Falcons rumors: Michael Penix Jr. still in QB1 race despite no preseason action

Things aren’t going wonderfully well for Atlanta Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa. The players seem to prefer Michael Penix Jr. And Penix is clearly still in the QB1 race despite no preseason action to date, according to a post on X by Ian Rapoport.

“There is a chance,” Rapoport said. “Tua Tagovailoa had a big-time lead in this race. Really was his for the taking. That was the hope, honestly, of the organization. That he would come in, play well, take the starting job, and kind of move forward that way.

“Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. could just rehab, recover from that torn ACL. Get back whenever healthy. And then they would reassess at some point in the season. It just hasn’t quite gone that way. Tua has been inconsistent in practice … was inconsistent in the games. The door is open for Michael Penix.”

Falcons trying to sort out their offense

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said Penix showed positives as he returned to the practice field, according to atlantafalcons.com.

“First of all, it was great to have him out there, just for the human, as hard as he’s worked to get back,” Rees said. “Dealing with a knee injury and coming back again — there’s a lot of joy, personally, for him to be out there on the field. I think his teammates had a lot of joy for him.

“The thing with Mike is he’s been doing a lot, just hasn’t done the full-speed work yet, so getting him back caught up to full-speed play. Mentally, he’s sharp. He’s been in walkthroughs. He’s been doing 7-on-7s, so continuing to get those full-team reps will be very valuable.”

As for Tagovailoa, Rees also said he’s seen good things.

“I think he has taken a lot of ownership in the operation side of the offense,” Rees said. “We have asked him to do some things that he maybe hasn’t had to do in his career. But he’s taken a lot of ownership of that, and he’s really taken the work. And he’s stressed that among himself to execute at a high level.”

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