The Atlanta Falcons quarterback made his highly anticipated return.
The Atlanta Falcons were under a bright microscope during their practice session on Monday afternoon with the full return of Michael Penix Jr. to 11 on 11 after he had only been partially participating throughout the summer.
Penix was recovering from a torn ACL and was not fully ready by the start of camp, taking his time and being able to recover fully to the point where doctors are comfortable with the possibility that he could get hit. Obviously, that's not the goal in practice, but things happen in full team drills and guys get rolled up on.
Monday was the first time Penix practiced while fully cleared, which means based on what the coaching staff said prior to camp that it was the first day of the true quarterback battle between him and Tua Tagovailoa. Neither was particularly sensational, but it does sound like Penix won the day with ease.
Penix Outperformed Tagovailoa in Sloppy Offensive Day
While Penix did not light the world on fire going 4-for-8 in 11 on 11 drills, Tagovailoa was 0-for-3 and continues to not look comfortable throwing the ball both in practice and in game action.
Not to mention the fact Atlanta still has another preseason game scheduled at the end of the week, a game Kevin Stefanski has referred to as a dress rehearsal for the start of the season. Starters are expected to play, though Atlanta's head coach did stop short of confirming whether or not that meant Penix would play.
Ultimately, Penix is understandably going to be a little bit behind, but that does not mean he does not still have a real chance to win the job.
How Penix Could Seize Falcons QB1 Job Still
While the initial timeline at the outset of camp was ambiguous on when Penix would be back, he now has a full three weeks to ramp up and show the staff why he should be the Week 1 starter. Clearly, he had the right mindset and was never going to rush his recovery, but he is now recovered.
Out-dueling Tagovailoa this week at practice would go a long way no matter what the verdict is on reps during Friday's game against the Miami Dolphins. There is a realistic period of time where Penix can seize the job, but he will have to continue to stack days and show the staff that this is his job.
