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By Aaron Becker
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The Atlanta Falcons named Tua Tagovailoa their starting quarterback for Week 1, but that apparently doesn't even guarantee he will still be on the team by the end of the season.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there is a "strong possibility" that Tagovailoa will be released if/when he is benched by the Falcons.
"For now, Tua has a chance to fend off a benching. If he can’t, he may not be able to fend off a termination," Florio wrote. "The chance of that happening will increase if he eventually yields not to [Michael] Penix but to veteran Cooper Rush, who has 16 NFL starts under his belt."
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While that would be a surprising display of events, the Falcons haven't invested very much into Tagovailoa. The team signed him a one-year, $1.21 million contract this offseason since the Miami Dolphins owe him $54 million minus whatever he earns elsewhere in 2026.
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Tagovailoa has struggled to live up to the expectations that came with being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
While he's had a couple of strong campaigns, most notably his 2023 that earned him a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension after he threw for a career-high 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns, he has overall struggled with turnovers and injuries.
Last season, he threw a career-high 15 interceptions as the Dolphins finished third place in the AFC East with a 7-10 record.
That was all the Dolphins needed to see for them to cut their losses this offseason and start over with a new batch of young talent.
Only time will tell how Tagovailoa will fair in 2026, however, not only his starting job, but also his spot on the roster seems to be in jeopardy before even taking his first regular season snap.
Tagovailoa's first test will be against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in Week 1.
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