasons with Washington, Dotson caught 84 passes for 1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns while playing with a rotating cast at quarterback that included Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell.
He provided some highlight moments since being selected 16th overall in the 2022 draft out of Penn State but his play lacked consistency. His 13.4% targets per route run (78th out of 80) and 0.86 yards per route run (78th out of 80) both ranked among the lowest at the wide receiver position last season, per ESPN Stats & Information, while his 7.4 drop percentage last season was 10th-highest in the NFL.
He will have to make the most of what will likely be limited opportunities, at least relatively speaking. The passing offense runs through Brown, Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert. Philadelphia also has plans to get Barkley into the passing game mix. There are only so many targets to go around.
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But there is reason to believe this will be a fit. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has shown this summer that he plans on moving receivers around more than the Eagles have in recent seasons to give defenses different looks and help create favorable matchups. Dotson is considered at his best in the slot but does have enough versatility (he lined up outside for 217 snaps last season compared to 669 inside) to allow Smith and Brown to kick inside when needed. And his speed (4.43-second 40-yard dash at the combine) will help draw plenty of attention downfield, allowing even more room for this star-studded cast to operate.
It’s a good bet Brown vouched for Dotson. The two have trained together in the offseason at Florida Atlantic University under Joey Guarascio. Brown has credited Dotson for pushing him in speed training in particular.
“You could tell by the first workout I had with him, his desire to be great,” Dotson said last November. “We’d do sprints and stuff like that. I’d ask Coach Joey, ‘What did A.J. run this morning?’ and would make sure I tried to beat it. And I’m pretty sure he was doing the same thing.”
He also has the Nittany Lions ties with Barkley, though the two missed each other by one year at Penn State.
While the Eagles gave up a decent amount of trade capital for Dotson, they had two third-round picks in the 2025 draft before the trade, so they have one left. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman currently has seven picks to work with in ’25, including three fifth-rounders.
The fact that Washington was willing to part with Dotson with two years remaining on his rookie deal illustrates that he did not live up to expectations. He was unable to lock up the second receiver spot opposite Terry McLaurin this summer.
