-
-
1) Won't say I dislike Tua.
2) Props to anyone who can make good bank. I know he was close to retiring, due to recurring injuries. And who could BLAME him?
3) Dolphins are one of those cursed franchises. Some tough luck in the mid-80s. And they have constantly had this trend of almost drawing dead when playing in Cold Temps.Where's the fuckin power box, Carol?Comment -
By Josh Kendall, Dianna Russini and Saad Yousuf
March 9, 2026
-The Athletic
The Atlanta Falcons have found their replacement for Kirk Cousins, reportedly agreeing to terms on Monday with soon-to-be former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, league sources tell The Athletic.
The Miami Dolphins announced earlier on Monday that they will release Tagovailoa on Wednesday, the first day of the league’s new year, incurring a record $99.2 million in dead money on their salary cap. The Dolphins will be paying the vast majority of his salary in 2026, making the quarterback a very low financial risk for the Falcons.
The move, which came after the Dolphins failed to find a trade partner to take on Tagovailoa’s contract, ends a tenure marked by occasional offensive fireworks, repeated head injuries and zero playoff wins.
Tagovailoa, 28, is less than two years removed from receiving a monster extension from the Dolphins in the summer of 2024, which made him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. Miami selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and saw enough through his first four years to give him the big second contract, despite the injury concerns Tagovailoa carried.
Tagovailoa missed six games in the first season with the new contract, including four after suffering a Week 2 concussion, but remained steady in his performance on the field in the 11 games he started. Tagovailoa’s 2025 season was a different story. He struggled on the field and made headlines for saying the wrong things. The Dolphins were one of the worst teams in the NFL through the first half of the season before they managed to pull off a four-game winning streak after Halloween.
Tagovailoa’s bad season became worse when he was benched after the team’s 28-15 Week 15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Dolphins revamped their leadership in the offseason, hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager and Jeff Hafley as head coach. Despite the significant cap hit that came with releasing Tagovailoa this offseason, the new regime chose to part ways and look for a new answer at quarterback.
How he fits
It’s impossible to know yet whether the Falcons’ new regime — president of football Matt Ryan, general manager Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski — views Tagovailoa as a true competitor for the starting job with third-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. or simply a veteran security blanket. At the minimum, Tagovailoa gives Atlanta a competent starter until Penix can return from the ACL tear that ended his 2025 season in Week 11.
Penix and the team have been optimistic in their evaluations of his rehabilitation this offseason. But the 2026 season’s opener is only nine months removed from his injury, so it’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for the start of the season. Even if he is, he will miss most of the offseason practices.
Penix is 4-8 as a starter in his two years in the league, so he’s hardly a proven commodity. But Stefanski said he is excited about Penix’s “trajectory.” Like Penix, Tagovailoa is left-handed, so that will make life a little easier on offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and the rest of the offensive players. 2026 roster impact
We know that Tagovailoa and Penix will be Nos. 1 and 2 on Atlanta’s quarterback depth chart. We just aren’t sure what the order will be. The Falcons still need a third quarterback, but they can now use that spot on a developmental player later in the draft
Cap update
The Dolphins still will be paying most of Tagovailoa’s salary, so he can play for the Falcons for the minimum of $1.2 million in 2026. He will be paid $54 million by Miami this year, minus the value of his deal with Atlanta.
Comment
