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Marc Raimondi
Multiple Authors
PHOENIX — Kevin Stefanski had a crowded quarterback room with the Cleveland Browns in 2025. Veteran Joe Flacco began the season as starter, rookie Dillon Gabriel ended up starting six games and rookie Shedeur Sanders got seven starts.
Stefanski, now with the Atlanta Falcons, said Monday that he learned some things from that situation he hopes will benefit the Falcons.
Atlanta signed former Pro Bowl quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in free agency to compete with Michael Penix Jr., who is rehabbing from left ACL surgery. Tagovailoa will get the majority of the starter reps at least until Penix is healthy.
“Well, I think you take lessons from everything you’re doing, but certainly as it relates to competitions at every position, putting around a structure where you can allow guys to display what they can do,” Stefanski said at the annual league meeting. “I think that’s important for us as coaches to put together a practice plan, a structure of how you handle the offseason to make sure that everybody is competing and then we can make those decisions.”
Does that mean the coaching staff has to sometimes take into account the personal feelings of players?
“I mean, these are human beings,” he said. “… I want all of our guys to feel that we have their best interest in mind, because we do. I’ve said this many, many times: We play the greatest team game there is, but these are also individuals and as important as the collective is, I don’t want to ever ignore each person.
“And so, we’ll constantly be working with our players to understand our players, to earn their trust. And then the game and in between the white lines takes care of itself.”
There was some controversy in Cleveland about what percentage of reps some of the quarterbacks were getting in practice. Stefanski said he’ll consider that when it comes to Tagovailoa and Penix. Stefanski said he and his staff are “trying to be smart about how we put a plan together to get guys ready to play, maybe not ready to play immediately, but maybe ready to play later.”
“So those were good lessons learned for us and things I thought we did well, things that we definitely could have done better,” Stefanski said.
Stefanski said “we’ll have to see” how that might relate to Penix and Tagovailoa. Penix’s health right now is “paramount,” Stefanski said. But he does envision a time when both Penix and Tagovailoa will have the chance to put forth their best shot at winning the starting quarterback job.
Stefanski said he could not yet put a timetable on Penix’s return. Penix has said in interviews that he expects to be ready for Week 1.
“His No. 1 job right now is to get healthy,” Stefanski said. “And he’s doing a great job at it. He is rehabbing like crazy. He’s in the building all the time.
“So, I’m excited for what that looks like when he’s healthy. But we’re not going to rush him. He’s not going to rush himself. We’ll make sure that we follow all the appropriate protocols, if you will, from a medical standpoint. And when he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”
The Miami Dolphins released Tagovailoa, taking on a record $99.2 million in dead money. Tagovailoa had a career-high 15 interceptions in 2025 and lost his starting job just two seasons after leading the NFL in passing yards (4,624).
The coach said Sunday on NFL Network that he understands Tagovailoa because Stefanski was just let go by the Browns. Both he and Tagovailoa are getting fresh starts in Atlanta.
“I just think all of us — players, coaches — you go through some interesting moments in this league, and then the fun part is to see how you respond to those things,” Stefanski said. “So, obviously for Tua, this is a new opportunity for him. For me, it’s a new opportunity. You get to put your best foot forward in these type of things.”
