Dan Orlovsky Praises Atlanta Falcons Move for Tua Tagovailoa

The Atlanta Falcons made one of the biggest acquisitions of the first 24 hours of the early negotiation period on Monday with the signing of Tua Tagovailoa. After officially being released earlier that day, the former Miami Dolphins quarterback agreed to the league minimum with the Falcons ($1.3 million).

Naturally, there were plenty of differing opinions on this signing, including the crew of ESPN’s NFL Live. After the news became official, analysts Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky had different perspectives on the move.

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“You want to talk about yards after the catch? Nobody did that like Tyreek [Hill] and Jaylen Waddle did early on in Mike McDaniel and Tua’s tenure,” Clark said. “I don’t love this. I don’t believe this is the right decision. I believe not having a quarterback in that room who you can count on from a safety and injury standpoint was not the move.”

NFL insider Jeremy Fowler was quick to point out what many in Atlanta recognized when this deal went through: that Tagovailoa is not coming here to be a cemented starter. If the Falcons had instead opted for a player like Kyler Murray or Geno Smith, then that would have been a different discussion.

The addition of Tagovailoa signals to those in Atlanta that Michael Penix Jr. may still be viewed as a player who can lead this franchise by this new regime. While Penix recovers from his torn ACL, Tagovailoa will be the guy leading the Falcons through their offseason program and through training camp. He will get the starter reps and could end up competing for the starting position if he shows that he can perform at the necessary level.

The extent of that remains to be determined.

Clark remained adamant that it was not an impressive decision by the Falcons, to which Orlovsky pushed back.

“I’m not sitting out here telling that I think this is the ‘You are the starting quarterback,’ but you needed somebody who could be the starting quarterback in Atlanta,” he said. “[The Falcons] look at it and go, ‘We don’t have a first-round pick, the other options out there are Kirk Cousins, and the cost has moved on. Is it Geno Smith, who might have other options, [or] Kyler Murray, who might have other options?

“I think when you’re Atlanta, and you look back at reality, you need somebody who can at least operate your offense for a chance [to start] throughout the offseason and the regular season.”

Over his six seasons in Miami, Tagovailoa was 44-32 and threw for 18,166 yards, 120 touchdowns, and 59 interceptions over 78 games. However, he has struggled with several injuries throughout his NFL career.

He has only finished a full season once (2023) in his six NFL seasons – a thumb injury cost him part of the 2020 season, fractured ribs and a finger injury held him out in 2021, and he suffered concussions in both 2022 and 2024.

But when he is fully healthy, the former Dolphins quarterback has shown that he can be a solid starter. He was named to the Pro Bowl and led the Dolphins to the playoffs in the lone season where he started every game, throwing for a career-high 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Meanwhile, Penix has also developed a propensity to suffer injuries. He has suffered three torn ACLs throughout his football career, including the one he is still recovering from. Penix also suffered from some shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2021.

With the pair of quarterbacks set to compete in Atlanta for the foreseeable future, the Falcons’ quarterback situation will be one of the biggest storylines to watch as the rest of the offseason unfolds.

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