Falcons GM says Atlanta won't award starting QB just yet, Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr. must compete

The Atlanta Falcons made significant offseason changes, from new coach Kevin Stefanski all the way to a roster revamp on the offense. Atlanta released veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and added former Miami Dolphins No. 5 overall pick Tua Tagovailoa on a one-year, minimum deal.

With 2024 No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. suffering an ACL injury in November of 2025 and still recovering from the injury, the Falcons needed to bolster their quarterback room and did so with a Pro Bowler.

Tagovailoa seeks a fresh start after the Dolphins benched him in the final three games of last season, then released him, ending a six-year stint that never gained consistency. He could find that fresh start in Atlanta, but first must compete for the job. 

"It's funny. Kevin [Stefanski] mentioned this in February. We're not in the business of really handing out starting positions in February, and in March, the same," general manager Ian Cunningham said. "For Tua, coming in here, he knows he's coming in to compete, just like Michael [Penix] knows that he's coming in to compete."

With Penix still recovering, Atlanta may have no choice but to start the season with Tagovailoa, but that's another thing that can only be determined with time.

When Tagovailoa was benched in December, then-analyst Matt Ryan said he wasn't surprised at then-coach Mike McDaniel's decision. Of course, those comments came before Ryan accepted his role as president of Atlanta Falcons football operations. 

"I think Mike was right, I think Tua's play hasn't been good enough and not to the standard that they've talked about and set for themselves," Ryan said at the time.

Here's a look at how Tagovailoa and Penix stack up over their careers:

"Everybody, quite frankly, not just those two at the quarterback position, but everybody is coming in to compete," Cunningham said. "There's no starters right now. We're excited to have Tua, but we're excited to have all the players that we were able to get this free-agent class."

The Falcons quarterback situation took interesting turns over the last few years. When Atlanta selected Penix, Cousins, who just signed a four-year, $160 million contract with Atlanta, said he felt "a little misled" by the move. Cunningham said Penix was warned about the addition of Tagovailoa, saying they didn't want to "blindside" him. 

"We want to have open conversations and communication, and I feel like we did that in regards to Michael and Tua," Cunningham said.