Falcons Pick Tua Tagovailoa, But His Job Stability Is Already Shaky in Atlanta

Tua Tagovailoa is officially the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 1 starting quarterback. That’s the word from today, just six days before the regular season opener. He is set to take the field this Sunday against the Steelers, a quick turnaround after what sounds like a bit of a prolonged decision.

Stefanski’s Last-Minute Call and the Non-Competition

Honestly, everyone kinda figured Tua was the guy from the start. He was the favorite all along, no doubt. But Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski held his cards super close to his vest, flat-out declining to make that choice official until now. The supposed “competition” for the starting gig was with Michael Penix. The thing is, Penix was apparently still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last season, which means he wasn’t really healthy enough to make it a true battle for the spot. So, Stefanski kept us guessing, only to go with the guy we all expected.

The Four-Man Room and Tua’s Rocky Road Ahead

What’s wild is that the Falcons are rolling with four quarterbacks on their 53-player roster. Yeah, four! It’s Tua, Penix, Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand. We still don’t even know who will be the No. 2 guy behind Tua this Sunday, which is a bit nuts for a Week 1 game. And get this: Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh will be Tagovailoa’s second straight game at that very stadium. His last time there was with the Dolphins, a brutal 28-15 loss that got him benched for the rest of that season. Ouch. You know Tua has to be hoping for way more job stability in Atlanta, but the way Stefanski dragged his feet on naming him the starter might be a red flag. It feels like if Tagovailoa doesn’t light it up fast, Stefanski might be quick to move on.

Sunday’s game against the Steelers is massive for Tagovailoa. He needs to ball out immediately and show Stefanski that he’s the real deal, or things could get shaky real quick in Atlanta.

This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.

Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.