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Tua Tagovailoa spoke about his feelings following his Dolphins departure
The Miami Dolphins released Tua Tagovailoa after six years with the quarterback. Miami made Tagovailoa the face of their rebuild as they drafted him in the first-round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Tagovailoa would go on to start 76 games for the Dolphins before finally being released. During his tenure, he was selected to the Pro Bowl, led the NFL in passing yards, led the Dolphins to the postseason twice, and posted a winning record in five of his six seasons.
Tagovailoa was released two years after signing a four-year, $212 million contract extension with the Dolphins following his Pro Bowl season. Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain his Pro Bow level after the contract as injuries and declining performances occurred. Despite his release resulting in a record $99 million in dead money, the Dolphins opted to move on and search for a new quarterback.
Following his release, Tua Tagovailoa signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, where he is poised to compete for the starting job with former first-round quarterback Micahel Penix. After joining the Falcons, Tagovailoa made his first public comments.
Former Miami Dolphins Quarterback Shares True Feelings
As a member of the Dolphins, Tagovailoa was often controversial for his statements with the media. During the 2025 season, he criticized his teammates to the point that he later apologized for making such statements. Now, as the quarterback of the Falcons, Tua commented on his departure from Miami saying, “Based off of what happened last year, I knew I needed to play better, but I think this is a great opportunity to be able to come here and get a good reset.”
This marks his first public comments since the end of the season where he was asked if he wanted a fresh start. He responded, saying, “that would be dope. I would be good with it.”
Regarding the quarterback competition, Tagovailoa said, “If there’s no competition, I don’t think anyone’s getting better, in aspect of the field of work you’re in.” He added, “I am excited to be able to compete against (Penix), to compete with him, to be able to get to know my teammates on a personal level, knowing them from the outside in. We have a lot of good football players on this team, so I’m excited to get to play with these guys and get the chance to throw the ball around, conversate with them. I think it’s going to be great.”
Tagovailoa has not been in a quarterback competition since his rookie season, where veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick ended up winning the starting job. Tagovailoa would be named the starter during the season, and Fitzpatrick was not retained after the season.
Miami Dolphins Quarterback
After Tagovailoa left, the Dolphins quickly agreed to terms with free agent quarterback Malik Willis. Willis, who has only started six games in his career, will now be tasked with replacing Tagovailoa as Miami’s starting quarterback.
During his introductory press conference Willis was asked about his role with Dolphins and how he plans to be a leader of a team for the first time in his career. He responded saying, “I feel like leadership, we should all be leading each other. Obviously to earn the position of leadership, that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to earn it. You’ve got to do what you need to do each day to prepare, do what you need to do each day to work. You’ve got to be a guy that can hold people accountable and be held accountable. I think there’s a lot that goes into that, and you only can build that over time.”
Jose Esquer Jose Esquer is a Mexican-American sportswriter and communications student based in San Diego, CA. His work spans football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. He has written for platforms like RotoWire and DolphinsTalk. You can find him on Twitter/X @JEsquer8, usually talking Dolphins, world football, or both. More about Jose Esquer
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