“The game of football will always entail physicality, so you can never foreshadow what the future’s gonna look like of your health, whether it’s your ankle, a hand injury, a concussion, a hip injury, whatever that may be,” he said. “In terms of health, [I] went through all the protocols of what I needed to do for the Falcons. Everything came out good. Some things are looking way better than the guys might’ve thought. So you either love it or you don’t, that’s what I would say. You either love the game or you don’t. You know the challenges that are ahead in terms of playing this sport with injuries, but you either love it or you don’t. That’s what I would say.”
Unlike previous years, Tagovailoa’s final season in Miami didn’t end abruptly because of health, but because of poor performance. His play declined so drastically, the Dolphins’ new regime was willing to eat a massive dead salary cap number just to move on. That didn’t prevent the Falcons from scooping up Tagovailoa quickly, however, albeit on the aforementioned one-year deal.
At minimum, 2026 represents an opportunity for Tagovailoa to prove he’s worth employing. One needs only to look at Sam Darnold’s career arc to understand there’s potential for more for Tagovailoa with new coach Kevin Stefanski, who may need to strike a balance between starting the season with Tagovailoa with the expectation Penix will eventually return to take over.
If all goes well, it will be a great problem for Stefanski to have. As far as Tagovailoa is concerned, he’s just happy to have another chance to play ball.
“It’s hard to look that far in front,” Tagovailoa said when asked about his future beyond 2026. “I think the best thing with right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team on my one-year [deal] and make the best out of that in terms of the relationships that I make with these guys. Then, when I’m playing, I mean, I get to freaking play football. This is what I’ve dreamed of my entire life. So regardless of what that looks like, I’m gonna be present, I’m gonna be in the moment, I’m gonna be where my feet are.”
