NFL Network Names Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. Big Loser in Free Agency

The Atlanta Falcons made waves on the first day of the contact period for NFL Free Agency on Monday by coming to terms on a veteran minimum deal with recently released quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Earlier on Monday, the Dolphins made the expected, if still not eye-popping, move of cutting Tagovailoa and taking on $100 million in dead money on their salary cap. The move costs them $67 million against their cap in 2026, with the balance coming in 2027. It broke the NFL's record for biggest dead-cap hit set by the Broncos in 2024 when they cut Russell Wilson ($85 million).

Because of offset language in his contract, any money paid to Tagovailoa goes back to the Dolphins (the Falcons have a similar deal up to $10 million on Kirk Cousins). With no incentive to strike a bigger deal, the Falcons will get Tagovailoa for a veteran minimum of $1.3 million in 2026.

The Falcons get an experienced, former All-Pro quarterback, who just turned 28, to compete with incumbent Michael Penix Jr., who is recovering from knee surgery in November. The timeline for Penix to return was given as nine months, which puts him in contention to start the 2026 season.

NFL Network named the five biggest winners on Day 1 and the three biggest losers, and they seem to feel Penix qualified as a big loser on Monday, coming in at No. 3.

"The important thing to remember here is that the person who brought Penix to Atlanta as the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- former general manager Terry Fontenot -- is no longer working for the team," Jeffri Chadiha wrote on NFL.com.

"There is no reason for GM Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski to tie themselves to a player who's been inconsistent and is now returning from a major injury. The Falcons looked pretty formidable when Kirk Cousins was under the center down the stretch last season. Penix had better hope the new regime doesn't anticipate another older veteran being able to do the same things this year."

A lot to unpack there. First off, Tagovailoa is only two years older than Penix. He's still an "older veteran" though, just not in the same category as Kirk Cousins.

Next, in the final three games of the season, Cousins passed for four touchdowns against two interceptions, while failing to break 200 yards passing in any of them. That's not all on Cousins. The Falcons wide receiver room was threadbare, and there's a reason owner Arthur Blank blocked defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich from taking interviews while telling offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to look around.

But, no one was calling the Falcons offense "formidable" down the stretch.

The big blow to Penix was the third ACL injury he's had in his football career, not the arrival of Tua Tagovailoa. The Falcons absolutely had to bring in an experienced backup to Penix. Chadiha was correct that Penix is unproven, injured, and the administration that bet their jobs on him, lost.

All of that was true before the first day of free agency.

Signing Tagovailoa was irrelevant in the big picture. The Falcons have a legit quarterback competition in 2026, and that was the plan coming into free agency.

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