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A recent update suggested that people within the Atlanta Falcons did not know for sure that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would be deemed "fully healthy" by the time veteran Falcons players are due to report for training camp on July 28.
Penix wasn't cleared to participate in 11-on-11 team sessions during Atlanta's mandatory minicamp in June as he continued to recover from the surgery he needed to repair a partially torn ACL. This reportedly gave free-agency signing Tua Tagovailoa "a clear advantage" in the competition to win the Falcons' Week 1 starting job.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Ben Solak shared more bad news for Penix.
Analyst "expecting" this outcome for Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr. competition
"I'm expecting Tagovailoa to win this job for Week 1, though his regular-season performance might not guarantee him 17 starts," Solak wrote.
On Monday, Josh Kendall of The Athletic noted that the Falcons still have "a lot of optimism" that Penix can become the club's long-term answer at the sport's most important position. However, first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski was with the Cleveland Browns when the previous Atlanta regime made Penix a first-round pick during the 2024 NFL Draft. Thus, there's no reason to believe that Stefanski's future is at all tied to Penix's.
Why Tua Tagovailoa is the favorite to win the Falcons' starting job for reasons other than health
"Penix and Tagovailoa are remarkably different players," Solak added. "Penix has easy velocity but scattershot accuracy; Tagovailoa has pinpoint placement but struggles to drive the ball. The history of Kevin Stefanski's offenses lean toward Tagovailoa's strengths, but Penix is the one who actually has a chance of developing into a long-term starter. (We've likely seen the ceiling of Tagovailoa's play, which was quite high in Miami.)
Unless Stefanski says otherwise, one would assume that Tagovailoa will start and see a significant amount of action when the Falcons open the preseason with a matchup against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 14. Unless Tagovailoa falls on his face that Friday night, he could take an insurmountable lead in the battle for the QB1 gig by the time the Denver contest wraps up.
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