Sports
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
Dec 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) in the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Tua Tagovailoa said he welcomes the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job in a new NFL city and reboot his career.
The Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, signed him to a massive contract extension and then released him last month. He signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, where he’s expected to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me, and I’m looking for a fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, go back out and play good football,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, speaking in public for the first time about his career change of course.
The Falcons signed him to a one-year, $1.2 million deal — the veteran minimum — while the Falcons will pay him the more than $50 million he is still owed from the four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed in July 2024.
“The best thing for me right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team in terms of the relationships I make with these guys,” he said. “I get to freaking play football. This is what I dreamed of my entire life. I am going to be present. I’m going to be in the moment. I’m going to be where my feet are.”
Penix, who began the 2025 season as the Falcons’ starter, tore an ACL in Week 11 and missed the rest of the season.
“Everybody, not just those two, is coming in to compete. There are no starters right now,” general manager Ian Cunningham said on March 10, when Tagovailoa joined the Falcons. “We are excited to have Tua, but we’re excited to have all the players we were able to get (via free agency).”
Tagovailoa, 28, said he is OK with competing with Penix.
“Competition is just a thing in the NFL. I am no stranger to competition — had it in college,” Tagovailoa said. “I would say competition is just going to be there, and competition enhances the play of everyone. I don’t think the mindset changes at all. … I embrace the competition. I am excited to work alongside Mike.”
The NFL’s leading passer and a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa compiled a 44-32 record in six seasons in Miami. He has completed 68.0% of his throws for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
The 2023 season is the only one of his six campaigns in which he appeared in every game. His career has been interrupted by a variety of injuries, including at least three known concussions while in the NFL.
Penix, 25, is 4-8 as a starter, completing 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Atlanta selected him No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The agent for veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Siemian, 34, also is joining the Falcons’ QB room.
Terms weren’t disclosed for Siemian, who last appeared in an NFL regular-season game in 2023 with the New York Jets. He spent most of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
Suns guard Jalen Green (4) drives against Bucks forward Pete Nance (35) during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on March 21, 2026. The Milwaukee Bucks converted forward Pete Nance’s two-way contract to a fully guaranteed deal.
The Bucks waived guard Cam Thomas in a corresponding move prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Thomas, 24, signed with the team as a free agent on Feb. 8 and averaged 10.7 points in 18 games off the bench with Milwaukee.
As for Nance, he was elated with the notion of receiving a new deal. The contract made him available to play in the team’s final 11 games this season and runs through the 2026-27 campaign.
“To be able to be in this spot is just awesome,” Nance said after the Bucks’ shootaround, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Obviously I’m super thankful for the Bucks for giving me the opportunity. I think it’s just a testament to growth and the work that I’ve done and the experience that I’ve had over the years.”
Nance, 26, is averaging 4.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 37 games off the bench this season.
Thomas was benched after playing just three minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on March 14. He was held out of consecutive games on March 15 and 17 due to what was listed as a coach’s decision before returning to the court against the Utah Jazz last Thursday.
“There are things we don’t need to talk about,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said, per the newspaper. “That’s not anybody’s business. Like I said before, that’s where as a coach you have to make decisions on what’s best for the team at that time. People don’t understand that. They start talking about other stuff. And, that’s not for anyone to know.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David schedule news conference
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon at the team facility.
The Buccaneers did not divulge an official reason for the conference, however speculation is strong that David will announce his retirement from the NFL.
David, 36, is a free agent after spending his entire 14-year career with Tampa Bay.
He recorded 114 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries while starting all 17 games last season. It was his 12th season with triple-digit tackles.
An All-Pro selection in 2013 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015, David has 1,716 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 21 fumble recoveries in 215 games (all starts).
David was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin on cusp of season World Cup title
Feb 18, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women’s slalom during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images Mikaela Shiffrin will ski Wednesday for the season World Cup overall title.
Heading into the giant slalom, the final race of the season, Shiffrin has an 85-point lead over Emma Aicher of Germany.
Shiffrin won her ninth slalom in 10 World Cup starts this season on Tuesday, earning 100 points. She increased her overall lead on Aicher, who finished third to grab 60 points.
To take the title, Aicher must win the race — a discipline in which she never has finished higher than fourth — and hope that Shiffrin finishes worse than 15th.
Shiffrin, 31, is striving to win her sixth overall World Cup title, which would tie her with Annemarie Moser-Proll. The Austrian won five season titles from 1971-75 and the final one in 1979.
The 2026 Olympic champion in the slalom, Shiffrin won the World Cup title in consecutive years from 2017-19 and again in 2022 and 2023.
With her slalom win on Tuesday, Shiffrin earned her 110th career victory on the World Cup circuit, extending her lead over Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 86 before his retirement in 1989.
–Field Level Media
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David schedule news conference
