NFL Free Agency: David Long Jr. signs new contract with Miami Dolphins
Former Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long Jr. has signed with the Miami Dolphins, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported Monday. It is a two-year deal worth a total of $11 million.
A former sixth-round pick out of West Virginia in 2019, David Long spent the first four seasons of his career with the Titans. He has recorded 230 tackles (15 for loss), four interceptions and two forced fumbles in that span. He had the best season of his career in 2022, starting 12 games to finish with a career-high 86 tackles.
Prior to the NFL, David Long spent four years in Morgantown from 2015-18. He earned the 2018 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year after recording 108 tackles (19.5 for loss), seven sacks and two forced fumbles.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.