NFL franchise tag candidates, plus Tyreek Hill landing spots and Backstreet Boys seek Super Bowl halftime

Welcome to the Presidents’ Day edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

There has never been a Super Bowl on Presidents’ Day weekend, but that will finally be changing next year. In 2027, not only will the NFL be giving us the first ever Valentine’s Day Super Bowl, but the game will be happening on Presidents’ Day weekend, so most people will have Monday off. I think what I’m trying to say here is that you might want to go ahead and start planning your Super Bowl party now, and yes, you should definitely go overboard. 

Presidents’ Day is usually a pretty boring day in the NFL, but NOT TODAY, and that’s thanks to the Miami Dolphins, who have decided to release both Bradley Chubb and Tyreek Hill. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All right, let’s get to the rundown. 

1. Dolphins make big moves: Miami set to release Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb

Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb arriving in Miami together back in 2022, and now, they’ll be leaving together. The Dolphins are expected to release both players.

CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that the Dolphins are planning to release Hill in a move that comes as no surprise. Hill doesn’t have any guaranteed money left, but the Dolphins $16 million would have been guaranteed if he was on Miami’s roster on the third day of the league year (March 14). Hill is 32 and coming off a devastating injury that includes a torn ACL, so it will be interesting to see what his market looks like in free agency. 

Here are three possible landing spots for Hill: 

• Chiefs. A reunion with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City would certainly make some sense. If Travis Kelce were to also return, this would basically be the Chiefs getting the band back together to make one more run at a Lombardi Trophy with offensive nucleus that helped Mahomes win his first title in 2019. 
• Bills. If there’s one thing the Bills are lacking on offense right now, it’s definitely receivers. If Hill still has anything left in the tank, then he would be an instant upgrade over anything the Bills currently have on their roster. 
• Chargers. With Keenan Allen set to hit free agency, the Chargers could bring in another aging veteran in Hill to take his place. And Hill’s former head coach in Miami, Mike McDaniel, is now the offensive coordinator.

As for Chubb, the Dolphins have decided to release the 29-year-old pass rusher, according to NFL Media. Chubb actually led the team with 8.5 sacks last season, so he can still get after the passer and considering his talents, there will be plenty of suitors for him in free agency. 

With that in mind, Jared Dubin came up with some possible landing spots for Chubb: 

• Bills. The Bills don’t spend money on wide receivers, but Brandon Beane has historically been aggressive with pass rushers. Over the past four years alone, he’s added Von Miller, Leonard Floyd and Joey Bosa. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Beane make a play for Chubb. 
• Bengals. The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season and to add insult to injury, they’re likely going to lose two of their top pass rushers from 2025 (Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai). The Bengals need to do something at pass rusher and although they could tag Hendrickson, it might be cheaper to just go out and sign Chubb. 
• Eagles. The Eagles are always looking to add pass rusher and this one makes sense because it would reunited Chubb with Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Chubb spent three seasons in Denver with Fangio, including a Pro Bowl season in 2020. 
• 49ers. The 49ers had the fewest sacks in the NFL last year with 20 and they need to do anything they get some help in the pass-rushing department. 
• Titans. Tennessee has more salary cap space than anyone, so if Chubb is chasing the biggest pay check, then the Titans would certainly make sense. Also, let’s not forget, Robert Saleh is a defensive coach, so he’ll certainly be looking for some game wreckers to add to his defense this year. 

Once Chubb and Hill are officially released, they won’t have to wait until the start of free agency on March 11 to sign with a new team. Any player that gets cut before March 11 is allowed to sign with a new team as soon as their release is processed by the NFL. 

2. Franchise tag window is opening this week: Looking at players who could possibly get tagged

The first big event of the NFL offseason will be here on Tuesday with the franchise tag window officially opening. 

