The newest trend around the NFL at quarterback is to find a veteran who’s been cast aside and give him a second chance, hoping he can live up to the potential he showed early in his career.
The Seattle Seahawks have seemingly mastered the process, getting three good years out of Geno Smith before he fell off again and then replacing him with Sam Darnold, who’s become the poster child for this dynamic. The Minnesota Vikings let Darnold leave after a breakout 2024 season, only to see him win a Super Bowl in Seattle.
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Daniel Jones is another QB who’s enjoyed a break-through in new scenery lately, and several other teams are trying to chase that same success this year, including the Vikings with Kyler Murray.
The Atlanta Falcons could be one of them, depending on how their QB competition goes between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix. Tagovailoa has been named one of the NFL’s potential next Sam Darnolds by Bleacher Report.
“The still-only-28-year-old 2020 No. 5 overall pick ranks sixth in EPA per dropback over the past three seasons. He was the league’s highest-rated qualified passer in 2022, and he led the NFL in passing yardage in 2023 and completion percentage in 2024. His 2025 campaign was ugly, but that was with extremely limited support as everything blew up for the Dolphins. Now, he joins a more stable and intriguing offense coached by Kevin Stefanski, and he’ll have no shortage of weapons…”
While there was plenty of talent around Tagovailoa in Miami, the dysfunction became abundantly clear early last season, and Tua was left twisting in the wind without any real leadership to speak of.
Now paired with two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, Tagovailoa should in theory be able to get back to the high level of play he was at before the 2025 season. However, he must first beat out Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 1: At Pittsburgh Steelers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 1: At Pittsburgh Steelers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 2: Carolina Panthers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 3: At Green Bay Packers (Thursday Night Football)
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 4: At New Orleans Saints (Monday Night Football)
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 5: Baltimore Ravens (Sunday Night Football)
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 6: Chicago Bears
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 7: San Francisco 49ers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 8: At Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 9: Cincinnati Bengals (Madrid)
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 11: Falcons on bye week
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 12: At Minnesota Vikings
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 13: Detroit Lions
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 14: At Cleveland Browns
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 15: At Washington Commanders
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 16: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 17: New Orleans Saints
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Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL regular season schedule
Week 18: At Carolina Panthers
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This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa could be the next Sam Darnold