Tua Tagovailoa to Start Falcons' Preseason Opener amid QB1 Battle with Michael Penix Jr.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will get another chance to campaign for his team's QB1 role during Friday's preseason action.

Tagovailoa will start Friday against the Denver Broncos, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday (h/t team reporter Tori McElhaney).

Stefanski said the Falcons are playing their starters Friday, but declined to commit to Tagovailoa as a a Week 1 starter, per McElhaney.

Quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Jack Strand are set to finish out the game, Stefanski said (h/t ESPN's Marc Raimondi).

Tagovailoa is competing for a starting role against Michael Penix Jr., who is continuing to recover from the torn ACL he suffered last November.

Penix has not yet resumed team work. Stefanski said the plan for next week is to continue working with him in individual, receiver and 7-on-7 drills.

Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said Tuesday he felt Penix had done "everything he can possibly do to put himself in the position to compete" despite not being able to participate in full team drills, per McElhaney.

"It's only a matter of time until that comes," Van Pelt said Tuesday, per McElhaney. "And then we'll reset and look at it from the big picture once he is available."

Penix said in a recent interview on Cam Newton's podcast he felt his knee was physically ready but there was a "mental" hurdle to clear in terms of trusting it.

Stefanski said Wednesday that the Falcons were "confident in where we are with Mike."

"I think confidence just comes from all of these reps, and when he's clear for 11-on-11, confidence comes from those reps as well," Stefanski said.

When Tagovailoa starts Wednesday, Stefanski said offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will be calling plays in what he described as a "simple" plan.

"I don't believe in showing a lot in the preseason, and doing all sorts of exotic things and whatnot. What we'll do is we'll have a very simple game plan on offense, defense and special teams so that our players can play fast," Stefanski said.

When asked what he was looking for from Tagovailoa, Stefanski answered: "Looking forward to Tua getting his first action in a game in this system. There's a lot of newness for him in terms of that type of thing. It's first time in the building for him as a Falcon, and just understanding all the things that go with it."

Stefanski added he expected his starters to play around one series each Friday, although the specific workload would depend on each player.

The Falcons and Broncos are set to kick off their preseason matchup this Friday in Atlanta at 7 p.m. ET.