Starting on Tuesday, each team will be allowed to use the franchise tag on one player (but they don’t have to use it). Once a team uses a tag on a player, the two sides have until July to work out a long-term deal. If no deal is reached, then the player will get a fully guaranteed one-year contract in 2026 at the franchise tag number, which is different for each position. (This year, the current estimate is that the contract number will range from a low of $6.9 million for kickers to a high of $47.3 million for quarterbacks.)

Last season, only two teams ended up using the tag (Kansas City and Cincinnati). This year, teams will have until March 3 to decide if they want to tag someone. 

So who’s going to get tagged? 

Tyler Sullivan came up with a list of one franchise tag candidate for each team and we’re going to check out three of those names below.

• Falcons TE Kyle Pitts (Tag number: $16.3 million). Pitts hasn’t become the generational type of player the Falcons had hoped he’d be when they selected him with the fourth overall pick back in 2021. That said, he is coming off a career year in many respects, notching new highs in receptions and receiving touchdowns. Pitts made $10.8 million on his fifth-year option in 2025, and a $6 million bump under the franchise tag wouldn’t be too crazy. 
• Bengals: EDGE Trey Hendrickson ($30.2 million). Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals are seemingly in a never-ending contract dispute. For the past few offseasons, the two sides have been embroiled in a contract dispute that has included multiple trade requests, but to no avail. Last summer, they agreed to a restructured contract that set a maximum value of $30 million for 2025. While it seemed Hendrickson would leave Cincinnati, NFL Media reported on Super Bowl Sunday that the Bengals could end up tagging him.
• Colts: QB Daniel Jones ($47.3 million). Indy will be motivated to keep Jones around and see if he can rekindle that magic as he recovers from this injury, so the tag suddenly becomes a logical first step. The Colts could merely let Jones play out the year on the tag or use it as a placeholder until they hammer out a long-term deal. Either way, Jones seems destined to be tagged.

To see Sullivan’s full list of who might get hit with the franchise tag this year, be sure to click here.

3. Mock Draft Monday: Ohio State lands four players in the top 10

From now until the start of the NFL Draft, the first day of every week here will be known as Mock Draft Monday. What this means is that we’ll be going through the latest mock draft from one of our NFL Draft gurus (Ryan Wilson, Josh Edwards or Mike Renner). 

With that in mind, here are the top 15 picks from Josh’s latest mock: 

1. Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)
2. Jets: EDGE David Bailey (Texas Tech)
3. Cardinals: OT Spencer Fano (Utah)
4. Titans: LB Arvell Reese (Ohio State)
5. Giants: WR Carnell Tate (Ohio State)
6. Browns: S Caleb Down (Ohio State)
7. Commanders: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami)
8. Saints: LB Sonny Styles (Ohio State)
9. Chiefs: RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) 
10. Bengals: CB Mansoor Delane (LSU)
11. Dolphins: CB Jermod McCoy (Tennessee)
12. Cowboys: WR Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State)
13. Rams (via Falcons): OT Francis Mauigoa (Miami)
14. Ravens: IOL Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State)
15. Buccaneers: EDGE Keldric Faulk (Auburn)

As you can see, Josh has FOUR Ohio State players going in the top 10 and if that happens, it would be an NFL Draft record. The most players ever taken in the top 10 from the same school is three with the most recent occurrence coming in 2021 with Alabama. If you want to see how the full first round breaks down in Josh’s latest mock draft, then be sure to check out the entire thing by clicking here. 

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on “With the First Pick” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube

4. NFL offseason calendar: Here are the biggest dates you need to circle now

With the franchise tag window opening Tuesday, I thought now would be a good time to rehash all the important dates on the NFL offseason calendar. Here are the key dates that will be happening over the next four weeks. 

