Following his release by the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has agreed to a 1 year deal with the Atlanta Falcons following the opening of the NFL negotiation window.
Tagovailoa joins a quarterback room with Michael Penix Jr. who will be coming off another major injury to his knee, filling a void left by Kirk Cousins, whom the Falcons released this offseason. Tagovailoa will cost the Dolphins an NFL-record $99.2M in dead money. His release by Miami will be designated post-June 1st, allowing the Dolphins to split the dead money hit over two years ($67.4M in 2026 and $31.8M in 2027).
While Penix has previously told reporters he hopes to be healthy for Week 1 of the 2026 season, given his extensive injury history, the team could opt to play it safe with the former 1st round pick. By adding Tua to the mix, it gives the new leadership group of Kevin Stefanski, Ian Cunningham, and Matt Ryan a veteran option under centre to start the season should Penix need additional time to recover.
Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 with 4,624 and set a career high with 29 touchdown passes, but came under scrutiny as Miami stumbled this past season, leading to what appears to be a full rebuild in South Beach. The 28 year old he was ultimately benched for the final three games of the regular season after throwing a career-high 15 interceptions in 2025.
Across 78 career NFL games, Tagovailoa has thrown for 18,166 yards, and 120 TDs. Much like Penix Jr., he comes with an extensive injury history, with concussions at one point threatening to derail his football career.
The duo will look to end the 8 year streak of sub .500 seasons for the Falcons and help guide them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
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