The Atlanta Falcons' quarterback room is in complete ruins right now due to injury. Michael Penix Jr. has yet to be cleared for full contact, Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with a flare-up in his back, and the team just released Trevor Siemian after he re-aggravated the calf injury suffered earlier this summer.
So in terms of healthy quarterbacks on the roster, there aren't many options. There is the newly-signed Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand. Strand is a player who generated a cult following after he was signed, and now he has a chance to prove that that faith was well-placed.
The AJC's Daniel Flick reported that with Penix not cleared for full contact and Tua not participating, Strand is expected to get "most, if not all" of the team snaps during the first practice of training camp--and this feels like a golden opportunity for him to secure his roster spot with the added reps after he took second-team reps during mandatory minicamp.
Jack Strand can lock down his roster spot with a strong camp showing
Knowing the injury histories of both Penix and Tua, there was always a world where the Falcons would be forced to turn to the 22-year-old sooner than expected, but nobody was expecting it to be this soon. This is the first day of training camp, and he's already going to be taking first-team reps.
However, the NFL is the land of opportunity, and hopefully Strand will be incredibly cut out for what's to come. The rookie UDFA lit up the competition at Minnesota State-Morehead to the point that he was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy (the D2 Heisman) in each of his last three college seasons.
His 13,161 passing yards rank 10th in D2 history and he threw for 126 touchdowns in four seasons as a starter. Strand also has intriguing arm talent and size at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds. Clearly Kevin Stefanski sees something if the Dirty Birds were willing to use one of their pre-draft 30 visits on him.
But here's what we have to realize: the talent gap between D1 and D2 is massive, so the ceiling may not be there in the way that some fans expect. He's going from facing D2 defenses to facing a first-team NFL defense, so this will be a big test in regards to his potential and long-term future in Atlanta.
As long as Jack Strand capitalizes on the extra reps before Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are back to full strength, he should cement his status as a fan favorite-- but more importantly, he'll lock down the QB3 job and give himself the inside track to make the Falcons' 53-man roster in a few weeks.
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