Former Bama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa released by Dolphins, appears to be heading to the Falcons

The Miami Dolphins are moving on from former Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will apparently be heading to the Atlanta Falcons.

FILE – Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)

CBS Sports reports that less than nine hours after the Dolphins announced that they were going to release him, Tagovailoa has already agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Falcons. Although Tua hasn’t been officially released yet, the Falcons were allowed to talk with him because Under NFL rules, teams are allowed to contact a player if his team has announced that he’s going to be released. So Atlanta was allowed to communicate with Tua’s camp since the Dolphins announced this morning that they were going to release the QB.

Tagovailoa has been the team’s primary starter for the last 5 1/2 seasons but the Dolphins said today he will be released. The move comes less than two years after he signed a $212 million extension with the club. It will result in a $99 million dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history, yet the Dolphins evidently saw that as the best path forward.

Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan says “I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position.”

Miami will apparently be starting over at quarterback with Malik Willis, a former quarterback with Green Bay.

Tagovailoa was benched last season after throwing for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions across 14 regular-season appearances.

He is due $54 million guaranteed for 2026 and is eligible to sign with another NFL team after he’s officially released when the new NFL year begins on March 12.

The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and he showed promise early before a career-high turnover total last fall.

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