Tagovailoa’s first start with Falcons comes at Pittsburgh, where he made final start with Dolphins

ATLANTA (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa’s first chance at a fresh start with the Atlanta Falcons will come Sunday at Pittsburgh, where he made the last start of his rocky final season with the Miami Dolphins.

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Monday that Tagovailoa will open the season as the starter and Michael Penix Jr. will be inactive. Cooper Rush will be the backup.

Penix was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice but did not play in a preseason game as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL in his left knee that ended his 2025 season.

There already is speculation about how long Tagovailoa will keep the starting job after he was benched and eventually released by the Dolphins last season. Tagovailoa said Wednesday that Stefanski “didn’t say any of that” when he disclosed his plan for the quarterbacks this week.

“How I’m taking it is I’ve got to go with this day to day,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “That’s out of my control. What I can control is how I prepare, how I go out there, how I perform. That’s all I can do.”

Stefanski would not say on Monday if a healthy Penix would be a backup.

“I’m going to really stay in Week 1 right now and Pittsburgh and not speculate past that,” Stefanski said. “I don’t think it’s fair to anyone at this point. But I feel good about where everybody is.”

When asked if he believes he has something to prove this season, Tagovailoa said: “I don’t think for myself and what I believe I don’t have anything to prove to anyone outside. It’s to prove to my own self that I can continue to play at a high level.”

Tagovailoa set a career high with 15 interceptions before he was benched for the final three games last season.

He had mixed results this preseason with Atlanta. He had two fumbled snaps in exhibition games, including one from the shotgun formation. He said ball security will be a key to returning to his 2023 form when he led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards, and 2024, when he led the league by completing 72.9% of his passes.

The quarterback said proper preparation is the key to avoiding turnovers.

“That’s all it is at the end of the day,” Tagovailoa said. “Prepare for certain looks and if we don’t get certain looks, what are your check-downs, what are your outlets? Just be able to keep our offense on the field, keep the ball moving.”

Stefanski said his goal is to have a plan against the Steelers’ defense that takes advantage of Tagovailoa’s strengths.

“You’re only worth your salt if you’re doing what your players do best and if you’re leaning into what your players do best,” Stefanski said. “I can tell you with working with all the quarterbacks over my career, whether they started or not, the guys are comfortable with certain things and they’re not comfortable with everything.”

Tagovailoa said he appreciated the opportunity to start.

“I would say it’s a blessing,” he said. “Once again it’s not something I take for granted. When something gets taken away from you, you start to process everything and think of all the things you could have changed. Just me sort of … looking back at Miami at things I think I could have done better.”

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