Tua 'frustrated' by play in Falcons' preseason loss
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- Tua Tagovailoa went 3-of-5 for 22 yards across two series in his Falcons debut, a 27-7 preseason loss to Denver, with all four of his targets going to tight end Kyle Pitts Sr.
- Tagovailoa lost control of a shotgun snap on his second play and recovered his own fumble, then said that miscue 'kind of got us out of the rhythm' before Denver reeled off 24 unanswered points
- Tagovailoa called the showing 'definitely not up to standard, not even up to par' and added 'it starts with me, I got to be better with that'
- Michael Penix Jr. has not been cleared for 11-on-11 team sessions, leaving Tagovailoa ahead in the QB competition 'mostly by default,' though Tagovailoa conceded his two-series audition 'didn't do me any favors'
- Tagovailoa signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with Atlanta this offseason after being released by the Miami Dolphins
- Kevin Stefanski, making his own Falcons debut as head coach, said it was 'hard to give a grade' on Tagovailoa given the limited sample of nine plays and one first down
Why it matters: In an open quarterback competition against Michael Penix Jr., Tagovailoa did nothing in his two-series audition to separate himself beyond the fact that Penix still can't practice 11-on-11 — meaning Atlanta is leaning toward the veteran by default, not by performance. For a new regime (Stefanski, GM Ian Cunningham, president of football Matt Ryan) that signed Tua to a modest $1.3 million deal, every remaining preseason rep now carries outsized weight before Week 1.
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