Tua Says His Best Football Is 'Still Ahead of Me,' Talks Falcons QB Battle With Penix

After signing with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is looking forward to getting the chance to bounce back from his disastrous 2025 campaign.

"Last year, my play wasn't up to the standard of how I was playing football the three years [before]," Tagovailoa said Tuesday, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "Gotta play better football. No way to sugarcoat that."

Tagovailoa was also asked about competing with Michael Penix Jr. for the Falcons' starting quarterback job, and he responded, "Competition is just a thing in the NFL. I'm no stranger to competition."

Tagovailoa was drafted by the Dolphins with the No. 5 pick in 2020, and he eventually blossomed into a reliable starter, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2023 after leading the league in passing yards. However, the 2025 season was one to forget for the 28-year-old.

In 14 games, Tagovailoa threw a career-high 15 interceptions. He lost his starting job to rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, marking the first signal of the end of his time in Miami. The Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel and replaced him with former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and the new regime made the swift decision to cut Tagovailoa despite taking on a whopping $99 million in dead money.

While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tagovailoa described his final season with the Dolphins as "unique... in a lot of ways." He will now have the chance to revive his career in Atlanta if he wins the starting job from Penix, who is recovering from a partially torn ACL. He added that he will carry the same mentality that he's always had into his first year with the Falcons.

"I don't think the mindset changes at all," he said. "You either love being a competitor or not."