After a disappointing 2025 season, the Miami Dolphins moved on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The move came after the Dolphins benched Tagovailoa following a disappointing Monday Night Football performance that eliminated Miami from the playoff race. While Tagovailoa remained with the team during the final three weeks of the season in a third-string emergency quarterback capacity, his future with the team was sealed.
Despite having over $54 million guaranteed with the Dolphins in 2026, Miami released him and took on $99 million in dead cap. As a result, Miami will get a fresh start at the position after investing six seasons in the quarterback. Meanwhile, due to the money owed to him by the Dolphins, Tagovailoa became available to other NFL teams on a cheap contract. The former Dolphins quarterback ended up signing with the Atlanta Falcons.
Now, an NFL insider has revealed a large update on the future of the Dolphins quarterback.
Former Miami Dolphins Quarterback Likely to Start for Falcons
While appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, NFL insider Ian Rapoport said of Tagovailoa’s status with the Falcons, “My general feel is that Tua will be the week one starter for the Atlanta Falcons. Penix has not been cleared yet”
Tagovailoa, who had been limited in the start of training camp with a back injury, was also a full participant during training camp for the first time in Atlanta on Aug. 5.
Rapoport is not the only analyst to believe that Tagovailoa is the favorite for the job.
CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan wrote of the Atlanta Falcons quarterback competition: “The Falcons technically have a quarterback battle on their hands between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr,, but it hasn’t exactly been a slugfest. Why? Well, injuries have gotten in the way of this being a true competition. Of course, the most notable injury surrounds Penix, who is still rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 11 last season.
New coach Kevin Stefanski said last week that Penix is still not cleared for full team activities, which means he cannot take part in 11-on-11 drills. Penix also provided an update to reporters, and the timeline isn’t encouraging for his chances to secure the Week 1 gig. He noted that it could be another four weeks before reaching the next stage of his rehabilitation. If you tack that into the calendar, Penix is looking at being cleared by the end of August, meaning he’d likely miss all of the preseason. Under that scenario, it’s hard to imagine him truly pushing Tagovailoa.”
Tua Tagovailoa’s Future
Tagovailoa finished his Miami Dolphins tenure with a 44-32 record, which included leading the team to two playoff appearances. Unfortunately, Tagovailoa was injured for the first of those playoff appearances and Miami relied on Skylar Thompson during their 2022 playoff loss against the Buffalo Bills. The following season, Tagovailoa put up his best season as a pro, as he led the NFL in passing yards and earned his first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
Unfortunately, Miami once again failed to win a playoff game as Tagovailoa struggled to overcome poor weather conditions in Kansas City. Despite this, Miami agreed to a large contract extension. After the extension, Tagovailoa’s struggles ensued as the Dolphins would go on to miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
With Atlanta, Miami’s former quarterback will get a fresh start on a one-year contract. He will hope to rekindle some of the success that led him to being an MVP candidate in 2022 and 2023.
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