The Atlanta Falcons aren’t exactly feeling great about their decision to sign Tua Tagovailoa.
After finishing the 2025 season with 2,660 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, Tagovailoa quickly reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Falcons. He was brought in to take over Kevin Stefanski’s offense while Michael Penix Jr. recovers from an ACL injury.
Well, the Falcons may have to change their plans. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, it’s “impossible” for Atlanta to feel comfortable with its plan after watching Tagovailoa struggle in the preseason and training camp.
“It really seemed that the goal of the entire organization was to have Tua be the starting quarterback right away to start the season,” Rapoport said. “Let Michael Penix come along slow. … Really you’d like him to be inactive for the first several games and really just take his time and make sure he’s fully healthy. Tua’s play made that impossible, not just in the preseason game, which we’ve seen, but it sounds like practice as well. All of which is to say, this is Michael Penix’s job for the taking.”
Brett Davis-Imagn Images.
One last chance coming up for Tua.
The Falcons will start Tagovailoa in their preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins. That’ll be the final chance for him to impress Atlanta’s coaching staff.
“I think you look at the whole body of work, you certainly know where guys have been in their career,” Falcons offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “You know what they have done in real games, on a big stage. So, certainly, there are things you can draw back to, talk through and know that guys have handled things in the past. We’re really trying to evaluate how they’ve handled [a new offensive install], what we have asked them to do and I have been pleased with the progression.”
If Tagovailoa plays well, maybe the Falcons can start him Week 1 with confidence. For now though, he’s clearly a placeholder for Penix.
