It's possible I'll regret this take, but regardless. The veteran quarterback who will probably be joining a new team in the next few weeks that I'm interested in isn't Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr, but Tua Tagovailoa.
I'm aware of the failings. Immobile, concussion-prone, and had a really lousy 2025 season. But there's some good, too.
Tua just -- today, Happy birthday! -- turned 28 years old. That's 10 years younger than Cousins and 7 years younger than Carr, which counts for something. Maybe he couldn't beat either guy in a foot race and his concussion history is scarier, but his body is probably also less brittle and beaten down.
A report over the weekend named the Falcons as a team to watch for Tagovailoa. Atlanta has a new coaching staff, but compared to what Kevin Stefanski worked with for most of his Cleveland tenure, Tagovailoa is a big step up. At least when he was playing well and got his big contract from Miami.
Look at the three seasons prior to last year (2022-2024). In those years, Tagovailoa averaged 269 passing yards and 1.8 TDs per game. That was 3rd in yards and 7th in touchdown passes, among quarterbacks who started at least half the time. Yes he had Tyreek Hill running routes and Mike McDaniel drawing up plays, but it seems like Tagovailoa himself deserves some credit.
In fantasy scoring systems (4-point TD passes and 1 point for every 20 passing yards), Tagovailoa barely made it into the top 12. No rushing production, hurting him relative to everyone else. Although I note he was still better than Cousins and Carr.
| QUARTERBACKS PER GAME, 2022-2024 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | PYd | TDP | RYd | TDR | Pts |
| Josh Allen | 50 | 246.4 | 1.84 | 36.3 | .70 | 27.8 |
| Jalen Hurts | 47 | 222.6 | 1.34 | 42.4 | .89 | 26.2 |
| Lamar Jackson | 45 | 224.3 | 1.82 | 55.6 | .27 | 25.8 |
| Joe Burrow | 43 | 272.1 | 2.16 | 12.7 | .16 | 24.6 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 49 | 272.7 | 1.92 | 21.5 | .12 | 24.3 |
| Brock Purdy | 36 | 256.7 | 1.72 | 13.3 | .22 | 22.4 |
| Dak Prescott | 37 | 252.8 | 1.89 | 12.9 | .11 | 22.3 |
| Justin Fields | 34 | 173.8 | 1.12 | 59.7 | .50 | 22.2 |
| Jared Goff | 51 | 267.5 | 1.88 | 2.9 | .06 | 21.7 |
| Kyler Murray | 36 | 222.7 | 1.25 | 34.3 | .31 | 21.7 |
| Jordan Love | 32 | 235.9 | 1.78 | 10.3 | .16 | 21.2 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 41 | 269.2 | 1.78 | 4.7 | .00 | 21.2 |
| Trevor Lawrence | 43 | 236.6 | 1.33 | 17.4 | .28 | 20.9 |
| Baker Mayfield | 44 | 234.6 | 1.73 | 14.1 | .11 | 20.9 |
| Kirk Cousins | 39 | 266.3 | 1.67 | 3.1 | .05 | 20.8 |
| Justin Herbert | 47 | 249.9 | 1.45 | 14.5 | .11 | 20.6 |
| Geno Smith | 49 | 249.5 | 1.45 | 16.2 | .08 | 20.5 |
| Russell Wilson | 41 | 221.4 | 1.41 | 18.9 | .20 | 19.9 |
| C.J. Stroud | 32 | 244.8 | 1.34 | 12.5 | .09 | 19.5 |
| Daniel Jones | 32 | 193.3 | .78 | 36.8 | .31 | 18.5 |
| Derek Carr | 42 | 227.3 | 1.52 | 5.1 | .02 | 18.3 |
| Matthew Stafford | 40 | 245.4 | 1.35 | 2.9 | .03 | 18.2 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 35 | 216.9 | 1.54 | 5.7 | .03 | 18.0 |
| Bryce Young | 28 | 186.6 | .93 | 17.6 | .21 | 16.2 |
| Mac Jones | 32 | 203.9 | .94 | 8.9 | .06 | 15.3 |
But I think if he's in Atlanta throwing to Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson, he could have some value. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but I think he's a better dice-roll than an elderly Cousins or a rusty Carr. I'm interested to see where he ends up.
--Andy Richardson
