There were questions at the quarterback position to start the season for the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders. Despite the fact that both teams are not expected to be Super Bowl contenders in 2026, they have decided to go with experience over youth at the starting quarterback position.
The Falcons quarterback battle was between Tua Tagovailoa of Ewa Beach, Hawaii and Michael Penix Jr. of Cookeville, Tennessee. Tagovailoa is the Falcons starting quarterback even though he has a base salary in 2026 of $1.2 million.
The Falcons are Tagovailoa’s second NFL franchise after six seasons with the Miami Dolphins from 2020 to 2025. This past season with the Dolphins, Tagovailoa completed 260 passes in 384 attempts for 2660 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns, to go along with 15 interceptions. He had 20 rushes for 43 rushing yards.
Tagovailoa was selected to the Pro Bowl with the Dolphins in 2023. He had 4624 passing yards.
Cousins of Barrington, Illinois signed a one-year contract worth $11.3 million on April 6. This was over two weeks before the Raiders selected Fernando Mendoza first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Over the last 14 seasons, Cousins has played with the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four times (once with Washington and three times with Minnesota). As the 2026 NFL regular season is about to commence, one must realize that even though Cousins and Tagovailoa are the starting quarterbacks now, the Raiders and Falcons will likely commit to Mendoza and Penix Jr. eventually.
