The Atlanta Falcons' organizational plan to have Tua Tagovailoa start at quarterback this season, allowing Michael Penix Jr. to recover from a 2025 ACL injury, appears to have been disrupted by Tagovovailoa's performance in training camp and the preseason. ESPN/NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that the starting job is now Penix's to lose.
"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, according to reporting. "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."
However, Tagovailoa's play has reportedly made that strategy untenable. "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."
In the Falcons' first preseason game against the Broncos, Tagovailoa completed three passes for 22 yards. The Falcons acquired Tagovailoa in the offseason after his struggles with the Miami Dolphins.
Penix has recently returned to practice, and Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski indicated on Monday that the young quarterback would split repetitions with the first-team offense. Stefanski declined to speculate on whether Penix would be the Week 1 starter against the Steelers.
"Everything we do around this building is competing," Stefanski told reporters. "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 are scheduled to face the Dolphins, Tagovailoa's former team, in their final preseason game on Friday night.