The Atlanta Falcons are headed into their final preseason game on Friday night with a ton of very difficult decisions to make ahead of the roster cutdown, but one decisions looms larger than everything else.

Quarterback will always draw the most headlines, and the Falcons have one of the most interesting and unique situations in recent memory as Michael Penix Jr. returns to full health and Tua Tagovailoa does not seize the job despite every opportunity. Tagovailoa is going to be starting on Friday night against the Miami Dolphins while Penix does not play after just returning to practice, and it makes things interesting.

While Penix just has not had enough practice yet to play and Tagovailoa makes one final audition for the QB1 spot, one Atlanta radio host sees the game not just as Tua trying to become the starter, but that his actual spot on the roster could be in jeopardy as well.

Mark Zinno of ESPN Radio and 92.9 The Game thinks Penix is going to be the Week 1 starter, and that Tagovailoa's performance on Friday night will determine whether or not he gets cut.

"Michael Penix will be the starter Week 1. Yes, even without playing in the preseason. The QB "competition" never materialized in the true sense of one, but one thing was clear. Tua didn't play well enough to win the job," Zinno wrote on X. "I'll go one even further ... Tua is playing Friday night for a SPOT ON THE ROSTER! I think it's totally conceivable that he could be cut. Ask yourself, what's the real difference, in 2026, between Tua, Cooper Rush & Jack Strand? Hard for me to find one."

Zinno did clarify that this is not insider info and rather only his best guess on how the situation could play out, but it's tough not to think he may be at least somewhat on the mark here.

Tagovailoa did have a much better set of practices in the middle of the week, but if he continues to look as uncomfortable as he did in the first preseason game, a real case can be made that it's worth keeping Jack Strand as the developmental backup behind Penix provided Penix is in fact healthy.

In reality, it likely comes down to whether or not Atlanta is willing to carry three quarterbacks, and if they are, Tagovailoa is almost certainly going to be on the roster. Difficult questions have to be asked this time of year though, and Tagovailoa's status is just one of those questions.

It won't be long before fans have answers, and Friday night against Tua's old team should go a long way towards getting those answers.