When the Atlanta Falcons signed Tua Tagovailoa, the belief was that the former Pro Bowl quarterback would be able to beat out Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job. Especially considering the Falcons’ former first-round pick had been recovering from last season’s partially torn ACL.
Yet, even though Penix only recently got cleared to practice on Monday, he may already be ahead of Tagovailoa on the Falcons’ depth chart. However, the team’s preseason finale Friday night will give Tagovailoa a chance to separate himself from the pack, as Penix will not be participating in the exhibition contest.
NFL Reporter Outlines Bad News for Tua Tagovailoa
The Falcons have yet to declare a starting QB for their Week 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 13. Yet, Cameron Wolfe stated on ESPN’s “NFL Live” that Tagovailoa has a “huge opportunity” in the team’s preseason finale, playing with the starters. If he doesn’t perform well, it could give Penix even more momentum toward being named the starter.
“A huge opportunity for Tua Tagovailoa tonight,” Wolfe said. “The starters will play, including Tua. I’m expecting 15 to 20 plays. From what I am told. It could change based on how the Dolphins play. But this is an opportunity for Tua to make his mark, his argument to Kevin Stefanski and their president of football, Matt Ryan, that he should be the starting quarterback.”
Of course, Tagovailoa’s preseason opportunity could go the other way. While he has a chance to improve his stock, it’s possible his training camp struggles will carry over to the games too.
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“From what I’m told, Tua’s really struggled at times during camp,” Wolfe added. “He’s played inconsistent and he came into this battle as the heavy favorite largely because Michael Penix has not been cleared. Through his inconsistency, it has allowed Michael Penix to get back into this quarterback race, and I’m told this could go into next week, where they watch Michael Penix practice again.”
Given that the coaching staff has left this competition open, there is increased pressure on Tagovailoa, who ranked 28th on PFN’s QB Impact Rankings last year, to perform at a high level against NFL hopefuls in Miami, as he takes on his old Dolphins team.
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“For today, Tua has to ball out,” Wolfe added. “There’s two things that Kevin Stefanski wants to watch. How does he handle the operation? He struggled with that a lot in the first preseason game. They had a true dress-rehearsal game plan. They put in regular-season-style plays for Miami to see how Tua can handle the moment. Can he show up in real time?”
Huge opportunity tonight for Tua Tagovailoa to make case for Falcons QB1 job. He starts w/ rough 15-20 plays with starters
Tua had camp struggles opening door for Michael Penix Jr. who is now fully cleared
Tonight is about Tua. For ESPN NFL Live on what #Falcons brass watching: pic.twitter.com/RaljkKE9iA
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 28, 2026
While the QB battle is interesting enough, perhaps the most fascinating storyline heading into the team’s preseason finale is that Tagovailoa will be playing in his old home stadium, which could be a challenging environment.
“And there’s also a mental toughness element,” Wolfe pointed out. “He’s playing in his old home stadium, a place where fans could have an adversarial response. How does he respond if he doesn’t play well? More opportunity for Penix to show he could be potentially ready for Week 1. He’s told the Falcons staff that. They believe that even without preseason reps, he could potentially start Week 1. A lot will matter on how Tua plays today.”
It’s clear that there’s a lot on the line for both Tagovailoa and Penix. In one sense, perhaps it helps that Tagovailoa will be performing in such a familiar location. Though this time he’s likely to hear even more boos than ever before.
