Who Should I Start? Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr.

Monday, January 5, 3:19 PM

When asked if he was hoping for a "fresh start," Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said on Monday, "That would be dope. I would be good with it." Although Tagovailoa avoided another concussion this year, the 27-year-old former fifth overall pick struggled to take the next step for the Dolphins' offense in his sixth year in the NFL. Tagovailoa completed 67.7% of his 384 pass attempts for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in his 14 starts, a year after leading the league with a 72.9 completion percentage. After the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention, the team benched Tagovailoa in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers for the final two weeks of the season. As of right now, head coach Mike McDaniel has not been fired, and if he returns for next season, it's unlikely that Tagovailoa will join him in South Beach. Tagovailoa is owed $54 million guaranteed next year, but he could be released with a post-June 1 designation to split his $99.2 million salary cap charge over two seasons.

Wednesday, November 26, 1:06 PM

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said on Wednesday that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) had successful surgery on his knee on Tuesday, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Penix had full reconstructive surgery to fix a partially torn ACL in his left knee, which will keep him out for the rest of this season and possibly for the start of the 2026 season next fall. The 25-year-old second-year signal-caller is facing a nine-month recovery, which will force Atlanta to rethink its long-term plan at the QB position this offseason. This is Penix's third ACL reconstruction in his career after he had two knee surgeries in college. Kirk Cousins will start the rest of the year under center for the Falcons, but depending on how he finishes the season, the Falcons could opt out of the final two seasons of his four-year deal.