Kevin Stefanski has made one thing plain: he’s willing to put starters on the field in the preseason. After Raheem Morris spent two seasons keeping his biggest names on the sideline, that’s a change Falcons fans should welcome.
The coach said games one and three are the ones worth circling, and that’s where Atlanta has to start sorting through the messiest parts of the roster. With Friday’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos first up, the staff has 180 exhibition minutes to find answers.
The biggest of those questions sits right at quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are the headline battle, and the health of both players is the first thing to watch.
If Penix Jr. isn’t healthy, there’s no real competition for the starting job in Pittsburgh. In the best-case scenario, each quarterback gets a chance to stack a drive or two and force the issue.
Then there’s the third quarterback spot, which may be the most important No. 3 job in the league. Both top options come with injury history, so the backup behind them matters plenty.
Jack Strand, the undrafted rookie, is the wild card. Cooper Rush is the veteran in the mix.
One of them has to emerge.
The Falcons also need someone to fill the hole left by Jalon Walker. Nobody is replacing him directly, but somebody has to be good enough to help soften the blow.
Harold Perkins Jr. is the most interesting name in that search. His college career never matched the burst of his first two seasons, so Atlanta has to find out which version it’s getting.
If the Falcons can get even 50% of the player he was early on, that sixth-round pick starts looking like a steal.
There are other candidates, too. Rookie Kendal Daniels will get a look to see whether he can flash as an edge threat here and there.
Azeez Ojulari, Samson Ebukam and James Pearce Jr. are in the mix as well, at least for now. However it shakes out, Walker’s departure is going to mean fewer sacks.
Cornerback is the other spot that needs sorting, and it starts with A.J. Terrell.
Beyond him, the picture gets murky fast. The unit is talented, but there are a lot of starting-caliber names and not enough clear answers about how they fit together.
Mike Hughes currently has the upper hand, while Avieon Terrell could still make a late run at the job opposite his brother. He’s dealing with an injury now, though, which complicates things.
The slot is even more crowded, with Billy Bowman Jr., Sydney Brown, Darnay Holmes and maybe the younger Terrell all pushing for snaps. Every one of them deserves a role, and that leaves Jeff Ulbrich with a tough job as he tries to sort out what could be the deepest secondary the Falcons have had in a long time.
In Other News...
Jake Matthews Just Gave Falcons Fans Another Reason To Respect Him
Jake Matthews has long been one of the steadier fixtures in Atlanta, the kind of left tackle the Falcons have been able to pencil in season after season without much worry. Since being drafted sixth overall in 2014, he has been a consistent starter, built the franchise record for consecutive games played, and carried the longest active streak of starts in the NFL at 195. He has also done his part off the field for the roster, restructuring his contract to help the Falcons create more room under the salary cap.
During training camp, though, Matthews revealed another layer to that durability: he spent the stretch run of last season dealing with a high-ankle sprain and still kept going. For a team that has leaned on him for years, it only deepened the respect around him, even as it raised the obvious question of how much longer Atlanta can expect that kind of ironman availability. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Rookies Are Suddenly Fighting For More Than Preseason Snaps
With preseason games on the horizon, the Falcons are getting a first real look at a rookie class that could matter right away once the games count. Branch, the third-round wide receiver who has turned heads, is among the young players expected to push for early-season work, while a second-round defensive back and an undrafted quarterback from Minnesota State-Moorhead are also in the mix as Atlanta sorts out who can help beyond camp.
For the coaching staff, these exhibitions are about more than just shaking off rust. They are a chance to test rookies against live competition, sort out roster battles and start piecing together who might earn real snaps, or even bigger roles, when the season opens. The Falcons have several young players competing for those opportunities, and the next few weeks should go a long way toward showing which ones are ready to turn a strong summer into something more permanent. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Jr. Gets One Crucial Shot In Falcons QB Battle
The Falcons are giving Michael Penix Jr. a meaningful runway next week when they head into joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts, and head coach Kevin Stefanski said the rookie will be involved in 7-on-7 work. For a quarterback competition that has been watched closely all summer, those reps matter because they offer a cleaner look at Penix in a competitive setting, where timing, decision-making and command can be judged without the full chaos of a preseason game.
Penix has not taken the field in the preseason opener, while the other quarterback drew the start and the early work with the starters. That leaves the joint practices as one of the first real chances for Penix to show how far he has come and make his case in a battle that still feels very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]