As expected, Tua Tagovailoa will be released by the Dolphins once the new league year begins. Among his suitors could be the other NFL team with a southpaw quarterback atop its depth chart.
The Falcons are “making a strong early push” to land Tagovailoa, Mike Garafolo, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. Atlanta will be officially moving on from Kirk Cousins this week, creating the need for a veteran addition. Michael Penix Jr. is recovering from a partial ACL tear, meanwhile, and his status for Week 1 is unclear.
Knowing his Miami tenure will soon end, Tagovailoa is free to speak with interested teams at any time. Atlanta is certainly one of them. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones deems the Falcons the “leading candidate” at the early portion of the Tagovailoa free agent period.
The Dolphins will take on a record-breaking dead money charge as a result of Tagovailoa’s release. His 2026 compensation ($56MM) is already guaranteed, meaning his next NFL contract will only need to be worth the veteran minimum. A short-term agreement can be expected with the 28-year-old as a result. Atlanta would provide Tagovailoa with a climate-controlled home and an offense featuring an intriguing skill position group. The Falcons also have a new coaching staff led by Kevin Stefanski in place.
More to come…

I’d prefer Kyler or Brissett to be honest lol
Oh boy not sure how I feel about this one. Stefanski is putting himself right back into another QB carousel you think he would like to avoid.
i guess it makes sense having two lefties
2 lefties who both suck don’t equal a positive result lol
@Larry 2 lefts don’t make a right?
No, but 3 do.
Your blindside tackle would stay the same. Tebow could come out of retirement to be 3rd string.
Tebow is a righty
The original plan was to sign one of Phil Niekro’s sons to throw knuckleball passes 🙂
Makes sense. The rough reality–and this was always a problem with taking a top ten quarterback and signing a pricey veteran in the same offseason–is that the Falcons currently have a very, very expensive quarterback room that doesn’t currently have a quarterback in it. Penix is hurt, Cousins is gone, and they’re paying for both. Tua’s not an ideal option, but if he can stay remotely healthy, he can get the ball out quickly and where it’s supposed to go. With a good line, London, Pitts, and Robinson, Stefanski could do worse. And perhaps most importantly, he’ll cost next to nothing.
Same goes for Murray. Both have injury issues, but at least neither should cost more than league minimum.
Same with Geno. I’d be much, much more eager to bet on Murray than Tua.
Possibly. My guess is they’ll all be influenced by the offensive line talent.
Sure, and also receiver talent and scheme. One reason I’m bearish on Tua is that he benefited a ton from skill position talent and offensive scheme. I don’t think Murray has ever had a situation nearly as good, and while Geno looked awful last year, he was also in an awful situation.
“A very expensive QB room without a QB in it”…Ooof, ain’t that the harsh truth lol
Arthur Blank is just out to sign as many left handed QB’s as he can until he finds the next Michael Vick