Earlier this year, on March 13, 2026, Tua Tagovailoa moved from the Miami Dolphins and signed a one-year, $1.215 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. It seemed like a solution to fill the Falcons’ QB1 Michael Penix Jr.’s spot, who was recovering from an ACL tear. But with Penix Jr. now medically cleared to join the team drills, does it complicate the situation for Tagovailoa? Mike Florio believes so.
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“The Atlanta Falcons still haven’t named a starting quarterback for week one, and they don’t know when they’re going to, and one of the primary candidates, Michael Penix Jr., is a guy who just was cleared to participate in 11-on-11 drills after his latest ACL tear,” Florio said on Pro Football Talk. “What does all of that say about their feelings regarding Tua Tagovailoa?
“Shouldn’t he be the starter by now? And if he hasn’t won the starting job by now, you have to wonder whether or not he’s even gonna be on the roster by Monday. $1.3 million is all they’re paying him this year… And Tua has played some good football. But we haven’t seen many clips so far this training camp in preseason of Tua Tagovailoa. Getting the job done well and it could be that the Falcons just decide they’re done with this experiment before it even officially starts.”
Tua Tagovailoa comes in with more experience than Michael Penix Jr. Drafted as the fifth overall in 2020 by the Dolphins, Tagovailoa made 78 regular-season appearances for the franchise, where he threw for 18,166 yards while posting 120 touchdowns.
On the other hand, Penix Jr. will be entering his third NFL season and has played only 14 games, where he racked up 2,757 passing yards and 12 TDs. But what complicates the situation for Tagovailoa other than analyst Mike Florio’s assessment? It’s his preseason performance.
In the Atlanta Falcons’ two preseason games so far, Tagovailoa appeared only during the Week 1 clash against the Denver Broncos. He started the game but played only the first quarter, where the 28-year-old QB completed 3-of-5 passes for 22 yards.
“It really seemed that the goal of the entire organization was to have Tua be the starting quarterback right away to start the season,” Ian Rapoport said on The Insiders. “Let Michael Penix come along slow… 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.”
Surely not a good outlook on Tua Tagovailoa, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport iterated the Falcons’ trust in Michael Penix Jr., who recently recovered from a season-ending injury (torn ACL) suffered in November 2025.
“I got cleared to do 11-on-11 for practice, obviously,” Penix said. “But each and every day, I’m getting better, getting more confident. I’m not playing this week because, obviously, I only had three practices under my belt doing 11-on-11 stuff. But I’ve been feeling really good, and… I’ll be where I need to be mentally and physically to feel confident enough to go out there Week 1.”
For the third-year QB, the immediate exposure to an NFL game after missing months of action might be difficult to handle. Yet, Penix Jr. has been confident.
On the other hand, before the regular season kicks off and HC Kevin Stefanski comes up with his QB1 decision, Tagovailoa will have another shot to prove his prowess, as he will start the preseason finale game against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, August 28.