ESPN's Dan Orlovsky Has Unique Suggestion for Falcons' QB Battle

The Atlanta Falcons will be one of the more talked-about teams in the NFL this offseason for one big reason: a quarterback battle. The most important position in all of sports will be under the microscope in Flowery Branch this offseason, as incumbent starter Michael Penix Jr. will face off with newcomer Tua Tagovailoa.

Because of the volatile nature of any quarterback battle, the national media will pay particularly close attention to how this battle unfolds. Naturally, these same pundits will be quick to share their thoughts on the competition. Rich Eisen said there was “no way” Tagovailoa would lose a quarterback battle

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ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky seemed to agree with that thought, but added another interesting layer.

“[I] fully expect Tua [Tagovailoa] to be the starting quarterback Week 1 because of the reality of Michael Penix's health,” Orlovsky said on Get Up Tuesday morning. “Tua, you get half a season. In reality, both get half a year. Michael Penix and Tua, you’ve got half a year to prove to us that you guys can still play.”

Orlovsky went on to highlight how good Tagovailoa was between 2022 and 2024, calling him a “top-10 quarterback.”

“I know it was a very specific system with [head coach] Mike McDaniel, custom and tailor-made for Tua, but he was a highly performing quarterback in that situation,” he continued. “He was significantly greater than anything Michael Penix has been up until this point in his career.

“If I’m Atlanta… you get half a year. If you prove to us that you can play, we’ll address it [from there], but you get half a year, or we’re moving on to the 2027 NFL Draft.”

Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham confirmed late last week that there would be a competition between the two quarterbacks.

“For Tua coming in here, he knows he's coming in to compete, just like Michael knows that he's coming in to compete," Cunningham explained during his virtual news conference on Friday morning. “ And everybody, quite frankly, not just those two at the quarterback position, but everybody's coming in to compete.”

Tagovailoa, 28, completed 68% of his passes for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdown passes and 59 interceptions over his six-year career in Miami. He led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 and brought the Dolphins to two playoff appearances, finishing 44-32 as a starter.

Penix, 25, has made just 12 career starts for the Falcons, where he is just 4-8. He has completed 59.6% of his passes over those games for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. The third-year quarterback is still working to recover from a torn ACL and will return at some point this summer.

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