We are now just nine days removed from the Atlanta Falcons' first preseason game of the year and we're no closer to knowing who their QB1 will be this year than we were back in March.
That's when they signed veteran Tua Tagovailoa, fresh off getting released by the Miami Dolphins - who were willing to eat a near-$100 million cap hit to get rid of him. Tagovailoa was brought in to compete with third-year quarterback Michael Penix, who suffered the third ACL tear of his career in November.
So far at training camp the competition hasn't even officially begun - as Penix hasn't been cleared for 11-on-11 drills yet and isn't expected to be for a few more weeks. That means Tagovailoa will likely be Atlanta's Week 1 starter, but only by default. At this
point neither one can be penciled in as the starter for any real length of time.
A new batch of quarterback rankings from The Athletic made by polling anonymous NFL executives underscores the point. On their list Tua came in at No. 26, tied with New Orleans Saints starter Tyler Shough.
"Only Geno Smith dropped further than Tagovailoa in average tier vote from 2025. For the first time since 2022, Tagovailoa got no votes higher than Tier 3. “I thought Tua was physically declining last year,” a GM said. “I don’t know if there was some hidden injury. But Tua is perfect for Kevin Stefanski’s offense. He’ll make quick decisions.”
If that wasn't sobering enough, Penix came in at No. 32 on the list, one spot lower than zombie Deshaun Watson and just three spots from the bottom.
"Penix, who tore his right ACL twice in college, suffered a partially torn ACL in his left knee in November. He’s competing with Tagovailoa for the Falcons’ starting job, though he has yet to be cleared for full-team drills. If he had played the whole year, I would have been leaning 3, but I think just to be fair, it has to be a 4 right now, based on the durability,” a GM said."
Not ideal.
Unless one of them completely shreds these narratives in the first half of the season, the Falcons should be aggressive looking for potential upgrades on the trade market as the deadline approaches.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons QBs both near the bottom of rankings from NFL executives
