TuaTagovailoa

News: 2 days agoTagovailoa (back) is trending toward being the Falcons' Week 1 starting quarterback, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Spin: Coach Kevin Stefanski has remained mum as it pertains to who will be under center for the Falcons for the season opener against the Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 13. Having said that, Tagovailoa has been far more active at the beginning of training camp than Michael Penix, the latter of whom continues to rehab the torn ACL that ended his campaign in Week 11 in 2025. Tagovailoa himself has been tending to a back injury, but he was able to elevate to 11-on-11 drills Monday and seems well on his way to getting the call from Stafanski ahead of Week 1. Tagovailoa was limited at Tuesday's practice but hopes to work fully Wednesday, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Tagovailoa signed with Atlanta during the offseason after spending his first six seasons in Miami. The 2020 first-round pick showed signs of life a few years ago, which included a 4,624-yard, 29-TD season in 2023, but his production and efficiency have declined since. The final straw was a rough 2025 in which he threw 15 INTs (second most in the league) in just 14 games and was benched. Tagovailoa is a nonfactor with his legs (fewer than 75 yards in four straight seasons, with zero TDs during the span) and has, in turn, never finished better than 10th in fantasy points per game (he was 33rd in 2025). Even if Tagovailoa starts in Week 1, he's unlikely to be anything more than a fringe QB2 in fantasy and figures to eventually lose work to Michael Penix Jr. (recovering from a torn ACL). Tagovailoa is way off the fantasy radar.