By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

There’s a famous phrase; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

How does that relate to NFL free agency you may ask? Well, the Atlanta Falcons have signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year deal. I think this is a terrible move but I understand it.

Releasing Tua will cost the Dolphins an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money against the salary cap. That’s an absurd amount of money to get rid of a player.

He struggled last season, passing for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in fourteen games. He averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.

I’m not sure if that can be blamed on being on a bad team or just poor play from Tagovailoa.

This move does show Atlanta is invested in Michael Penix Jr. Penix tore his ACL in November so I don’t believe he will play next season.

Prior to his injury, Penix was inconsistent. He was only a second-year player but I did hope the Falcons would sign a QB to replace him.

At times Tua has shown flashes of being a good player. He is also very prone to injury. He did make the Pro Bowl in 2023 after throwing for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 picks. This was also the only season that he did not miss a game.

In 2024 he missed six games due to concussions. At that point, I thought he should have retired from football.

Tagovailoa is only 28 years old so he does have time to get better in his career. I believe he should be compared to the backup QB options on the market. From a financial standpoint, this was a great move.

The Dolphins still owe Tagovailoa $54 million. He plans to sign with the Falcons for just over the league minimum, reportedly about $1.3 million. That’s a great price for a good, veteran backup.

A good veteran backup QB salary is about $5 million. The Falcons could have spent more to sign guys like Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, Tyrod Taylor and Jimmy Garoppolo. The only advantage I give them over Tua is injury history.

Money is an important consideration for the Falcons. They will only have about $20 million to spend under the salary cap once Cousins is officially released.

Signing a veteran backup QB for cheap means more money available to spend on free agents at other positions.

I wanted Atlanta to sign Kyler Murray but that would mean signing him to a longer contract. That move would also end Penix’s time in Atlanta.

The Falcons have a talented roster but I think it will get wasted again next year. I’m not a fan of hiring Kevin Stefanski as head coach, then adding Tagovailoa as the QB is the cherry on top.

They also don’t have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because they traded it last year to move up and select DE James Pearce. He has some recent off-field legal problems so he might not be on the team this upcoming season.