Tua-Penix QB1 Battle Updated by Falcons OC amid OTAs, Latest Injury News

The Atlanta Falcons have a decision to make about who will be under center this season, but it appears they're not exactly close to making that decision.

Falcons quarterback coach Alex Van Pelt said Monday that Atlanta can't have a proper quarterback competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. until Penix is back to full speed. Van Pelt also offered an update on Penix as he recovers from a torn ACL.

"It's tough to have a competition when both guys aren't competing at the same level right now," Van Pelt told reporters. "So, it's hard and it'll come. It'll happen at some point. Mike's done a great job of getting himself to where he is right now. Really impressive to take 7-on-7 reps and go out and compete. That's been great. But really, there's no competition until we can actually evaluate him equally."

Penix suffered a torn ACL in November, finishing his second NFL season with 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games. Head coach Kevin Stefansky said Monday that it's still too early to say whether Penix will be ready to go by preseason.

"He's hitting every milestone that he's supposed to hit," Stefanski said. "We're in constant communication with our medical team and Mike, and I think he's doing everything he can do and certainly when he may want to do more, we have to hold him back from certain things potentially. But not going to put any time frames out there just yet, just going to focus on what's in front of us."

Stefanski also said last month that Penix could be cleared for 11-on-11 " coming soon," though he said, "We'll see" when asked if he'd be cleared by the start of minicamp practices next week.

Tagovailoa is hoping to get a fresh start in Atlanta after he threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions last year, leading to his release from the Miami Dolphins.

Tagovailoa might have the early edge in the quarterback battle since he's fully healthy, though Van Pelt said Penix has been given more 7-on-7 reps than Tagovailoa to try to even things out.

"We split the reps as evenly as we can without Mike taking team reps," Van Pelt said. "It gets a little lopsided towards Tua."