Tua Tagovailoa has officially been handed the keys to the Atlanta Falcons’ offense, at least for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
On Monday, the NFC South franchise released a statement via the Falcons’ official site announcing Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback for their season-opening matchup Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tagovailoa joined the Falcons in March on a 1-year, $1.3 million contract. Before that, he was released by the Miami Dolphins, who had him under center for six seasons.
The former Alabama Crimson Tide star quarterback was in a competition for the QB1 role in Atlanta with Michael Penix Jr., who still has an opportunity to become the team’s starter in 2026. Penix suffered a season-ending ACL injury last November that required surgery. He was cleared to participate in 11-on-11 team activities in training camp, but will now have to spend time watching Tagovailoa from the sidelines.
Selected fifth overall by Miami in the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa, who turned 28 years old in March, was a Pro Bowler and led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards in 2023.
The following season, he posted a league-best 72.9% completion rate. However, injury concerns and poor play in 2025 factored into his eventual exit from Miami. Last season, he passed for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns against 15 interceptions in 14 games.
