Patrick Paul isn’t hiding how he feels about Tua Tagovailoa.
The Miami Dolphins offensive tackle spoke warmly about his former teammate after Tagovailoa’s move to the Atlanta Falcons, making it clear the bond between them is still intact even after Miami moved on from the quarterback following six years and an underwhelming 2025 season.
Appearing Friday on “The Set with Terron Armstead,” Paul called Tagovailoa “That's my dawg,” and said, “As a person, I love him. Yeah, for life, that's my dawg.
So, I know the season didn't go how he wanted. And truthfully, you got to understand from his POV, it just didn't go how he wanted.
So, I think for him going into Atlanta now, he's got, you know, a new situation, a new environment.
“And I know he's going to go in there. He's definitely going to win that spot.
He's a great player. So definitely rooting for him.
I know he's going to bounce back from what was last year and he's going to do his thing over there. So I'm waiting to see it, waiting to see his bounce back for sure.
That's all it is. It's just a bounce back.”
Paul’s comments fit the way many Dolphins players viewed Tagovailoa during his time in Miami, where he guided the team through highs and lows despite injury concerns and uneven play up front.
Tagovailoa’s early work in Atlanta has already drawn praise, too. Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said during minicamp in June that the quarterback has made a strong impression as he gets adjusted to a new system.
“He's learning, and he's [saying], ‘Hey, you may have called this the last six years, we're going to call this,’” Stefanski said. “Some of the things that we're going to do with our formations and our motions are a little bit different than what you're doing.
“I think he's done a great job of attacking the learning portion of this and then just getting comfortable in the scheme, getting comfortable in the drills, getting comfortable with your teammates. It's something that when you're new, you just have to work at it. And I've seen a young man who's really working at it.”
Tagovailoa is believed to be in the lead for the starting job ahead of Michael Penix Jr., who has yet to fully recover from the injury he suffered last season. That gives the one-time Pro Bowler a chance to reset and push for a strong return.
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