The Atlanta Falcons made their starting quarterback decision on Monday morning.
But the news that Tua Tagovailoa will get the Week 1 start against the imposing Pittsburgh Steelers defense doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be the starter all season long.
Michael Penix Jr. is still very much in the picture, and after the Falcons officially announced Tua’s role on their social media channels, a couple of NFL insiders made sure to tap the brakes on the outlook just a bit.
What About Michael Penix?
The reality is that Penix, recovering from knee surgery, was never fully healthy enough to compete with Tagovailoa this offseason.
The competition was left conceptually open by new head coach Kevin Stefanski, but in the end, it was always going to be Tua for Week 1 since Penix simply wasn’t quite ready.
“Michael Penix tore his ACL last November and wasn’t cleared for 11-on-11 work until Aug. 22,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X on Monday morning. “His turn likely is coming this season, but for now, the Falcons are going with Tua Tagovailoa.”
The key words there: “His turn is likely coming this season.”
Given Penix’s draft status, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to totally banish him to the bench unless Tagovailoa was shining incredibly bright.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer added this take on X: “The ‘For Week 1’ part of the announcement is interesting, and indicative of the fact that Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t cleared for 11-on-11 work until two weeks ago. Timing a big piece of the decision-making here.”
If the season started two weeks later, maybe the choice would be different. But it doesn’t, and so the Falcons find themselves with the former Dolphins QB Tagovailoa at the helm of their potentially strong offense.
Tagovailoa has plenty of weapons to work with. Bijan Robinson is a superstar running back. Drake London is one of the NFL’s top receivers. Kyle Pitts is a tantalizingly talented tight end.
Can Tua turn that into yards and points? That’s what the Falcons will be hoping, because the NFC South Division is wide open for the taking.
Falcons’ QB Carousel
The Falcons have had a different starting quarterback in Week 1 for each of the last six seasons, a fact Schefter noted on X.
Matt Ryan got the opening week nod in 2021. He now leads the Falcons’ front office.
In 2022, it was Marcus Mariota who started the first game of the season.
The 2023 season began with the once-promising Desmond Ridder at the helm.
In 2024, Kirk Cousins got the call after his big free agent contract.
By the start of the 2025 season, Penix had taken over for Cousins.
Now, Penix is on the sideline trying to get up to speed as Tagovailoa comes on board to start.
His former Miami team has moved on to Malik Willis, who they signed in free agency from the Packers. The Dolphins cut Tagovailoa in large part because of his massive contract.
The Falcons don’t have to worry about the financial side of things. Tua was cheap to them because of how much money he’s still owed by Miami.
All the Falcons want to do is win football games, and it’s very likely Tagovailoa won’t be the only QB who starts for Atlanta with that pursuit this season. They’ve got Penix, and veteran backup Cooper Rush, and even talented undrafted rookie Jack Strand. Things are far from settled at quarterback in the ATL.
Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa News Comes With Michael Penix Reminder