Tua Tagovailoa smiled a lot on Friday. That’s the first thing you’d notice watching him field questions at his Atlanta Falcons training camp presser. Nearly 10 minutes of back-and-forth with reporters (you can watch the full media session here) and the quarterback never lost that relaxed demeanor – even with a starting job battle against Michael Penix Jr. hanging over him.
He’s dealing with a back injury too. But Tagovailoa isn’t stressing about any of it.
Asked about the situation, he leaned on the classic sports cliché – control what you can control. He also made it clear he thinks the Falcons are just being cautious with him early in camp, keeping him out of full team reps as a precaution rather than a real concern.
What’s Going On With His Back
The tightness showed up sometime last week, according to Tagovailoa. He called it a “flare up,” though he stopped short of getting into more specifics about what triggered it.
It’s not something he’s dealt with before, either. He’s been going through aquatic therapy to help manage the stress on his back, and when reporters pushed for a timeline on his return to full practice reps, he didn’t have one.
“But that’s a conversation to have with the head coach and with our training staff,” Tagovailoa said.
Both Tagovailoa and Penix were limited participants during Friday’s practice, working through individual drills but not much beyond that. Tagovailoa – a 28 year old former Pro Bowler who spent six seasons with the Miami Dolphins before this move – ran through some quarterback drills and finished up with a half speed walkthrough alongside the offense late in the session, according to ESPN. He didn’t take part in any 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 work.
Penix, on the other hand, got a bit more work in. The 26 year old, entering his third pro season, took part in individual drills and 7-on-7s Friday per the same ESPN report. He’s still working his way back from a partially torn ACL that ended his season last year with surgery – his fifth season-ending injury dating back through college, spanning eight seasons total.
Neither quarterback has practiced at full speed yet this camp.
Learning A Brand New Offense
Tagovailoa is adjusting to new terminology and new coaching voices this summer. Kevin Stefanski runs things now as head coach, with Tommy Rees calling plays as offensive coordinator – a completely different setup than what Tagovailoa knew in Miami.
He talked about how something as simple as hearing a play call through his helmet, then repeating it back correctly in the huddle, actually matters right now. It’s part of rebuilding that rhythm after time away over the summer.
“I don’t think there’s anything out there that you can try to do to simulate those unless – I’d have my wife try to do it, but, I mean, I’m going to be like, ‘Give me the paper. I don’t think you’re reading it right,’” Tagovailoa joked, drawing a few laughs from the assembled media.
“So, outside of that, I don’t think you can sort of simulate things like that.”
Who Stepped In While They Sat
Thursday looked a little different. With both Tagovailoa and Penix sidelined that day, the Falcons turned to Jack Strand to run the first-team offense – an undrafted rookie out of Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead trying to carve out a roster spot.
That quarterback room got more crowded this week too. Atlanta added veteran Cooper Rush, a journeyman backup, giving the team another arm in the mix as Tagovailoa continues working his way back.
For now, Tagovailoa says he’s not worried about missing time.
“I feel good,” he said. “It feels good to be out there with the guys, be able to get some reps out there a bit, get some 1-on-1 reps, still be able to throw it to the guys.”
