The Atlanta Falcons person named Tua Tagovailoa their starting backmost for the 2026 play opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending a months-long contention with Michael Penix Jr. The decision, announced Monday, gives Tagovailoa the opportunity to unfastened his archetypal play with Atlanta arsenic the team’s sixth antithetic Week 1 starter successful six seasons.
Tagovailoa, 28, signed a one-year declaration with the Falcons successful March aft spending six seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He received the bulk of Atlanta’s full-team repetitions during grooming campy and started the team’s archetypal and last preseason games. In the finale against Miami, Tagovailoa completed 7 of 8 passes for 95 yards and helped pb an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown thrust arsenic Atlanta won 17-12.
Penix, Atlanta’s 2025 starter, volition beryllium inactive Sunday as helium continues his betterment from a torn ACL suffered past November. He was not cleared for 11-on-11 enactment until Aug. 22 and did not play successful immoderate preseason games. Coach Kevin Stefanski said seasoned Cooper Rush volition service arsenic Tagovailoa’s backup, portion declining to sermon whether the Week 1 determination volition find the starting backmost for the remainder of the season.
The matchup besides gives Tagovailoa a notable instrumentality to Pittsburgh, wherever his last commencement for Miami came past December earlier helium was benched pursuing a 28-15 nonaccomplishment to the Steelers. Tagovailoa enters Atlanta’s discourtesy with an extended NFL résumé, including a 2023 play successful which helium led the league with 4,624 passing yards and earned a Pro Bowl selection.
Atlanta volition look Pittsburgh astatine Acrisure Stadium connected Sunday, Sept. 13, with Tagovailoa taking the archetypal drawback arsenic the Falcons statesman a caller play nether Stefanski.
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