ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons will open their home schedule against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. But they haven’t decided yet which quarterback will start.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski says all four quarterbacks on the roster are being evaluated. So that includes Cooper Rush, Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Strand.
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Channel 2’s Alison Mastrangelo asked Stefanski what he needs to see from his guys and when he hopes to make that decision by.
“There’s a lot that goes into, uh, getting ready for a game, so you have to go out to practice. See how you feel, those types of things,” Stefanski said. “I think with any decision on the roster for your team, you have to be flexible.”
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Cooper Rush started in the 20-13 loss to the Steelers. He finished with 12 of 22 passes completed, one touchdown and two interceptions, including one Pittsburgh returned for the touchdown.
“You know, you watch the tape and it’s never as good or never as bad as you think. It’s kind of always how it goes. It’s an old saying. Definitely want a few plays back. Just wasn’t mentally sharp enough really,” Rush said.
Penix Jr. also hit the practice field and did reps with the first team. He hasn’t played in a game since he tore his ACL in November and was just cleared for drills a couple of weeks ago.
Penix Jr. says he is close to returning but isn’t putting a timetable on which week.
“Today I felt good in practice. You know I wanna keep making strides, keep feelin’ better each and every day. And that’s what it’s about,” he said. “Like it’s whenever my knee feels good, I’m gonna be out there. It’s nothing else other than that.”
Tagovailoa, who was the selected Week 1 starter before he tweaked his back, did not practice at all on Wednesday.
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