The Atlanta Falcons' QB competition has been a rollercoaster of emotions, and it's all thanks to Michael Penix Jr.'s return timeline. When it was announced at the start of training camp he was weeks away from full clearance, the pendulum swung in Tua Tagovailoa's favor, but now he's closing the gap.
After a November ACL tear, Penix was cleared for full contact last week, and took his first reps of 11-on-11s during yesterday's practice--and looked solid. Considering Tua was unable to pull away while he was sidelined, NFL insider Ian Rapoport is sensing the drastic shift in Atlanta's quarterback battle.
During an episode of NFL Network's The Insiders, he revealed how that shift is playing out in real time. While Michael Penix Jr. was sidelined, the goal was to let him rest and start Tagovailoa, but considering the way Tagovailoa's looked recently, they got their youngster back at the perfect time.
"It really seemed like the goal of the entire organization was to have Tua (Tagovailoa) be the starting quarterback right away to start the season, let Michael Penix Jr. come along slow," Rapoport said... "Tua's play made that impossible, not just in the preseason game, but it sounds like practice as well."
The Falcons' quarterback battle is swinging in Michael Penix Jr.'s favor
Rapoport didn't necessarily unearth anything anyone who was following the Falcons closely didn't know, but he did confirm what we already knew: Tua Tagovailoa wasn't cutting it. He looked rough in the preseason opener, and joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts didn't help his case either.
Here's what we have to realize: the former Pro Bowler had a four-week lead on Penix during the time he was only taking part in 7-on-7s. That's enough of a head start to learn the offense and convince Kevin Stefanski to name him QB1 if he played well, but he chose to wait for the 26-year-old to return.
Now that the former top-10 pick is back to full contact, he has just under three weeks of practice to get his body right in time for Week 1. RapSheet doesn't see any silver linings here: he realizes that with how long the competition is taking to play out, the Dirty Birds are making this Penix's job to lose.
"This is Michael Penix's job for the taking. If he comes out and plays as well as he can, this creates the best-case scenario for the Atlanta Falcons."
The fact of the matter is that he's right. They could have named a starter by now, or held an unofficial competition just like the Minnesota Vikings did. And for all of the talk that this was no competition and Tua Tagovailoa was bound to win out, it sure doesn't look like that will be the case in Atlanta anymore.
It's fairly obvious that the Falcons have more to gain from starting a healthy Michael Penix Jr.-- and only signed Tua Tagovailoa as insurance in case he wasn't ready for Week 1. And even Ian Rapoport is aware that that if he seizes the day upon his return, he'll get a chance to prove he's a franchise QB.
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