Falcons’ Tagovailoa booed in Miami return, still cherishes ‘cool homecoming’
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nearly three hours before he trotted into the huddle in the stadium where he made six years of memories, Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had nothing more than a call sheet, a coach and abundant silence.
Tagovailoa and assistant quarterbacks coach Jordan Reid walked through the entire script, awaiting the Falcons’ first-team offense in Friday night’s preseason finale against the Dolphins. The only noise echoing through an otherwise empty stadium was the national anthem rehearsal.
But when Tagovailoa led the offense onto the field for the first drive Friday, noise grew. There were no cheers for the man once deemed Miami’s franchise quarterback, a top-five pick and anointed savior. There were only boos — from a mighty contingent of Dolphins fans in a far-from-full Hard Rock Stadium.
And Tagovailoa heard every bit of it.
“Of course I did,” Tagovailoa said postgame. “But needless to say, being able to come back here, I had six years here and those were probably some of the best six years of my life.”
Tagovailoa started 76 games for the Dolphins, delivering highs he chooses to cling onto and lows he willingly acknowledges. He finished ninth in the MVP race in 2022. He led the Dolphins to a playoff berth in 2023, the same year he made his first Pro Bowl. He still owns a house in Miami and loves the city.
The 28-year-old also knows he didn’t play up to his standard in 2025, when he was benched after 14 games and tossed a career-worst 15 interceptions. The Dolphins released him in March, less than two years after giving him a four-year, $212.4 million contract to lead the franchise to better days.
Tagovailoa will forever hold Miami as the city that changed his life. The boos were a harsh byproduct from an abrupt, disappointing exit, but Tagovailoa’s return to Hard Rock Stadium featured plenty of feel-good moments, too.
“It is what it is,” Tagovailoa said. “I can’t change any of what they did and whatnot, but it was really cool to see a lot of the guys after the game and then talk to some of the guys during the game. So, it was a cool homecoming.”
Boos aside, Tagovailoa felt the night delivered “mixed emotions.”
“Being able to come back, play at Hard Rock,” Tagovailoa said, “but then the perspective changes being on the opposite sideline, looking at guys across, knowing a lot of guys on that side of the field.”
Tagovailoa had an up-and-down night in the Falcons’ 17-12 victory over the Dolphins. He started and led the offense for three drives, during which the Falcons gained 111 yards, averaged 7.9 yards per play and picked up six first downs on 14 plays — but only scored once.
Spearheaded by a 37-yard catch-and-run from tight end Kyle Pitts, Tagovailoa guided the Falcons down the field on an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to open the game. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. found the end zone from 3 yards out, capping an effective, efficient series.
The Falcons’ second drive lasted one play. Tagovailoa and backup center Corey Levin fumbled the snap exchange, and a diving effort from Tagovailoa wasn’t enough to corral the ball. The Dolphins recovered.
When Tagovailoa and the first-team offense returned for their third possession, fans booed Tagovailoa once more. He led another solid drive, marching 39 yards in five plays, but Robinson fumbled a hand-off up the middle and the Dolphins jumped on it.
Tagovailoa finished the night 7-for-8 passing for 95 yards, and Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said he was pleased with how his signal-caller navigated the emotions of a challenging night.
“Tua’s a pro,” Stefanski said postgame. “I thought he handled the game really well. There’s a lot of emotion I’m sure that comes when you come back to a place you’ve been before, and he compartmentalized it. And other than being on the opposite sideline, I thought he really did a nice job of handling all of it.”
Starting games in Hard Rock Stadium is something of a commonality for Tagovailoa. Whether he gets to chart a similar path in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium remains to be seen.
The Falcons’ quarterback competition between Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. is still open. Stefanski didn’t disclose the team’s plan to manage snaps in practice next week, and the Falcons have no established timeline to name a starter, leading into their Week 1 bout with the Steelers on Sept. 13.
Tagovailoa, at least publicly, is unbothered by the ongoing battle. On Friday night, he chose to cherish the moments he spent catching up with teammates and coaches from his past, not worrying about whether he’ll get the chance to make new ones with the Falcons this fall.
It was, after all, a homecoming — one with mixed emotions, mixed results and an uncertainty of where his road leads next.
“That’s not my job,” Tagovailoa said when asked if he feels he’s done enough to start Week 1. “That’s (general manager Ian Cunningham’s) job. That’s Kev’s job. That’s (offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’) job. My job is to go out there and put points on the board for our guys, and everything else is out of my control. So, you got to put things into perspective, too.”