The Atlanta Falcons have spent all summer trying to determine what Tua Tagovailoa can give them at quarterback. On Tuesday, the veteran managed to create an entirely different kind of discussion with one Instagram comment.
Tagovailoa posted a series of photos from his first preseason with Atlanta and captioned it, “For the A.”
The post drew supportive messages from several people close to him, including his wife, Annah, and former Miami Dolphins teammate Jaylen Waddle.
Then Tagovailoa’s own account appeared in the comments with another message.
“We’re so proud of you!! You got this.”
That immediately caught attention across social media, with screenshots of the comment quickly circulating. Whether Tagovailoa himself posted it, someone else helps manage his account or there is another explanation remains unclear.
There is no confirmation that Tagovailoa operates a burner account.
Still, the apparent mix-up was difficult to miss.
Tua Tagovailoa’s Own Account Leaves Curious Instagram Comment
Barstool Sports, MLFootball and Fliff were among the accounts that had their fun at Tagovailoa’s expense.
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What made it even more interesting was the message Annah left separately on the same post.
“We are so proud of you! You got this!!” she wrote.
The two comments are nearly identical.
That raises the possibility that someone intended to leave the second message from another account and simply didn’t switch before posting it. It also helps explain why the internet immediately began wondering whether Tagovailoa had inadvertently exposed a burner account.
Again, there is no confirmation of that.
Waddle also showed support for his former quarterback in the comments.
“The biggest uce !!!!” Waddle wrote.
Tagovailoa spent six seasons with Waddle in Miami before the Dolphins released the quarterback in March. Atlanta signed him days later to a one-year deal, giving him an opportunity to compete with Michael Penix Jr. while Penix worked his way back from ACL surgery.
The social media moment came only days after Tagovailoa returned to Miami for the Falcons’ preseason finale.
Tua Tagovailoa Trying To Reset Career With Falcons
Tagovailoa completed 7 of 8 passes for 95 yards in Atlanta’s 17-12 win over the Dolphins, leading a touchdown drive before losing a fumble on a mishandled snap.
Afterward, he acknowledged the unusual emotions that came with playing at Hard Rock Stadium from the opposite sideline.
“There were mixed emotions being able to come back to play at Hard Rock, but then the perspective changes being on the opposite sideline,” Tagovailoa said, according to The Associated Press. “You have to go out there, drive the offense and … put points on the board. That’s all what I was thinking of.”
The Falcons kept Tagovailoa on their initial 53-man roster along with Penix, Cooper Rush and rookie Jack Strand.
Tagovailoa arrived in Atlanta looking for a reset after six seasons with Miami. He told AtlantaFalcons.com’s Will McFadden and Tori McElhaney after signing that he knew he “needed to play better” following his final season with the Dolphins and viewed Atlanta as “a great opportunity” for a fresh start.
His latest Instagram post appeared to celebrate that new chapter.
The follow-up comment from his own account is harder to explain.
Maybe it was a simple account-switching mistake. Maybe someone else helps handle Tagovailoa’s Instagram. Maybe there is another explanation entirely.
Until Tagovailoa addresses it, nobody can say for certain.
What is clear is that telling yourself “We’re so proud of you” underneath your own Instagram post is one way to get everyone’s attention before Week 1.
Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa Has Awkward Instagram Mix-Up on Own Post