It has been a difficult year for former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
First,he struggled during the 2025 season, which led to the Dolphins benching him in favor of rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers for the final three games of the season. It marked the first time Tagovailoa had been benched since his rookie season, when he admittedly didn’t know the entire playbook, which limited Miami’s offense
His declining play led the Dolphins to release him this offseason. The team did so despite the quarterback having over $54 million guaranteed for the 2026 season. The move became the largest dead cap hit a team has ever taken by releasing a player, surpassing what the Broncos took on after releasing Russell Wilson.
However, for Tagovailoa that was not all bad. After the 2025 season ended, he expressed his desire for a fresh start on another team. With his release, Tagovailoa got his wish and he was able to sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, who gave him the opportunity to compete for the starting job. Tagovailoa was then named the Falcons starter for the Week 1 regular season opener; however, things took a negative turn for the quarterback as he suffered an oblique injury in practice days before the season.
As a result, Tagovailoa missed the first two weeks of the season. Now, ahead of Week 3, the former Dolphins quarterback has received some good news.
Tua Tagovailoa Receives Good News
ESPN’s Falcons reporter Marc Raimondi posted on X: “Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) has returned to practice today. #Falcons”
Tagovailoa was listed as a full participant in Tuesday’s practice. Even though the former Miami Dolphins quarterback returned to the field, he will not start during Atlanta’s Thursday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers.
Instead, the Falcons announced they will start Michael Penix Jr. Raimondi wrote: “Michael Penix Jr. will make his season debut in primetime this week, giving the winless Atlanta Falcons much-needed relief at the quarterback position.
The Falcons announced Monday that Penix will start Thursday night on the road against the Green Bay Packers. It will be Penix’s first start since Week 11 last November when he tore his left ACL.
Penix had reconstructive surgery a few weeks later and then another procedure to further stabilize the joint. He was cleared by doctors to practice fully in late August but told the team before Week 1 that he was not ready for live game action. The typical timetable for a return from ACL surgery is between nine and 12 months.”
Tagovailoa may still suit up for the first time this season and serve as Penix Jr.’s backup if he is deemed ready to go on Thursday.
Miami Dolphins Quarterback
After releasing Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins signed Malik Willis to a three-year, $67 million contract to serve as his replacement.
Through two games, his play has been up-and-down. Dolphins on SI’s Tyler Carmona gave the quarterback a “D” grade for his performance during Sunday’s loss against the San Francisco 49ers. Carmona wrote: “Only three starting quarterbacks have a lower completion percentage than Malik Willis’ 58% mark, and he’s doing so while still ranking among the league’s bottom half in passing yards.
Out of the 12 plays that Willis faced a blitz, he completed just four (33%) of those passes…
He has especially struggled to identify the open man on play-actions, where the throwing window can disappear in a split second. That showed up on the first play from scrimmage when Malik Washington came open on a deep crosser, Willis rolled out to the left and missed the brief window before eventually throwing the ball away.”
Ex-Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa Gets Encouraging News Before Week 3