Tua Tagovailoa Opens Up About Falcons QB Competition With Michael Penix

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons are still months away from officially naming their starting quarterback for the 2026 season, but the dynamic between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. has started to take shape.

The Falcons are approaching the halfway point of their organized team activities (OTAs), and Wednesday offered the media its first chance to speak with the veteran newcomer, Tagovailoa, about where he feels this competition is headed and how he is settling into his new home.

“Competition has been around us our entire lives, right? For Mike, and for all the other guys that are in that locker room, competition has been there,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and compete, MP [Penix] has got to go out there and compete.”

The quarterbacks are running their own race, but, by all appearances, the relationship between the two of them is a positive one. On the field and in the meeting rooms, they are working to encourage one another and learn the playbook as this offseason program ramps up.

“For me, it would be wrong not to help [Penix] with how I see things,” he finished.

Tagovailoa, though, has one key advantage heading into this competition: his health.

His counterpart is still working to recover from a torn ACL that cost him the second half of his 2025 season, but he is progressing well and should be ready for training camp this summer. Despite the lengthy recovery process, Penix has looked the part, and Tagovailoa is impressed.

“I'm impressed by what he's shown out there,” he said. “You can just tell that he's been here working, and working really hard to be able to get back out there. You can see the level of respect that the guys – that have been here last year with him – have for him, both offensively and defensively, and then also the new coaching staff, but you can see the amount of respect the coaches have for him, too.

“It’s been good fun to go out there and compete with him, and I’m trying to help him as much as I can.”

Tagovailoa said earning trust and being a leader in the locker room are among the most important parts of playing quarterback, but he understands that the process takes time. For as much as he’s trying to adjust to his new environment, Tagovailoa’s new supporting cast of players have also spent the last two weeks getting to know him.

That, by all accounts, is progressing well.

Kyle Pitts Sr. joked that Tagovailoa is “funnier than I thought.” The tight end said Tagovailoa likes to cut up and crack jokes, but doesn’t mess around when it comes to getting to work. Meanwhile, wide receiver Drake London said he’s a “great dude, who always has a smile on his face,” and that he and Penix have been “getting along well.”

All these are good signs for a Falcons team that is gearing up for what could be a contentious competition this summer. The relationship between Tagovailoa and Penix appears collaborative rather than combative, at least for now.

As training camp approaches and the reps increase in importance, the Falcons’ quarterback competition will inevitably intensify. Eventually, one of these players will win the job, but the challenge for the Falcons will be making sure the battle sharpens both players rather than divides a locker room.

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