Those who watched Tagovailoa hit the ground running in his sixth and final season in Miami might scoff at the idea that he’s coming in as the solution to any team’s quarterback problem. After all, one look at Tagovailoa’s final start in 2025 — a horrendous showing in a prime-time loss to Pittsburgh in which the speed and complexity of the game seemed to overwhelm Tagovailoa — explains why his stock was low enough for the Dolphins to accept huge 2026 and 2027 caps to release him this week.
Sometimes a player simply needs to start over.
The other important aspect of adding a quarterback is how the current starters might respond to such a move. Just two years ago, Atlanta rocked the boat by spending a first-round pick on Penix just weeks after handing Kirk Cousins a four-year, $160 million contract, a decision made without consulting Cousins first, who admitted he felt “distracted” by the pick.
The board that made these moves is no longer in Atlanta. The new group is also not interested in repeating its mistakes.
“Yeah, we talked to him,” Cunningham said of Penix. “Kevin talked to him, I talked to his agent when we knew this was the direction we were going. You don’t want to blindside somebody, and that’s just the way we operate. We want to have open conversations and communication, and I feel like we’ve done that with Michael and Tua.”
Overall, Atlanta can’t be faulted for adding a veteran in Tagovailoa. The Falcons need security at the position, and potentially the payoff in such a decision is an additional bonus that may only be cashed in later (or not at all).
In this vast world of football where all 32 teams operate, the Falcons owed it to themselves to explore all the possibilities. They will have two left-handers in September.