In his first (and potentially only) season with the Atlanta Falcons, Tua Tagovailoa has a laundry list of people he needs to prove wrong, including those who think his best days are behind him. But at the top of that list is the Miami Dolphins for cutting him, but he'll get a chance to make them regret that after signing a low-stakes prove-it deal with Atlanta.
In the Falcons' final preseason game on Aug. 28, they are headed to Hard Rock Stadium to face off with the Dolphins in a matchup where Tagovailoa will make his return to Miami. It's a bummer that this game won't come in the regular season, since his return really won't matter in the way that we expect.
This is the preseason mind you. Most people would rather watch Jared Leto movies on loop than watch a collection of third-stringers and NFL hopefuls fight for a roster spot in the preseason. You almost never see starter-worthy players take the field, so this doesn't offer much sentimental value.
Tua Tagovailoa won't be able to get his revenge on the Dolphins this summer
The Falcons open up the preseason hosting the Denver Broncos, and will hit the road to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 before this Dolphins' matchup. Seeing Tua briefly take the field in one of those two matchups to get his feet wet in the offense would make sense, but starters almost never play by the final week of the preseason..
I would be genuinely shocked if the Dirty Birds risk injury to one of their most important players in a preseason revenge game. He can want to prove the team who invested a top-five pick and over $200 million into him wrong for cutting him all he wants, but that doesn't mean Kevin Stefanski will listen.
Stefanski wasn't born yesterday. Michael Penix Jr. is progressing but he is still no guarantee for Week 1, so allowing Tua to play (and risk getting hurt) against his old team is a huge mistake. He already has enough of an injury history, so he better stick to building rapport with his new team in training camp.
It would be fun to see him for maybe a series or two against the Phins, since that's all he'll really do against the Colts and Broncos, but the risks clearly outweigh the benefits. The QB room is riddled with enough controversy, so they don't need the 28-year-old getting hurt in a meaningless game.
If this was a regular season matchup, the storylines would write themselves, but nobody really cares about the preseason. If he really wants to prove the Miami fanbase wrong, he'd be better off waiting until the regular season, where Malik Willis will inevitably stumble, to make his point to his old team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google