The Atlanta Falcons have no immediate plans to part ways with Tua Tagovailoa, even after an oblique injury ended his chance to start Week 1 and even as questions about his long-term fit in Atlanta continue to swirl.
Speculation that the veteran could be released picked up quickly once he was ruled out of the opener and Cooper Rush took the snaps.
Those rumors gained extra fuel from earlier reports suggesting the team might move on if Tagovailoa were benched. The latest reporting from ESPN’s Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter has pushed back against that idea.
Tagovailoa is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Michael Penix Jr., still working his way back from last season’s ACL injury, has also been unavailable for the first two weeks.
That has left Rush under center while the Falcons wait to see which of their two left-handed quarterbacks can get healthy first. Both appear close.
According to Rapoport and Schefter, Tagovailoa “is officially listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Panthers, and his future in Atlanta has become a topic for discussion. But sources say not to expect the Falcons to move on from Tagovailoa, even if they’d have four healthy quarterbacks.”
The contract makes that stance easy to understand. Tagovailoa signed a one-year veteran’s minimum deal worth $1.2 million after Miami released him and absorbed a massive dead-money hit.
He costs Atlanta almost nothing to keep. If he returns healthy and another quarterback goes down, he can still serve as a capable backup. There is also a longer-term possibility.
If he plays well enough before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, the Falcons could look to deal him rather than simply cut him.
First he has to get on the field. Rapoport and Schefter reported that Tagovailoa, who suffered the oblique injury while preparing to start Week 1, should practice this week and could be active as soon as Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers.
The same timeline applies to Penix. If neither is ready for that short-week game, both would have extra rest before Atlanta’s next contest on Monday Night Football at New Orleans on Oct. 5.
Tagovailoa arrived knowing the starting job was never guaranteed once Penix was healthy. The Falcons still view Penix as the likely long-term starter.
For now, though, they see value in keeping the former first-round pick around at almost no cost.
His next task is straightforward: finish healing, practice well, and give the coaching staff a reason to keep him on the roster past the trade deadline.
