Tua Tagovailoa was cut loose by the Miami Dolphins this offseason as they tried to get out from under his massive contract.
That sent the lefty quarterback on a path to join the Atlanta Falcons, where he has spent the summer competing for the starting job.
Tagovailoa is up against Michael Penix, another lefty, as they try to impress new front office boss Matt Ryan and new head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The Falcons don’t have a lot of time to name a starting QB, although they haven’t done it yet. They open the season on the Sunday of Week 1, Sept. 13.
Pretty soon, the whole football world will know whether Tua won the starting job or not.
And based on some new information, it’s pretty clear exactly when everyone else will know.
Falcons’ Starting QB Decision Timeline
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noted in a new article on Friday that the Falcons have scheduled a “Starting Quarterback Press Conference” for Wednesday, Sept. 9.
That suggests that by that date, the decision will be made.
It makes sense, of course, because that allows whoever the starter is to get a full and regular week of game preparation before the Falcons play their season opener.
“The competition, ostensibly, is between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr,” Florio writes. “But how, as (Chris) Simms said on Thursday’s PFT Live, can it be a competition when Penix hasn’t been able to compete?”
Penix is still recovering from a knee injury, and although it seems he’s right about at full strength, it is true he hasn’t had the same chance to show what he can do this summer as Tagovailoa has.
Even if that press conference isn’t until Wednesday, Florio adds, it’s safe to expect the actual Falcons decision to happen sooner.
“Our guess is that it will happen early in the week, probably on Monday, with the announcement coming Tuesday morning at the earliest,” Florio writes. “And if Penix still isn’t ready to go as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, the likely options are Tua and Cooper Rush. (I’d roll the dice with undrafted rookie Jack Strand, but that’s possibly one of the many reasons why I don’t run a team.)”
The idea that it could be Cooper Rush seems outlandish after how badly he struggled for the Ravens a season ago, but Florio’s speculation suggests that nothing is out of the question — and yeah, Strand impressed a lot of people in the preseason.
“It made sense to sign Tua,” Florio writes. “He was cheap. He beat the Falcons in Atlanta last year. When everything is working as planned, he can perform at a high level. When, however, things go sideways (e.g., if the first read isn’t there), Tua tends to get happy feet. The Falcons gave it a try. Tua gave it a try. If he can’t beat out Rush for the Week 1 start in Pittsburgh (where Tua made his last start for the Dolphins last December), there’s no reason to keep him on the roster. Frankly, if Tua falls behind Rush, Tua shouldn’t want to stay.”
Falcons First Game
Atlanta opens the season on the road in an unforgiving environment: Pittsburgh.
The Steelers still have a strong pass rush, and that might not be too fun for Tagovailoa to face off with.
Still, he’d much rather be QB1 than a different spot on the depth chart.
Tua Tagovailoa Knows When He’ll Learn Starting Decision With Falcons