The Atlanta Falcons spent the offseason paying their offensive core, headlined by Bijan Robinson’s record running back extension. However, the most important position on the field is the one still giving them the most trouble.
The Athletic’s Josh Kendall reported on August 10 from the Falcons training camp, and his assessment of the quarterback room was pretty blunt.
“I tried to come up with a sunnier way to say this, but quarterback is a mess at the moment,” Kendall wrote.
Falcons May Have a Real Problem At QB
The plan is for Tua Tagovailoa, the former Miami Dolphins starter Atlanta signed in free agency, to open the season under center. Getting there, however, hasn’t been smooth.
Tagovailoa is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in Miami. And now, back tightness he’d never dealt with before limited him for the first seven practices of camp. It’s a rough way to start for a passer the Falcons signed to steady the position. He’s still far and away the favorite to start Week 1, but his durability is already in question.
Tagovailoa’s injury history also includes a high ankle sprain that required surgery, a hip dislocation that also required surgery and multiple concussions.
“You can’t question Tagovailoa’s toughness,” Kendall wrote, before adding that “his injury history is not comforting.”
There was at least one bright spot. Kendall noted Tagovailoa looked sharp during Saturday night’s practice, hitting Olamide Zaccheaus and Drake London for big gains.
Michael Penix Jr.’s ACL Recovery Adds to Falcons’ QB Uncertainty
The bigger long-term question is behind him.
Michael Penix Jr., the 2024 first-round pick, still hasn’t been cleared for 11-on-11 work as he recovers from a torn ACL, the third of his career after two in college. He tore it on Nov. 16 against the Carolina Panthers, ending a 2025 season in which he went 3-6 as the starter while completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. Penix had taken over for Kirk Cousins midway through his 2024 rookie year, and the ACL stalled what was supposed to be his first full season running the offense.
Penix told reporters he didn’t even have a follow-up appointment scheduled with the surgeon who has to sign off on his return, but he’s trying to stay patient.
“I’m running my own race,” Penix said, per Kendall. “I just have to take it one day at a time and focus on what I can control. Right now I can’t control not being out there.”
Behind the top two, camp addition Cooper Rush, an eight-year veteran, has slowly nudged undrafted rookie Jack Strand in the rotation, splitting second-team reps with him.
Four quarterbacks learning a new offense under first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski, with a jumbled rotation and spotty availability, has produced about what you’d expect on the practice field. Kendall wrote that the results have been as rough as the circumstances suggest.
That’s the cloud hanging over an otherwise promising Atlanta roster. The Falcons have Robinson, London and a supporting cast built to win now. Until the quarterback position sorts itself out, none of it means as much as it should.
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