Michael Penix Jr.’s path to solidifying his role as the Atlanta Falcons’ franchise quarterback just hit a significant and unexpected roadblock. Tua Tagovailoa still brings six years of NFL experience. According to Adam Schefter, the Atlanta Falcons could look to tap into that value during the 2026 season.

“Now the Falcons have two left-handed quarterbacks,” Schefter said recently on Get Up, ESPN. “They are the only quarterbacks on their roster. (Michael) Penix is coming off the torn ACL. Smart play…he’s going to have the chance to start there. It’s a new coaching staff, it’s a new front office, they’re not married to Michael Penix…Tua will have a legitimate chance to be the starting quarterback there, and who knows how that might revive his career.”

Schefter’s comment that the “Falcons are not married to Michael Penix Jr.” makes things interesting. If that valuation holds, whether Tagovailoa earns the starting job in 2026 after signing his one-year deal with Atlanta could ultimately hinge on that exact point.

Left-handed quarterbacks in the NFL are a rare commodity, with there currently being only three (Dillon Gabriel of the Cleveland Browns being the third). As for Penix, his three separate ACL injuries have complicated matters.

There is no denying that Penix is a talented quarterback. The former first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was Atlanta’s primary option entering the 2025 season. But so far, he has not quite established himself as a clear franchise quarterback.

His arrival itself came at an unusual moment. The Falcons had already signed Kirk Cousins, and the expectation at the time was that Cousins would lead the offense. But once Cousins struggled, Penix eventually got the nod during his rookie year.

In 2024, Penix appeared in five games and finished with 775 passing yards, a 58.1 percent completion rate, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. He followed that up with better production in 2025.

Last season, he threw for 1,982 yards with a 60.1 percent completion rate, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions across nine games. That being said, he has yet to feature in ten games in a season. The potential is clear, but a poor completion rate could add second thoughts.

For now, Penix has remained confident that he will be ready to start in Week 1 of the 2026 season. The real question is whether new head coach Kevin Stefanski will hand him the starting job right away.

That is where things could become complicated for Penix, and where Tagovailoa enters the conversation with a legitimate chance to compete.

Earlier, Cousins served as Penix’s backup. Now the situation looks different with Tagovailoa in that role. While Tagovailoa’s struggles are well-documented, he is still younger than Cousins. At the same time, this is now Stefanski’s team. Historically, the head coach has not been afraid to create quarterback competitions.

In a scenario where Tagovailoa begins offseason workouts with the starting reps, it would not be surprising to see Stefanski open the door for a genuine competition at the position.

Another detail also works in Tagovailoa’s favor. He is a left-handed quarterback. That means the Falcons’ offensive weapons, such as Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts, are already accustomed to operating in an offense built around a left-handed passer.

Many critics will point to Tagovailoa’s poor 2025 season, and the criticism is understandable. He threw 15 interceptions and was benched for the final three games of the season. At the same time, it is also worth remembering that he completed over 72 percent of his passes and posted a 101.4 passer rating in 2024.

One final factor is the environment itself: the Falcons play in a domed stadium, which removes many of the cold-weather concerns that have followed Tagovailoa throughout his career.

Put all of that together, and the move starts to make more sense. Tagovailoa has joined a team whose offense is already accustomed to a left-handed quarterback. It doesn’t currently have an established veteran starter. It is led by a coach who values competition at the position, and features a projected starter who is returning from a significant injury.

At this point, everything comes down to what happens in the offseason. If Tagovailoa can impress the coaching staff during offseason workouts, there is a realistic path where his one-year stint in Atlanta could end up reviving his career.

While the Falcons now potentially head to a QB competition, Tua’s release has kind of become a headache for the Dolphins.

Tua Tagovailoa’s release is a financial headache for the Dolphins

A disappointing 2025 season and the benching for the final three games were enough for many to speculate that Tua Tagovailoa’s time with the Dolphins was coming to an end.

That is exactly how things eventually played out, with the team’s new general manager, Jon-Eric Sullivan, releasing an official statement confirming the franchise’s decision to move on from the 28-year-old.

“I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position and will be releasing him after the start of the new league year,” the statement read.

The decision, however, has created a significant financial challenge for the Dolphins. According to reports, the franchise is absorbing a historic $99 million hit in dead money following Tagovailoa’s release. Miami had signed the quarterback to a four-year, $212 million contract extension in 2024.

But with the deal ending prematurely before the 2026 season, the team is now dealing with the financial consequences.

For a broader context, the Dolphins applied a post-June 1 designation to the move. That structure allows the team to spread the cap impact across two seasons. We’re talking about a $67.4 million dead-cap charge in 2026, followed by $31.8 million in 2027.

With that, Tagovailoa’s six-year run in Miami officially comes to a close. While he delivered a few strong seasons during his time with the franchise, the decision ultimately ended his tenure just two years after signing the record-setting extension in 2024.