FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons do not have a quarterback competition. At least not yet, according to quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt.
On Monday, Van Pelt said he believes there cannot be a true competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. until Penix is able to do all the things in practice that Tagovailoa can do. Penix is recovering from left ACL surgery in November and has yet to be cleared for 11-on-11 team sessions.
Penix has been at practice, though. He has been doing 7-on-7s and individual drills -- more than some would have thought just seven months after an ACL reconstruction.
"It's tough to have a competition when both guys aren't competing at the same level right now," Van Pelt said. "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."