RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Falcons' quarterback competition fully launched this week with Michael Penix's clearance for all phases of football work and the team will be under a time crunch to make their choice for Week 1.
Penix became the quarterback of the future in Atlanta when he was drafted in the first round in 2024, but his brief run as a starter as a rookie was followed by nine starts and a torn ACL last season. That led the team to bring in Tua Tagovailoa as a free agent and he handled the 11-on-11 work with the first team while Penix was waiting for the go-ahead from trainers.
Tagovailoa's play didn't convince anyone he's clearly the best choice to open the season and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said this week that he looks forward to hearing all opinions as the team figures out the best path.
"We have a very good dialogue between all of us, so I am not real concerned with voices not being heard or not," Rees said, via the team's website. "There's been an open dialogue and a lot of mutual respect in terms of who we work with. Those conversations will take place and we will all say our part and we will move forward together with one decision."
Rees also shared how he'll evaluate the two players given their imbalanced workload in the offseason and summer.
"I think you look at the whole body of work, you certainly know where guys have been in their career," Rees said. "You know what they have done in real games, on a big stage. So, certainly, there are things you can draw back to, talk through and know that guys have handled things in the past. We're really trying to evaluate how they've handled [a new offensive install], what we have asked them to do and I have been pleased with the progression."
Friday's preseason game will give the Falcons one more data point to consider before moving forward with their conversations about starting Penix or Tagovailoa.
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