After being cleared for all football activities, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is set to truly enter Atlanta’s quarterback competition.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Monday that Penix and Tua Tagovailoa will split reps with the first-team offense on Monday.
“[T]he new part for Mike is just being in there in with a full offensive line, a full defensive line, but he’s been in walkthrough huddles, he’s been in 7-on-7, he’s obviously gone through individuals,” Stefanski said in his press conference, via transcript from the team. “So, this is a good — now that Mike is cleared — it’s good that he can start that process of getting back to 11-on-11.”
Stefanski, however, said that he “can’t speculate” when asked if it’s realistic that Penix could start Week 1.
“Everything we do around this building is competing,” Stefanski said. “I know it’s easy to say, ‘position battles,’ and those types of things, but we’re constantly competing. That’s not the focus for our guys. Our guys are pushing each other by showing up and putting in the work.”
Penix is returning from a torn ACL suffered midway through last season. He had been participating in individual drills and 7-on-7 work throughout training camp.
While undrafted rookie Jack Strand has impressed in the preseason, Stefanski noted that at this point, Strand is not an option to be the club’s starter.
“At this point, Jack’s going to work with the twos and threes, but very excited about his development,” Stefanski said. “But it goes back to the earlier point of like all of our young players, we have a plan to bring them along and develop them. And the player development is a huge part of what we do, whether you’re talking about quarterback position, the linebacker position, nose tackle, I don’t care. Player development is important to us and being intentional about how we bring players along is important to us.”
Stefanski said he is planning to play the starters against the Dolphins in Friday’s preseason finale, which could be a chance for Penix to make an impression if he gets through practice cleanly.
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