NFL fans mock Tua Tagovailoa getting caught with apparent Instagram burner account

There aren't many NFL players entering a make-or-break season quite like Tua Tagovailoa.

Ahead of his first season with the Atlanta Falcons, Tagovailoa is out to prove his best years in Miami were no fluke. But throughout training camp, he's also been in a rather unimpressive quarterback competition with Michael Penix Jr., who has not been playing due to injury.

Tagovailoa has already had close eyes on him from NFL fans entering the 2026 season. But on Tuesday, he made himself the subject of some jokes — fans noticed he appeared to leak that he has a "burner" Instagram account by commenting on his own post.

Here's a look at Tagovailoa's Instagram post on Tuesday and why NFL fans mocked him over it.

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Tua Tagovailoa Instagram post

In itself, Tagovailoa's post to Instagram on Tuesday was nothing out of the ordinary — he shared some photos of his early stint with the Falcons, including a shot of him throwing a pass in preseason. 

It wasn't the post that made Tagovailoa the subject of jokes online, though. It was the comment section.

Tagovailoa, on his own account — the same one that made the post — commented, "We're so proud of you!! You got this."

Tua forgot to switch to his burner 😭 pic.twitter.com/SrznFjLYJA

Of course, an Instagram comment of that nature is not typically the way somebody uplifts themself, which is why NFL fans believe Tagovailoa forgot to sign into a "burner account," a term used for temporary social media accounts people make to post without revealing their real identity. Plenty of well-known athletes have received accusations of having a burner account, highlighted by Kevin Durant.

Now, based on his comment section on Tuesday, it appears Tagovailoa has had an Instagram burner account he used to make positive comments on his own posts.

MORE: Why Kevin Durant has been accused of bashing teammates on burner account