Atlanta HC: Tua Tagovailoa 'Good Fit' for Falcons

Atlanta HC: Tua Tagovailoa “Good Fit” for Falcons

It’s been only around three weeks since former Miami Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreed to sign with the Atlanta  Falcons (on a one-year, $1.3 million deal), yet his new head coach, Kevin Stefanski, is already waxing poetic about how he fits in Atlanta.

Well before the 2026 season and Tagovailoa’s Falcons debut, Stefanski hailed the signal-caller as being a “good fit” and also indicated he’ll be in contention for the starting job at the position. Tagovailoa marks the second lefty the Falcons have at quarterback, and his biggest competition for the starting gig is another southpaw in Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft who started nine games for Atlanta in 2025.

“Tua was a good fit for us,” Stefanski said. “I think the football fit, the personal fit, I think he’s looking for a place where he can go and compete for a starting job, and that’s what we are offering to him. I think he’s somebody that has always competed in career, look back at his time at Alabama, so him coming in, and he wants to do what’s best for this football team, we’re excited to have him.”

Tagovailoa’s stint with the Dolphins came to a close after Miami opted to release him earlier this month. He played for the franchise for the first six seasons of his pro tenure after the squad selected him in the opening round of the 2020 NFL Draft. There was a time when he was considered to be the Dolphins’ long-term answer at quarterback, but the injury bug, along with some regression in play, spoiled his final two campaigns in Miami and ultimately resulted in him being released.

In the 2024 season, Tagovailoa was limited to just 11 games played thanks to multiple injuries, and in 2025, he threw the most picks in any campaign of his pro career (15) while posting a career low passing success rate of just 46.4.

However, it appears he will have a real shot to redeem himself with the Falcons in 2026, and maybe a change of scenery will prove to be what he needed to get his NFL career back on track.

Dolphins fans won’t get to witness Tagovailoa face off against his old team anytime soon, though. Unfortunately, Miami will not play Atlanta so much as once throughout the entirety of the 2026 season.