Informed earlier Monday that he will be released by the Miami Dolphins when the new NFL year begins Wednesday, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will sign a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons, multiple media outlets reported.
The Falcons are set to release veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins before the new NFL year begins, giving the team a pair of left-handed signal callers along with Michael Penix Jr. Penix is recovering from a knee injury, so it remains to be seen who will be under center for Atlanta in Week 1.
Entering his third season, Penix — the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — suffered a torn left ACL in Week 11 but has told reporters he believes he will be ready for the season opener.
Cousins took over after Penix went down, guiding Atlanta to four straight wins and an 8-9 record, but the team missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
Once his deal is official, Tagovailoa will join a team under new leadership. Former Falcons QB Matt Ryan was named the organization’s president of football to oversee the head coach and general manager, with Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham filling those respective roles. Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot were fired after the 2025 season.
Cutting Tagovailoa will cost the Dolphins an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money against the salary cap, but the move carries a post-June 1 designation — largely for accounting purposes. The dead money can be split over two seasons. The Dolphins face a $67.4 million dead hit against the salary cap in 2026, followed by $31.8 million in 2027.
The Dolphins drafted Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in 2020 with hopes he would be their quarterback for the long-term. He was the second QB off the board — the Cincinnati Bengals took Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick — and was chosen ahead of Justin Herbert, who went to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 6.
In 2023, Tagovailoa was selected to the Pro Bowl after leading Miami to an 11-6 record and throwing for an NFL-best 4,624 yards.
That was the only season of his career in which he has played every game, plagued by multiple concussions and other injuries, including to his hip.
Still, in July 2024, the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension that was set to run through the 2028 season.
He fell out of favor last season, and former coach Mike McDaniel benched him with three games to go in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers. Through the first 14 games, Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to a 6-8 record and had a career-high 15 interceptions against 20 touchdowns.
