Falcons’ Kevin Stefanski makes Tua Tagovailoa announcement for preseason opener

Recently, it was reported by the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that the Atlanta Falcons would likely be starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to begin the upcoming 2026 NFL season. The update comes as last year’s starter, Michael Penix Jr., is still not healthy after tearing his ACL for the third time in his career, dating back to college.

Now, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski has made an announcement regarding Tagovailoa’s status for this weekend’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.

“QB Tua Tagovailoa will start in the Falcons’ Week 1 preseason game vs. the Broncos, per head coach Kevin Stefanski,” reported NFL on ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.

At a time when coaches are increasingly wary about playing their star players during the preseason, it’s certainly an interesting decision for Stefanski to move ahead with Tagovailoa, who has been a major injury risk throughout his career, in this spot.

Falcons fans grew irate with the previous coaching regime, led by Raheem Morris, and its unwillingness to play the starters much at all during the preseason, which often led to seemingly lifeless starts to the regular season, so perhaps Stefanski is learning from those mistakes and giving Tagovailoa some much-needed game reps with his new team.

At this point, it’s unclear what Atlanta’s plan is for the quarterback position once Penix Jr. and Tagovailoa are both healthy. Both players have storied injury histories, but have shown an ability to be productive NFL quarterbacks if they can stay on the field and have time in the pocket.

The Falcons don’t enter this year with much expectation for success, but perhaps they will be able to take advantage of that and “sneak up” on opponents who might overlook them.

Atlanta will kick off its preseason slate on Friday evening against the Broncos.

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