It feels like every year we're talking about a new quarterback who turned their career around. Typically it's a player who started off a little bit shaky, but showed some flashes of greatness before kicking their career into second gear in a better situation. The QB reclamation project is the new blueprint.
We saw it with Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay in 2023, Sam Darnold with Minnesota in 2024, and Daniel Jones with Indianapolis in 2025. But believe it or not, the Atlanta Falcons are sitting on the NFL's next redemption story at the quarterback position in their expected Week 1 starter Tua Tagovailoa.
It's hard to label Tua a reclamation project in the same vain as Baker or Darnold, since he was quite successful at points during his tenure with the Miami Dolphins. But it all still crashed and burned last year and he was released, so the scenery change to Atlanta will still help him turn things around.
Tua Tagovailoa is going to become the NFL's next Sam Darnold in 2026
Before last season, Tua Tagovailoa was being labeled one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL. He led the Dolphins to the playoffs twice, led the league in passing yards in 2023, and in completion percentage in 2024, so it's not like he has an established track record or anything.
However, things got bad enough to the point that he got cut, but that's a blessing for him. The Dolphins have since cut Tyreek Hill and traded Jaylen Waddle, but in Atlanta, he'll be working with some of the best weapons in the NFL, including Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts.
But the real smoking gun isn't the talent surrounding him: it's the coaching. Kevin Stefanski's offense is predicated on timing and accuracy, and there aren't many passers who are more accurate than Tagovailoa. He completed nearly 73% of his passes in 2024 and has a 68% career completion rate.
Unstable quarterback play has plagued this team for years now, and as weird as it sounds, he's the most talented QB the team has seen since Matt Ryan. So as long as he stays healthy, it's not unreasonable to suggest he keeps the starting job and cements himself as a viable NFL starter.
Every NFL team is searching for the next Sam Darnold, but the Atlanta Falcons may have found theirs for the low price of $1.3 million. Let's be real here: all of the stars are aligned for Tua Tagovailoa to thrive in a situation that's perfect for him once he is named the Week 1 starter as expected.
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