Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa was named the team’s Week 1 starter at Pittsburgh, but he’s expected to have a “short leash” when Michael Penix Jr. is healthy after uninspiring play in camp and preseason.
Speaking before Wednesday’s season opener between the Patriots and Seahawks, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio had some words about Tagovailoa and the Falcons. Florio has been told Tagovailoa could end up being cut by Atlanta if he’s benched due to performance while Penix gets to 100 percent.
“If it doesn’t go well for Tua and he gets benched again, I’m told there is a strong possibility the Falcons will do what the Dolphins did and cut Tua Tagovailoa,” Florio said.
Atlanta kept four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, which is fairly unusual in most years (although several teams did that this season). If they did cut Tagovailoa, they would still have veteran Cooper Rush and UDFA Jack Strand to fill out the depth behind Penix.
It should also be pointed out Tagovailoa is due just the minimum salary from Atlanta, with the Dolphins paying him a huge chunk of guarantees after cutting him this offseason. So the Falcons’ financial investment is minimal and wouldn’t prevent them from moving on.
Tagovailoa, 28, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.
The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season.
From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million, with $167 million guaranteed. Miami released Tagovailoa this offseason, and he signed a one-year deal with the Falcons.
In 2025, Tagovailoa appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.
We’ll have more on the Tagovailoa and the Falcons’ QB situation as the news becomes available.
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