It felt like the Atlanta Falcons landed an absolute steal when they signed Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year, $1.215 million deal back in March. With Michael Penix Jr. coming off a torn ACL, the move gave Tagovailoa a chance to revitalize his career after falling off in Miami, while also lighting a fire under Penix, whom the organization selected eighth overall in 2024. Yet the preseason has come to an end, and we still don't know who will start at quarterback in Week 1.
Thankfully, it looks like an end is finally in sight — the Falcons announced on Friday that they'll hold a "starting quarterback press conference" next Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. ET, which will presumably be when they reveal who the starter will be. More news: Bill Belichick’s Son Faces Alarming Allegations in Bombshell UNC Investigation The NFL had its fair share of quarterback battles this year.
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders dominated headlines all summer, while Minnesota, Arizona, and Las Vegas each had competitions of their own. But now all of those have been settled, and Atlanta is the only team that has yet to reveal its starting quarterback. With the regular season just one week away, that should cause at least some concern for Falcons fans.
At the same time, the players themselves haven't made the decision easy for head coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff. Tagovailoa looked shaky throughout the preseason, Penix has only recently returned to full practices, and undrafted rookie free agent Jack Strand — who played Division II football at Minnesota State-Moorhead — has looked like the best quarterback on the roster. More news: Mason Rudolph Gets Brutally Honest About Myles Garrett Trade More news: Ravens GM Drops Telling Comment on Lamar Jackson’s Future in Baltimore I don't think Stefanski would be gutsy enough to put out Strand for Week 1, and if it somehow becomes the 32-year-old Cooper Rush, that might say everything you need to know about where things stand with Tagovailoa.
But odds are it'll be Penix starting the season under center, which might also say a lot about Tagovailoa, given that Penix didn't appear at all in the preseason and has only recently started practicing at full speed.
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