Former Alabama Crimson Tide star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons open the season at Pittsburgh, giving the one-time Crimson Tide star another shot at proving himself in the NFL.
The Falcons named Tagovailoa their Week 1 starter Monday after an offseason competition that never fully materialized because of Michael Penix Jr.’s recovery from a torn ACL.
That decision already felt temporary. Head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to name a starter beyond this week.
A report Wednesday raised the stakes even higher.
NBC Sports’ Mike Florio said Atlanta could follow the same path the Miami Dolphins took last year if Tagovailoa struggles and loses the job.
“If it doesn’t go well for Tua and he gets benched again, I’m told there is a strong possibility the Falcons will do what the Dolphins did and cut Tua Tagovailoa,” Florio said.
The comment came just four days before Tagovailoa is scheduled to take the field against the Steelers and only hours after he spoke about his new opportunity.
“It’s very refreshing. It’s a blessing. That’s the best way I can describe the position I’m in,” Tagovailoa said.
He added that he does not feel he has anything to prove to anyone else. He simply wants to show himself he can still play at an elite level.
Alabama fans remember that version of Tagovailoa well. In three seasons with the Crimson Tide he completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 7,442 yards and 87 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions. The Tide went 30-2 in the 32 games he played and 22-2 in his starts.
He came off the bench as a true freshman in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and led Alabama to a 26-23 overtime win over Georgia, earning offensive MVP honors after throwing the game-winning touchdown to DeVonta Smith.
Those numbers and that moment made him the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft. He later led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 with 4,624 and in completion percentage in 2024 at 72.9 percent.
Last season was different. Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions in 14 games before Miami benched him for the final three contests and released him in March. The Dolphins absorbed a record $99.2 million in dead-cap money on the move.
Atlanta signed him to a one-year, veteran-minimum contract. Cooper Rush will back him up Sunday. Penix will be inactive.
Penix, the former first-round pick who started nine games in 2025 before tearing his ACL in November, said Monday he is “really close” to being 100 percent. He was listed as a full participant on Wednesday’s injury report.
Bleacher Report’s James Palmer said Tagovailoa’s Week 1 job was a mix of winning the competition and Penix’s health, depending on the source.
“There are definitely people that have said he’s done enough for Week 1,” Palmer said. “It’s not been as bad as some of the reports that have been out there.”
Palmer added that the Falcons initially asked Tagovailoa to do things he had never done before, then adjusted the offense to his strengths and saw improvement.
“Because there’s also people there that do believe he should have taken the bull by the horns,” Palmer continued. “He should have really taken ownership with this job and ran with it. And they didn’t see that happen during training camp.”
For Crimson Tide supporters tracking their former quarterback, Sunday offers a familiar stage. Pittsburgh is where Tagovailoa made his last start for the Dolphins.
Now he gets a fresh start in a new uniform, with the same questions that have followed him since he left Tuscaloosa still waiting on the other side of the snap.
