Last week, first-year Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to say if quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would be cleared for 11-on-11 work before Atlanta’s mandatory minicamp began on Tuesday.
While speaking with reporters at the start of minicamp, Stefanski shared an update that wasn’t all that surprising to those who have followed this particular story throughout the offseason.
The song remains the same for Michael Penix Jr.
“He’s not cleared for 11-on-11,” Stefanski said about Penix, per Matt Urben of Falcons Wire/USA Today. “So we’ll continue with the plan with what Mike has done. To date, very pleased with the work that he’s putting in. He’s exactly where he needs to be. We’ll just continue to lean on medical and Mike and continue to make good decisions for his rehabilitation.”
Regardless of what Stefanski or anybody else may say, Tuesday’s developments are hardly encouraging as it pertains to Penix truly competing with free-agency signing Tua Tagovailoa for the team’s starting quarterback job. Penix has spent portions of the offseason learning a new offense while recovering from the surgery he needed last fall to repair a partially torn ACL. As ESPN’s Marc Raimondi and others have pointed out, the perception exists that “Tagovailoa might have something of a head start in this new offense” heading into the team’s summer break.
Previous reports indicated that Tagovailoa is the favorite to start Atlanta’s Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 13. According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Stefanski didn’t say on Tuesday if Penix will be fully cleared for the start of training-camp practices in late July.
Tua Tagovailoa can’t win the starting job this week
Stefanski reminded outsiders that he won’t be naming Tagovailoa the team’s QB1 before Father’s Day weekend arrives.
“We’re not giving out any jobs in June,” Stefanski added during his comments. “With any competition, those things work themselves out down the line. As a team, we have to realize that we’re all working forward.”
That’s all well and good, but one could assume it’s fair to wonder if Tagovailoa would have to be shockingly bad from the start of training camp through the preseason to lose the starting job to somebody who hasn’t participated in 11-on-11 work throughout the spring. After all, there’d be no reason for the Falcons to hold a competition if Stefanski and Co. truly viewed Penix as a top-tier option.