Add The New York Post on Google Tua Tagovailoa’s play during the preseason and training camp appeared to have nixed the plans to have him start this season in Atlanta in order to give Michael Penix Jr. more time to recover from his 2025 ACL injury.
ESPN/NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday night that the Falcons starting job is now Penix’s to lose after Tagovailoa’s play in training camp and the preseason.
“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.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) warms up during a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts at the Colts’ NFL football training camp in Westfield, Ind., Wednesday, August 19, 2026. AP Photo/Michael Conroy “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.”
Tagovailoa did not play well in the Falcons’ first preseason game against the Broncos when he had three completions for 22 yards.
The Falcons signed Tagovailoa this offseason after he was dumped by the Dolphins as his struggles mounted in Miami.
Penix was able to get back in the mix this week and Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Monday that the young QB would split reps with the first-team offense on Monday.
However, the head coach would not speculate on whether Penix will be the team’s starter for Week 1 against the Steelers.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on the field during the first day of training camp at IBM Performance Field in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images “Everything we do around this building is competing,” Stefanski said. “I know it’s easy to say, ‘position battles,’ and those types of things, but we’re constantly competing. That’s not the focus for our guys. Our guys are pushing each other by showing up and putting in the work.”
The Falcons will face the Dolphins – Tagovailoa’s former team – on Friday night in the team’s final preseason game.
