NFL free agency: Tua Tagovailoa finds new home with Falcons
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Tua Tagovailoa won’t have to go far to begin his next step in the NFL.
The former Miami Dolphins quarterback “plans to sign” a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons and will join fellow left-handed pitcher Michael Penix Jr. in the quarterback competition heading into the 2026 season. ESPN reported.
The Dolphins officially made their decision on Tagovailoa on Monday, but the writing was on the wall for a long time. Dolphins’ new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan announced that the team will release him when free agency begins and cut ties with the team’s 2020 first-round draft pick as a new regime comes into place, including head coach Jeff Hafley.
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Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (1) leaves the field after unsuccessfully attempting a two-point conversion in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 15, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Justin Berl/AP Photo)
Miami quickly found a potential replacement for Tagovailoa, reaching an agreement with Malik Willis, who Sullivan and Hafley backed up Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers in recent seasons.
“As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for Tua as a person and as a player,” Sullivan said in a statement. he said. “On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed gratitude for his many contributions both on the field and in the community during his six seasons in Miami.”
DOLPHINS LOOK LIKE TO FIND TUA TAGOVAILOA’S REPLACEMENT WHEN FREE AGENCY OPENS
There were rumors about Tagovailoa potentially joining the Falcons, so Tagovailoa made the move to quarterback, allowing veteran Kirk Cousins to pursue his next opportunity in the league.
On a one-year deal (terms were not disclosed), Tagovailoa plans to compete in training camp with Penix, whom the Falcons took eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington. He tore part of his cruciate ligament against the Carolina Panthers in Week 11.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) attempts to throw a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on October 26, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Prior to that, Penix went 3-6 in nine games with Atlanta last season, throwing for 1,982 yards with nine touchdown passes and three interceptions and completing 60.1% of his throws.
Tagovailoa, meanwhile, could benefit from a fresh start after his senior year in 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 once again failed to make the playoffs.
That’s not what the Dolphins had in mind after the Alabama product did enough to secure a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension at the start of the 2024 season. Miami is expected to designate Tagovailoa after June 1 and allocate $99 million in cap space over the next two seasons. ESPN reported.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass during the first half of the NFL football game against the New York Jets on Monday, September 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; That happened in 2023, when Miami went 11-6.
The Falcons are eager to get back to the playoffs, where they last lost in the Divisional Round in 2017. Led by quarterback Matt Ryan, the Falcons made it to the Super Bowl in 2016, but it ended in infamy, blowing a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots.
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