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Tua Tagovailoa won’t have to go far to start his next chapter in the NFL.
The ex-Miami Dolphins quarterback “plans to sign” a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, joining fellow left-handed thrower Michael Penix Jr. in what’s expected to be a quarterback competition heading into the 2026 season, per ESPN reported.
The Dolphins officially made their decision on Tagovailoa on Monday, though the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. Dolphins new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan announced that the team will release him when free agency begins, cutting ties with the team’s 2020 first-round draft choice as a new regime moves in, including head coach Jeff Hafley.
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Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field after a failed two-point conversion attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Justin Berl/AP Photo)
Miami quickly found a potential Tagovailoa replacement, too, agreeing to terms with Malik Willis, who Sullivan and Hafley know well as he backed up Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers in recent seasons.
“As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for the person and player he is,” Sullivan said in a statement. “On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six seasons in Miami.”
DOLPHINS APPEAR TO FIND TUA TAGOVAILOA’S REPLACEMENT AS FREE AGENCY OPENS
There was chatter about Tagovailoa potentially joining the Falcons, who also made a quarterback move by letting veteran Kirk Cousins go to pursue his next opportunity around the league.
With a one-year deal (terms were not disclosed), Tagovailoa figures to battle it out in training camp with Penix, whom the Falcons took eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington. He’s coming off a partially torn ACL suffered in Week 11 against the Carolina Panthers.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Before then, Penix, who went 3-6 in his nine starts last season for Atlanta, threw for 1,982 yards with nine touchdown passes and three interceptions, completing 60.1% of his throws.
Meanwhile, Tagovailoa could benefit from a fresh start after struggling in his final year with Miami last season. He went 6-8 as the team’s starter, throwing for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, as the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs once again.
This wasn’t what the Dolphins had in mind after the Alabama product did enough to warrant a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension at the start of the 2024 season. Now, Miami is expected to make Tagovailoa a post-June 1 designation, taking on $99 million in dead cap space split over the next two seasons, ESPN reported.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Tagovailoa made just one playoff appearance and one Pro Bowl in his six seasons with the Dolphins, which came in 2023 when Miami went 11-6.
The Falcons are desperate to get back into the playoffs, having done so last in 2017 where they lost in the Divisional Round. Under the leadership of Matt Ryan at quarterback, the Falcons made the Super Bowl in 2016, though it was an infamous ending, having blown a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots.
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