• Feb. 17: Franchise tag window opens. Starting at 4 p.m. ET, teams may designate the franchise tag or transition tag on players about to become free agents.
• Feb. 23-March 2: NFL Combine. Top prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft will descend on Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where evaluators will get an initial look at how they stack up against the rest of the class.
• March 3: Tag window closes. Teams have until 4 p.m. ET to decide whether to deploy the franchise tag or transition tag.
• March 9-11: Legal tampering period. Beginning at 12 p.m. ET on March 9 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. ET on March 11, teams may contact and enter contract negotiations with certified agents of players set to become unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year.
• March 11: Free agency starts. Beginning at 4 p.m. ET, the 2026 League Year will officially be rung in, and with it, the start of free agency. The contracts for 2025 will have expired, which allows teams to officially ink free agents to new deals. 

Those are your key dates, but they’re not the only key dates. The NFL’s annual league meeting — where most offseason rule changes get voted on — will be taking place between March 29 and April 1. On April 6, any team with a new head coach will be allowed to begin their offseason workout program. 

You know what? There are actually a lot of key dates to know and you can check them all out there. 

5. Presidents’ Day trivia: Drake Maye missed a chance to join an exclusive club

Since today is Presidents’ Day, it is the perfect day to point out that Drake Maye missed his shot at joining a very exclusive club. Only five colleges in the country have produced a Super Bowl-winning quarterback AND a president of the United States.

Let’s check out the full list: 

• Miami (Ohio): Ben Roethlisberger — Benjamin Harrison
• Stanford: John Elway/Jim Plunkett — Herbert Hoover
• Michigan: Tom Brady — Gerald Ford 
• Navy: Roger Staubach — Jimmy Carter 
• Delaware: Joe Flacco — Joe Biden 

 If someone is near you right now, feel free to quiz the to see if they can name any of the five. 

Anyway, back to Drake Maye. If the Patriots had beaten the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, then the University of North Carolina would also be on this list with Maye as the quarterback and James K. Polk as the president, but it wasn’t meant to be. 

This year’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback (Sam Darnold) went to USC, and surprisingly, that school has never produced a president, so our list will stay at five for at least another year. 

On a somewhat related note, only one school on this list — and one school ever — has produced a president, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback AND a Super Bowl-winning coach, and that school is Miami (Ohio). The school actually has three Super Bowl-winning coaches with Weeb Ewbank (Super Bowl III), John Harbaugh (Super Bowl XLVII) and Sean McVay (Super Bowl LVI). As a RedHawks graduate, I’m required to point this out whenever possible. I’m also required to point out that their basketball team is currently 25-0. 

On that note, Happy Presidents’ Day to all. 

6. Extra points: Backstreet Boys want to do the Super Bowl halftime show 

It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• Backstreet Boys nominate themselves to do the Super Bowl halftime show. If the NFL hasn’t decided on a halftime performer for Super Bowl LXI, the league might want to call the Backstreet Boys. Not only are they interested, but they said they would also invite Britney Spears and N*Sync to perform with them. With the Super Bowl being played on Valentine’s Day next year, this might actually be the perfect halftime show. 
• Raiders fill out their coaching staff. After less than a week on the job, Klint Kubiak has already hired his new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. On the offensive side of the ball, the Raiders have hired Andrew Janock, who was the QB coach in Seattle for the 2025 season. On the defensive side of the ball, the Raiders are promoting run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard to defensive coordinator.  
• Seahawks find Klint Kubiak’s replacement. With Kubiak in Las Vegas, the Seahawks were in need of an offensive coordinator and they filled the spot over the weekend by poaching Brian Fleury away from the 49ers. Fleury served as San Francisco’s run game coordinator and tight ends coach in 2025 and had been with the team for seven season. You can read more about his hiring here. 
• Jaguars have plan for Travis Hunter in 2026. It looks like Hunter might not be much of a two-way star next season. According to NFL Media, there’s a good chance the Jaguars will be playing Hunter for on the defensive side of the ball at corner and cutting back on his offensive playing time. In seven games last season, Hunter played 486 snaps with 66.7% of that coming on offense. Hunter has a long injury history and tore his ACL in October, so letting him focus more on one side of the ball might be for the best.