A post and subsequent comment on the Instagram account of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa caught the eye of fans on Tuesday.
The post featured a picture of Tagovailoa on the sidelines during the Falcons’ final preseason game against the quarterback’s former team, the Miami Dolphins.
Tua Sends Himself Praises In Comment Section
It seemed normal enough, however, fans were then confused after Tagovailoa seemed to praise himself in the comments under the Instagram post.
“We’re so proud of you!! You got this (heart emoji),” the comment that initially originated from Tagovailoa’s account read.
While that comment was later deleted, social media users captured screenshots and used it to troll the quarterback online.
“Tua’s fried brain forgot to switch to the burner account (crying emoji),” popular X account @NFLMemes wrote about the signal caller’s Instagram post, referencing Tagovailoa’s past battles with concussions.
“He’s seeing double, just like when he’s throws those awful picks,” X user @TheWickedNoise added.
A reasonable explanation for the Instagram comment quickly surfaced. It seems that Tagovailoa’s wife, Annah, may have had access to her husband’s account and wrote the comment thinking she had already switched back to her own Instagram profile.
Tua’s Wife May Have Been To Blame, Not Alleged Burner Account
Screenshots later captured Tagovailoa’s wife making the same exact comment, which initially raised questions, under the post that after the first comment was deleted.
In an interview earlier this year, the Falcons quarterback addressed his personal use, or lack thereof, on social media platforms.
“I don’t have social media, so I don’t see any of that,” Tagovailoa said. “We have our team posting for us, doing the posts on Twitter, Instagram. I don’t know what else there is outside of that, but that’s been the easiest way for me to block out the noise.”
“Now my wife on the other hand, my wife is totally different,” Tagovailoa added. “I’m with the kids. If anything, social media for me is YouTube. Now I like to golf. I like to fish. I like to spearfish, so I’ll go watch those videos and see how guys do. I enjoy boats, so I like looking at the Miami boat show.”
“My wife already knows if it’s not something good, you don’t share it with me unless it’s that important. So I would say that’s what helped me. I don’t have social media on my phone outside of YouTube,” he added.
Tagovailoa, a former first-round pick of the Dolphins after a college career at Alabama, signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Falcons in March. Miami released the quarterback after he spent his first six seasons with the franchise.
Tua Is At NFL Crossroads
Tagovailoa is a strong candidate to start the season opener for the Falcons, as 2024 Falcons first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. sat out all three preseason games due to ACL surgery recovery; Penix said last week that he should be healthy enough to play in Week 1 if called upon.
The Falcons open the 2026 NFL season in Pittsburgh against the Steelers on Sept. 13, although new head coach Kevin Stefanski does not seem to be in a rush to name a starting quarterback publicly.
“Honestly, not trying to be coy, just we’ll focus on what’s available to us, what information’s available to us,” Stefanski said last week, per ESPN. “Obviously, this has been something that we need to work through as people come back off of injury and then Tua is injured (back) to start camp and then Mike’s been injured, not doing the 11-on-11s.
“So, every day you’re just trying to make decisions based on who’s available to you. The good news is [we’re] very, very happy with our guys and the progress they’ve all made.”
