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Ever since trading Matt Ryan away, the Atlanta Falcons have struggled to find consistent play at the quarterback position. After missing the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season in 2025, Falcons owner Arthur Blank decided to bring Ryan back as the team's president of football.
The former league MVP has no prior front office experience, but he has 15 years of NFL experience and 14 years as the face of the franchise in Atlanta. Ryan also knows the quarterback position as well as anyone, which has been the team's biggest weakness since his departure in 2022.
The Falcons signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year contract for the veteran minimum and will have an open competition for the starting job in 2026. Michael Penix Jr. is recovering from an ACL injury but should be ready before the season begins.
Ryan was asked how he views the team's current quarterback situation during an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio.
"I think all of us view it as competition, and so, the most important thing for Michael right now, you know, coming off injury, is to attack the rehab and get his body in a position to go out there and play football," said Ryan. "And really he's done an incredible job of that. I mean, since I've taken the job and the season had just ended at this point, he has been in there consistently getting after his rehab and being diligent about that."
Ryan made it clear that the decision to sign Tagovailoa was done so with Penix's injury in mind, and discussed the importance of having depth at the quarterback position.
"And then for Tua, like you mentioned, my player perspective with injuries is no matter how on schedule you are, you just don't know, until the end, you just don't know," Ryan explained. "We want Michael focused on that. But no plan, or not having depth at that spot doesn't put our football team in the best position to be successful."
The Falcons have dealt with injuries at quarterback in each of the last two seasons, but Ryan thinks the team has two good players in Penix and Tagovailoa.
"We've got two guys, in my opinion, that I feel strongly about, can play really good football in this league, and we're gonna see how that shakes out."
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan comments on QB competition
Continue reading...
The former league MVP has no prior front office experience, but he has 15 years of NFL experience and 14 years as the face of the franchise in Atlanta. Ryan also knows the quarterback position as well as anyone, which has been the team's biggest weakness since his departure in 2022.
The Falcons signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year contract for the veteran minimum and will have an open competition for the starting job in 2026. Michael Penix Jr. is recovering from an ACL injury but should be ready before the season begins.
Ryan was asked how he views the team's current quarterback situation during an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio.
"I think all of us view it as competition, and so, the most important thing for Michael right now, you know, coming off injury, is to attack the rehab and get his body in a position to go out there and play football," said Ryan. "And really he's done an incredible job of that. I mean, since I've taken the job and the season had just ended at this point, he has been in there consistently getting after his rehab and being diligent about that."
Ryan made it clear that the decision to sign Tagovailoa was done so with Penix's injury in mind, and discussed the importance of having depth at the quarterback position.
"And then for Tua, like you mentioned, my player perspective with injuries is no matter how on schedule you are, you just don't know, until the end, you just don't know," Ryan explained. "We want Michael focused on that. But no plan, or not having depth at that spot doesn't put our football team in the best position to be successful."
The Falcons have dealt with injuries at quarterback in each of the last two seasons, but Ryan thinks the team has two good players in Penix and Tagovailoa.
"We've got two guys, in my opinion, that I feel strongly about, can play really good football in this league, and we're gonna see how that shakes out."
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan comments on QB competition
Continue reading...
