Before the Miami Dolphins play their first regular-season game under a new regime, they have a door to close from the old one.

Ex-Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start for the Atlanta Falcons in Friday night’s preseason finale.

As Tagovailoa has moved on to his next chapter with the Falcons due to the Dolphins’ early-offseason decision to release him, Miami, in its new form, has plenty on its plate surrounding the 7 p.m. exhibition kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium.

But first, Tagovailoa.

Dolphins fans may decide to boo the first time Tagovailoa runs out onto the field with the Atlanta offense. Or maybe they just react with indifference in the preseason setting.

He, along with former general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel, were at the forefront of a recent run that involved great expectations and greater failures.

Even as new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan cut ties with Tagovailoa, the $55.4 million in dead cap from releasing him still lingers and affects his first season at the helm.

Tagovailoa was picked up by the Falcons with an open path to the starting quarterback job as Michael Penix recovered from a severe knee injury this offseason. He hasn’t taken advantage of it in the preseason, though, and Penix has been medically cleared in the past week.

Penix won’t play in the preseason game, and Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski has said starters will see game action, so it’s Tagovailoa’s time to orchestrate the Atlanta first-team offense in his old digs to see if he can win the job to start the season.

Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley hasn’t stated definitively if he will play his starters in the preseason finale, but it would stand to reason that he does. Miami operated the final week of training camp as if preparing for a game week, with Wednesday’s practice a lighter session similar to Friday drills before a Sunday game. Beyond that, the Dolphins didn’t go through a joint practice this week, as they did prior to preseason games against the Washington Commanders and New York Giants. Those are generally an intense day of drills.

The roster of the previous Miami regime has largely been purged, but some players remain who were teammates with Tagovailoa.

Edge rusher Chop Robinson, who has been a camp standout, said he looks forward to hitting Tagovailoa after never getting to do so in practice as teammates.

“It’s going to be fun, especially since in practice you couldn’t hit him,” Robinson said. “But now it’s game time, and I’ll be able to hit him. I hope I get close to him.”

Robinson softened that stance in the same breath.

“But he was a good guy, a great teammate, and I wish him the best and I hope he’s doing good over there,” he added.

He was later asked, if he sacks Tagovailoa on Friday, if he’ll let him know it’s just business and nothing personal.

“Nah, I mean, it’s personal. No matter who it is, it’s always personal when you’re going against each other,” Robinson said. “But at the end of the day, when the game is over, when the clock hits zero, it’s all love, and that’s still my brother.”

Backup quarterback Quinn Ewers, who started three games last season when Tagovailoa was benched, was looking forward to seeing him.

“I don’t think it’ll be awkward,” said Ewers, who needs a strong performance when he enters to deter the front office from looking for an outside backup quarterback upgrade. “I love Tua. He helped me a lot last year, and I know I’m going to be excited to see him.”

Later this regular season, the Dolphins also host the teams that ex-GM Grier and ex-coach McDaniel landed with. Grier is now an executive with the Detroit Lions, who visit Hard Rock Stadium Nov. 8, and McDaniel is offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers, which come to town Dec. 27.

But first Miami has to get through Friday, and it’ll be a significant night for players vying for those final roster spots before the 6 p.m. Sunday deadline to cut the roster to 53 players.

Defensive tackle Keith Cooper Jr. is among roster longshots who have made a push for a roster spot.

“I hope my chances are great,” Cooper said. “I’m just going to keep my head down, keep working, and whatever happens, happens. That’s how I’m approaching it, and I got better every day.”

While players must show what they can do individually, the best approach may be to exhibit a team-first mentality.

“We’re a team. We come in every day, and it’s us coming out here as a team,” said linebacker Jackson Woodard, who has his stock up after recovering a fumble against the Giants and putting on a strong showing in recent practices. “The front office, they all deal with that. So that’s out of our control. We come in, bust our tails and compete as a team. And, when that day comes, that day comes. We’re not really focused on that.”