Tua Tagovailoa is no longer a problem for the Miami Dolphins. His 2025 season and subsequent career with the Dolphins ended with three games left in the season. His best statistical outing came against the Falcons, the team he now calls home.
The Falcons may still believe that Michael Penix Jr. will be their franchise QB answer, but ESPN's Louis Riddick doesn't see that as the case. In fact, the highly respected Riddick sees Tagovailoa as the winner of the QB room. If that happens, good luck to Falcons fans.
“I personally think Tua should win this job. … If he can stay on the football field and they can play complimentary football, I think he wins this job.”@LRiddickESPN on the Falcons' starting QB battle 🏈 pic.twitter.com/4WCU3ENm1b
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 27, 2026
Miami Dolphins fans will be paying close attention to Tua Tagovailoa's upcoming season
The most supportive of Tua fans quietly turned the page on the QB after the abysmal season he produced last year. A season that says his leadership evaporates. A year that forced even his strongest supporter, Mike McDaniel, to throw him under the bus.
Riddick believes that Tagovailoa's "situation" in Miami was more of a problem than a deteriorating skill set. In fact, Riddick blames Tua's health as part of the problem last year, but what he is missing is that not all of Tua's problems are health-related, something else Falcons fans will learn quickly if he starts.
Sure, Bijan Robinson is an elite running back, but De'Von Achane is no slouch. The Falcons have a better offensive line, but Tua still needs to get rid of the ball quickly because he can't move around consistently in the pocket. Sure, Drake London is a great receiver, but so were Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
So what's missing? Tua had all those things the Falcons have, but Tagovailoa still failed. Why? That's the question that needs to be answered.
When 2025 ended, the Dolphins faced a gut-wrenching decision. Eat nearly $100 million over the next two years with or without him on the roster. We all know what they ultimately felt was best.
The Falcons are going to find out what every Dolphins fan already knows about Miami's 5th-overall draft pick: he practices great, then plays like garbage.
Tagovailoa has the tools to be elite. He checks the boxes teams look for in a quarterback, but somewhere along the line, his confidence got rattled. Tua is a great practice QB because he knows he can't and won't be hit. That isn't the same during a game.
Under pressure, Tagovailoa can become predictable and inconsistent. Kevin Stefanski's offense has to allow Tua to throw quickly because the QB struggles to let plays develop in front of him.
Miami fans know that if the situation is perfect, Tua will shine as brightly as the South Florida sun, but that all changes the moment things start to go south.
The Falcons play in the weakest NFC division. Last year, the Panthers won the NFC South with a losing record, and both the Buccaneers and Falcons matched that total, but lost the crown to tie-breakers.
Tua is going to show enough to make Falcons fans believers, but when the weather turns cold and the road trips don't go as planned, the Falcons will see their season dreams evaporate in December. Tua will return to Miami in the preseason, and that should be fun to watch.
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