The Atlanta Falcons ended one of the biggest questions of their offseason when they named Tua Tagovailoa the starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two days later, Tagovailoa made it clear how much the opportunity means to him.
“It’s very refreshing. It’s a blessing. That’s the best way I can describe the position I’m in,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
He later added, “How I’m taking it is I got to go with this day-to-day and that’s out of my control. What I can control is how I prepare, how I go out there, how I play, how I perform, and that’s all I can do.”
But Tagovailoa also made clear he isn’t viewing the job as simply another starting assignment.
Tua Tagovailoa Calls Falcons QB1 Job a ‘Blessing’
Tagovailoa’s path to Atlanta’s starting job has been anything but straightforward.
The Miami Dolphins released the former No. 5 overall pick in March, less than two years after signing him to a four-year, $212.4 million extension. Atlanta then signed him to a one-year deal to compete with Michael Penix Jr., who spent most of the offseason recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in November.
Penix was eventually cleared for full-team work late in training camp, but he did not play in the preseason. Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday that Tagovailoa would start against Pittsburgh, Cooper Rush would serve as the backup and Penix would be inactive.
The 28-year-old said he doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone else but wants to prove to himself that he can still play at an elite level.
Tagovailoa has already shown what his best can look like. He led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards in 2023 and earned his first Pro Bowl selection that season.
His final year in Miami went very differently.
Tua Tagovailoa Gets Immediate Steelers Test in Week 1
Tagovailoa finished 2025 with 2,660 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions before Miami benched him for rookie Quinn Ewers over the final three games.
His last start for the Dolphins came in Pittsburgh.
Tagovailoa completed 22 of 28 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 28-15 loss to the Steelers on Dec. 15. Two days later, Miami announced Ewers would take over as its starter.
Now Tagovailoa’s first meaningful snap with Atlanta will come in the same stadium where his Dolphins tenure effectively reached its end.
He isn’t making his Week 1 goal complicated.
“The expectation that I put on myself is to go out there and score one more point than the other team,” Tagovailoa said.
Tagovailoa completed 10 of 13 passes for 117 yards during the preseason and posted a 103.7 passer rating. Those numbers helped him secure the first opportunity, but they won’t decide how long he keeps it.
Stefanski declined Monday to speculate about Atlanta’s quarterback plans beyond Week 1, while Penix said he is “very close” to being 100%.
That makes Tagovailoa’s opportunity significant and potentially fragile.
For now, though, the job belongs to him. After how his Miami tenure ended, Tagovailoa is treating that as something worth appreciating and another chance to show himself that the elite quarterback he once was is still there.
Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa Gets Candid on Week 1 QB1 Job vs. Steelers