Tua Tagovailoa: Last season wasn't up to my standard, and I need to play better

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Tua Tagovailoa wouldn't blame his departure from Miami on anyone but himself. He said he didn't want "to get too much in depth with things that were going on." Instead, in his introductory news conference in Atlanta, the quarterback conceded his play didn't live up to expectations. "If you're looking at last year, my play wasn’t up to the standard of the way I've been playing football in the past . . . three years since the new contract," Tagovailoa said. "So, [I've] 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 Dolphins benched him last season after he threw a career-high 15 interceptions in 14 games, turning over the starting job to rookie Quinn Ewers. The team completely moved on earlier this month, releasing him despite taking on an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead cap money. He signed a $1.3 million deal with the Falcons. “Last year wasn't the best year for me,” Tagovailoa said. “I'm looking for a fresh start, but fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, being able to go back out there and playing football, good football. And I think the best football is still ahead of me.”