Latest On Falcons’ QB Competition

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport appeared on an episode of The Insiders and talked about Atlanta’s competition for QB1. Rapoport said the team’s goal going into the offseason was for Tagovailoa to be the starter so Penix could come along slowly from his knee injury and they could re-assess then. 

However, Rapoport says Tagovailoa’s play this offseason and in the preseason has made that “impossible,” and he went as far to say the job is Penix’s for the taking. Rapoport believes Penix will win the job if he plays well for the rest of camp, which he thinks would be the best-case scenario for the organization.

On the Pat McAfee show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter also discussed the Falcons’ QB battle between Tagovailoa and Penix. Schefter said Tagovailoa had a real chance this offseason to put the debate to rest while Penix worked back from a knee injury, but noted Tagovailoa had an “uneven summer,” while Penix has re-joined 11-on-11 team drills recently.

“It’s an interesting situation because, obviously, it felt like Tua had a real window and a real opportunity to kind of put away the starting job on opening day for Atlanta and it feels like that hasn’t necessarily happened yet,” Schefter said. “And in the interim, Michael Penix now has been cleared to participate for the first time since he injured his knee in 11-on-11 drills… They can judge how healthy he is or isn’t and figure out whether or not he’s physically ready to play on opening day, but Tua hasn’t run away with that competition. It’s been an uneven summer for him so far.”

Tagovailoa, 28, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.

The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season. 

From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million, with $167 million guaranteed. Miami released Tagovailoa this offseason, and he signed a one-year deal with the Falcons.

In 2025, Tagovailoa appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

Penix, 26, transferred from Indiana to Washington for the 2022 season, after spending four seasons at Indiana. The Falcons used the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft on Penix. 

Penix is entering the third year of his four-year, $22,384,370 contract that included a $13,099,542 signing bonus. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028.

In 2025, Penix appeared in nine games for the Falcons and completed 60.1 percent of his pass attempts for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

We’ll have more on the Falcons’ QB situation as the news is available.