Tua pulls a Kevin Durant: Falcons QB accidentally congratulates himself on Instagram

T ua Tagovailoa has found himself at the center of an unexpected social-media controversy, and this time it has nothing to do with what happened on a football field.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback appeared to congratulate himself in the comments section of his own Instagram post Tuesday, prompting fans to immediately joke that the former Miami Dolphins star had been caught using a burner account.

Tagovailoa had uploaded a collection of photographs from his first preseason with Atlanta, showing himself in his Falcons uniform. The post was captioned simply, “For the A.” Then came the comment that caused all the chaos.

An account bearing Tagovailoa's own Instagram handle, @tuaman, appeared underneath the post with the message: “We’re so proud of you!! You got this.”

It did not take long for followers to notice the apparent contradiction. Why would Tagovailoa publicly congratulate himself from his own verified account?

The obvious answer on social media was that the quarterback had accidentally forgotten to switch profiles before posting a message from a supposedly secret account.

One commenter joked: “Tough scenes when QB1 has a burner, lfg [Jack] Strand.” Another added: “Bro forgot to switch to his burner.”

Screenshots quickly circulated, making the incident far more difficult to ignore. However, the explanation appears to be considerably less dramatic than the initial reaction suggested.

The comment was subsequently changed to Tagovailoa's wife, Anna Tagovailoa's account. A separate report from For The Win noted that Anna, also referred to as Annah in some reports, runs her husband's Instagram account and apparently forgot to switch profiles before commenting.

In other words, there is no evidence that Tagovailoa actually maintains a secret account designed to praise himself. That distinction did little to stop the jokes.

“He deleted the comment as if we didn’t screenshot it,” one commenter added.

The timing could hardly be worse for Tagovailoa

The Instagram mishap would probably have been little more than a funny internet moment under different circumstances.

But Tagovailoa is currently dealing with a much more serious question about his future in Atlanta.

The former No. 5 overall pick arrived at the Falcons in March after Miami released him following six seasons with the Dolphins . Atlanta signed him to a one-year deal, initially giving him a realistic opportunity to compete for the starting job while Michael Penix Jr. continued his recovery from a torn ACL.

The expectation entering training camp was that Tagovailoa could begin the season as Atlanta's starter.

Instead, his performance has complicated the situation.

Penix was initially limited as he worked his way back from injury, while Tagovailoa also missed time early in camp because of a back issue. Once both quarterbacks became more involved, however, the competition failed to resolve itself in Tagovailoa's favor. Penix was eventually cleared for full-team work on Aug. 22.

Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski has continued to keep the quarterback decision open, even with the regular season rapidly approaching.

Reuters reported last week that Stefanski had not named a Week 1 starter despite Penix missing the entire preseason, emphasizing that Atlanta's evaluation would continue.

Tagovailoa did get an opportunity to make his case in the preseason finale against Miami. He started and showed some encouraging moments before being pulled, but the bigger picture remains uncertain.

For a quarterback who arrived in Atlanta looking for a fresh start, the situation represents a significant change from his earlier career.

Tagovailoa spent six seasons as Miami's starter after being selected fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins released him in March with a post-June 1 designation after he threw for 18,166 yards and 120 touchdowns during his tenure with the franchise. He had also earned Pro Bowl honors in 2023 and led the NFL in passing yards that season.

Now, he is trying to establish himself again. The Falcons open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers , leaving little time for Stefanski to settle the quarterback hierarchy.

So while the Instagram incident is unlikely to have any meaningful effect on Atlanta's decision, it has certainly provided another storyline during an already uncomfortable stretch for Tagovailoa .

The internet may have briefly decided that Tua was pulling a Kevin Durant and secretly hyping himself up.

In reality, it appears to have been a simple account-switching mistake involving his wife.

Either way, screenshots live forever, and with the quarterback competition still unresolved, Tagovailoa probably has more important things to worry about than his Instagram comments.