Tua Tagovailoa has yet to see the field in a regular season game as a member of the Atlanta Falcons and it seems like he may never get his shot to start. Michael Penix Jr. shined in his season debut on Thursday night, which begs the question of if he would get dealt--with the New York Giants emerging as a possible destination now that he's back from injury.
Big Blue just lost Jaxson Dart for the season due to a knee injury, and they don't seem to feel comfortable trotting out Jameis Winston for the rest of the year. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Giants spent the week making calls on QBs, and the belief is "it's a matter of when, not if" they acquire a new signal-caller, and even said a move could come as soon as Monday.
The Giants spent the week making calls on QBs after Jaxson Dart’s injury, and league sources believe it’s a matter of when, not if, they acquire one — possibly as soon as Monday.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 26, 2026
That and much more in The Sweep Insider Notebook for Week 3: https://t.co/WZFvbOAoD5 pic.twitter.com/anboczlzRl
And given the Giants are likely looking at someone with prior starting experience (which Tagovailoa got plenty of in Miami), he would be an obvious candidate. Joe Schoen has certainly called Ian Cunningham, but that doesn't mean that the Falcons should (or will) consider picking up the phone.
This deal would help the Giants, but the Falcons have nothing to gain to shipping him off before he ever plays a snap in red and black.
The Falcons shouldn't even pick up the phone in Tua Tagovailoa talks
Unless the Falcons got a mind-boggling return like a third or fourth-round pick or someone like Kayvon Thibodeaux in return, what sense would this actually make? The QB room is already one of the weakest areas of this roster, so there's no need to make it any worse for some Day 3 picks.
Sure, it's unlikely Tagovailoa will ever find the career revival he was looking for when he signed with Atlanta, but he's probably the most important backup QB in the NFL given Penix's injury history. Cunningham shouldn't cut bait with him at the first sign of external interest (and desperation).
For as promising as Michael Penix Jr. looked in the 21-point victory over the Green Bay Packers this week, the Dirty Birds would be smart to keep their main insurance option. That way got forbid he gets hurt or start to struggle, it wouldn't be a season-ending development because they still have Tua.
My only general manager experience comes in Madden, but even I know what a make Ian Cunningham would be making here. Dealing him would be trading for trade's sake, and given our front office isn't being led by Kevin Costner from Draft Day, he should be well aware of the repercussions of such a deal.
When you have a quality backup quarterback on a cheap, expiring deal (he was signed for the league minimum in free agency), you do not part with them. That isn't in GMs 101: that's in General Managers For Dummies, and given almost every trade Cunningham made has hit, he's thought through when to take a risk. But this is one where it could quickly come back to blow up in his face.
If the Falcons trade Tua, they'd be one Penix injury away from being forced to turn back to Cooper Rush--and we know how horribly that experiment went last time. That's a calculated risk, but not one they should be preparing to take when they have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL and would be going to one of the worst-- and Jack Strand isn't ready to be a QB2 quite yet.
Take the emotion out of it for a second: whether you like Tua Tagovailoa or not, it's no secret he'll help the Atlanta Falcons more as long as he's on the roster-- even though he isn't the starter.
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