03/24/26 02:22:00
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03/24 14:20 CDT Tagovailoa is looking for a 'fresh start' with Falcons after
rocky finish to his stay with Dolphins
Tagovailoa is looking for a 'fresh start' with Falcons after rocky finish to
his stay with Dolphins
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- Tua Tagovailoa said Tuesday his new one-year contract with the
Atlanta Falcons provides an opportunity for a fresh start after a rocky finish
to his six-year stay with the Miami Dolphins.
Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said on March 13 Tagovailoa will have an
opportunity to compete at quarterback with Michael Penix Jr. after Penix
recovers from a torn ACL he suffered in November.
Tagovailoa said "competition is just a thing in the NFL" but added he'll have
to play better than in 2025, when he set a career high with 15 interceptions
before he was benched for the final three games.
"If you're looking at last year, my play wasn't up to the standard of the way
I've been playing football the past, what, three years since the new contract,"
Tagovailoa said of the four-year, $212 million extension from the Dolphins in
2024.
"So just got to play better football. That's what that really means. There's no
other way to sugarcoat that or go around that."
The Dolphins will owe Tagovailoa $54 million in guaranteed money in 2026. The
one-year deal with the Falcons is for $1.3 million, the minimum for a veteran.
The agreement with Atlanta was reached after the Dolphins announced they were
releasing Tagovailoa despite taking on an NFL-record $99 million dead cap hit.
Tagovailoa could open the season as Atlanta's starter if Penix is still
recovering from his knee injury. That could provide an opportunity for
Tagovailoa to prove he can return to his 2023 form when he led the NFL with
4,624 passing yards, and 2024, when he led the league by completing 72.9% of
his passes.
"Last year wasn't the best year for me," he said. "And, you know, I'm looking
for a fresh start, but fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, being
able go back out there and playing football, good football, and I think the
best football is still ahead of me."
Tagovailoa, 28, said it is too early to say if he will be looking for a longer
stay in Atlanta after the 2026 season or if he hopes to find a new opportunity
as a free agent.
"It's hard to look that far in front," he said. "I think the best thing right
now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team on my one
year and make the best out of that in terms of the relationships I make with
these guys."
Tagovailoa said he is just happy to play football.
"This is what I've dreamed of my entire life, you know, so regardless of what
that looks like. I'm gonna be present, I'm going to be in the moment," he said.
Tagovailoa, a first-round pick from Alabama in 2020, was 44-32 as Miami's
starter. He suffered his fourth documented concussion early in the 2024 season
but said "everything came out good" in his physical examination with the
Falcons.
"Some things are looking way better than, you know, the guys might have
thought," he said, adding he doesn't worry about the risk of more injuries.
"You either love it or you don't," Tagovailoa said. "That's what I would say.
You either the love the game or you don't, and you know the challenges that are
ahead in terms of playing the sport with injuries."
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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