Who Should I Start? Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.7 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Tua Tagovailoa News
Friday, July 31, 8:47 AM
Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (back) is "getting better every day," according to Will McFadden of AtlantaFalcons.com. Tagovailoa is not 100% recovered from back tightness, but he has practiced the last two days and appears to be on track to be back to full health soon. The 28-year-old took part in individual drills in Thursday's training camp practice. It doesn't seem to be anything the Falcons are overly concerned about. With Michael Penix Jr. (knee) still rehabbing a torn ACL and unlikely to be cleared for another couple of weeks, Tagovailoa has a clear path to claiming the starting QB job going into the start of the 2026 regular season as long as he can stay healthy himself. The former fifth overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2020 from the University of Alabama is looking to bounce back in Atlanta after throwing for under 3,000 yards in each of his final two seasons in Miami due to injury (mainly concussion issues). Tagovailoa will have the weapons in Atlanta to do so if he wins the job over Penix, but fantasy managers will be treating him as a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.3 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Michael Penix Jr. News
Friday, July 31, 2:01 PM
It's unclear as of right now if either Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) or Tua Tagovailoa (back) will play in any preseason games, according to Tori McElhaney of the team's official website. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said a decision will be made at a later date, and with Penix, it will depend on where he's at in his recovery from a torn ACL in 2025. Penix was at training camp on Friday, but he continued to be held out of full team drills. However, he did get all of the high red-zone snaps in 7-on-7 work. The 26-year-old former eighth overall pick in 2024 from the University of Washington had surgery last November on his knee, and it might be several more weeks before he's fully cleared for team work in training camp. While nothing will be settled in terms of the QB competition for a while, Penix's extended rehab has opened the door for Tagovailoa to become the favorite in the competition under center this summer. Penix's fantasy stock in both redraft and dynasty leagues is way down entering 2026, and he could be an injury liability for the rest of his career.
Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr.
Still trying to decide between Tagovailoa and Penix Jr.? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Tua Tagovailoa is projected to score 11.7 points this week while Michael Penix Jr. is projected to score 8.3 points.
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