According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, sources have indicated the Falcons plan to hold on to QB Tua Tagovailoa even though he’s missed his opportunity to win the starting job.
There has been speculation that the Falcons could cut Tagovailoa since they currently have four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. He had the whole offseason and training camp to stake his claim to the starting job, but on-field struggles prevented him from creating any distance from former first-round QB Michael Penix Jr.
Injuries have once again been an issue for Tagovailoa, too, as he missed the start of training camp with a back injury and has yet to play a snap for Atlanta in two weeks due to an oblique injury that flared up in practice ahead of Week 1.
Schefter and Rapoport indicate that, barring another injury, there’s a good chance Tagovailoa has missed his window. Penix is the Falcons’ preferred starter when healthy, per ESPN, and the team is targeting a Week 3 debut on Thursday night against the Packers.
They add Tagovailoa could be recovered enough to be active for that game. Schefter and Rapoport note the Falcons want to keep him in case there’s an injury to Penix, and in case he’s able to recoup enough value for them to trade him ahead of the in-season deadline.
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 Falcons’ quarterback situation as the news is available.
Follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
