Steve Smith Shocked Tua Tagovailoa Hasn't Seized QB1 for Falcons; He Shouldn't Be

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - The Atlanta Falcons are one of the few teams in the NFL that don't have their starting quarterback settled for Week 1. With the Minnesota Vikings naming Kyler Murray their starter, they might be the only team in the league.

Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are the two in contention for the spot in Atlanta. Tua is the much more proven commodity, but he's coming off his worst season and was cut by the Miami Dolphins.

Penix was erratic as a starter last year before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 11, but the Falcons also invested a first-round pick in him, and he has shown flashes of why with a powerful left arm.

The Surprise

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. saw plenty of the Falcons in his 16-year career, playing 21 games against Atlanta. He was recently on ESPN's Get Up show, expressing his surprise that Tagovailoa hasn't already won the starting job.

"I'm shocked that Tua hasn't taken the bull by the horns, and I think that has to do with his inability to push the ball down the field as well as Michael Penix," Smith said. "When you look at Kevin Stefanski's offense, he wants to push the ball down the field. You wanna know how I know?

"What kind of playmakers does he have? You have guys who can attack all four levels of the defense. You've got Zachariah Branch; that kid is gonna be special. Ten you got big body, Drake London. All these different guys push the ball down the field.

"Tua is not pushing the ball down the field. He doesn't seem like he has that zip on the ball like he used to. So the fact that they haven't put him as the starter yet tells you that they're still waiting for Michael Penix to get his opportunity."

It's Actually No Surprise

Smith shouldn't be surprised that Tagovailoa hasn't seized the job and been named the starter, but it has nothing to do with anything he said.

It's more about what he didn't say.

Let's assume for a moment that everything Smith said was accurate; the Falcons have only been in training camp for two weeks. Tagovailoa missed the first week of camp with back tightness. Penix, despite not being cleared for 11v11, has thrown significantly more passes in training camp than Tagovailoa.

The simple reason Tagovailoa hasn't taken the bull by the horns is that he hasn't had the opportunity yet. He's thrown a handful of passes in team situations and just started throwing 7v7s this week.

Tagovailoa was named the starter for the game against the Broncos on Friday night by default. Penix still isn't cleared for any contact after having ACL surgery in November, but Tagovailoa hasn't had the reps to stake a claim to the starting job, even if you believe he's a significantly better option than Penix.

That's where things get more complicated, and I agree with most of what Smith said. Tagovailoa has definitely been more accurate than Penix early in his career, and no one watching both of them would have trouble naming the quarterback with the stronger arm.

The Falcons definitely want to give Penix a legitimate shot at starting to take advantage of the upside he has as a younger, stronger-armed player who has up to three years remaining on his contract.

The longer Penix goes without being cleared for contact, though, the more likely this battle already has a winner. Penix is close. He's thrown without any noticeable drawbacks dating back to OTAs at the beginning of June.

Tagovailoa isn't going to wow anyone with his arm, but there's a lot more to playing quarterback than fastball velocity. If he wins the job, even by default, he's going to have a chance to make the job his permanently by playing well before Penix is fully cleared.

Tagovailoa may be the better option. It might be Penix. Falcons fans are afraid that 2026 will prove it's neither. That said, no one should be surprised there isn't a clear winner in this competition two weeks into training camp.

The two combatants in this battle have yet to fully engage.

Falcons-Broncos will kick off on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It will be televised locally on Fox 5 Atlanta, the ESPN app with an unlimited plan, or NFL+.

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