Tagovailoa: 'Got to play better' to challenge for Falcons' QB1 - ESPN

New Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he is comfortable competing for the starting quarterback job with Michael Penix Jr. after a season he deemed as below his standard.

Tagovailoa spoke to the media Tuesday for the first time since signing with the Falcons two weeks ago. He was released earlier this month by the Miami Dolphins, who took on an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money against their salary cap to part ways with him. Tagovailoa lost his starting job last season after throwing a career-high 15 interceptions, two years removed from leading the league in passing yards.

«If you're looking at last year, my play wasn't up to the standard of the way I've been playing football the past… three years since the new contract,» Tagovailoa said during a virtual news conference. «So, just got to play better football. That's what that really means. There's no other way to sugarcoat that or go around that.»

The Falcons signed Tagovailoa to a veteran minimum contract: $1.3 million for one year. Atlanta general manager Ian Cunningham said two weeks ago that Tagovailoa will compete with Penix for the starting job, when Penix is healthy. Penix went down in Week 11 with a torn left ACL and needed reconstructive surgery.

Tagovailoa said he knows Penix a bit through Tagovailoa's younger brother. He said he is happy to compete with Penix, as well as help the younger player. The Falcons drafted Penix at No. 8 overall in 2024.

«You're either a competitor or you're not, you just don't go from being a competitor to 'let me just relax a little bit,'» Tagovailoa said. «I just don't think that's how it works.… And so, I embrace the competition. I'm excited to work alongside with Mike and I'm excited to work with the team, with