Good morning Falcoholics, and welcome to Wednesday! I missed yesterday’s practice due to my day job — covering the Falcons isn’t actually in my job description (my full-time job is serving as SB Nation’s NFL News Director), which may be surprising to y’all, and I am forever grateful that SB Nation still lets me do it.
I am headed to today’s practice, and as usual, I’ll have all of my reporting in The Falcoholic’s Feed. Things could always change, but as of right now, we expect to hear from defensive line coach Nate Ollie at 11 a.m. ET, and we’ll hear from secondary coach Justin Hood around 11:10 a.m. Practice begins at noon, and Kevin Stefanski and Michael Penix will speak to the media after practice.
Today we’re going to talk about what I hope to learn from practice on Wednesday, and I’m introducing a weekly mailbag and will have answers to your questions in Friday’s Opening Drive. We’ll also take a trip around the Falcons beat, and we can all catch up on the details from yesterday’s practice together.
Don’t miss today’s Falcoholic Question of the Day! What Falcons player from the past would you choose to add to the 2026 roster, and why?
Aug 14, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons president of football Matt Ryan before a game against the Denver Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Falcons Opening Drive: What I hope to learn from Wednesday’s practice
It sounds like Tuesday was a pretty even day for the Falcons’ quarterback battle. We still don’t know if Michael Penix Jr. will play this weekend in preseason action, much less whether he’d be able to start Week 1. But in terms of preparation, the team appears to be giving both potential QB1s a fair shot to win the job long-term.
I do hope we’ll learn tomorrow — and I suspect we will, because the question will definitely be asked — whether or not the team and Penix feel comfortable with the idea of a few preseason reps on Friday night.
I’m very interested to hear from Nate Ollie and Justin Hood and how they feel their units are progressing. The Falcons finished last season with 57 sacks and a whole lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks … but between James Pearce Jr.‘s eight-game suspension, Jalon Walker’s season-ending injury, and the departures of guys like Kaden Elliss, Leonard Floyd, and Ruke Orhorhoro, they’ll be missing a lot of the guys who racked them up last season.
As far as the secondary, since Aveion Terrell returned to practice on Tuesday and took reps in the nickel with the first-team defense. I’m very interested to hear what Justin Hood has to say about his guys, and how he envisions using the younger Terrell brother in this defense.
And, of course, I’m curious to see how all of the quarterbacks perform, but especially Penix. It does sound like both Tagovailoa and Penix performed pretty well on Tuesday, so we’ll see what tomorrow holds.
Now, let’s move on to the Falcons coverage you absolutely must watch, read or listen to today:
This is a fantastic piece from Josh Kendall at The Athletic about the current state of the QB1 battle and what Kevin Stefanski had to say about it.
Daniel Flick at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a thorough breakdown of Tuesday’s practice.
Falcoholic alum Will McFadden put a spotlight on one of this training camp’s most fun players, Tyler Goodson, as well as detailed notes from Tuesday’s practice, for AtlantaFalcons.com.
Congratulations and best wishes to Tua Tagovailoa and his wife, Annah, along with their two children. The Tagovailoas announced on Instagram that they’re welcoming a new baby to their family.
From The Falcoholic Community
I loved this Feed post from MarcoMarietta:
Losing/Trading Strand is Not an Option
As we approach the 3rd and final pre-season game the Falcons Fanbase is clearly nervous. Many are excited by what Jack Strand has shown thus far and honestly feel nervous about the Penix/Tua options sitting atop the depth chart. Sure, that might change... but not too likely.
I THINK most fans are worried that the Falcons might go with two QBs (on the final 53) and plan to sign Strand to the Practice Squad. Those in the know realize they'd be exposing him to 'waivers' before signing. They also know he's not likely to 'clear' those waivers based upon what we've seen thus far in camp and pre-season. In such an event, we'd lose a potential longterm talent for NOTHING. Trading him for an asset is possible, but we'd (fanbase) still be upset. What then?
I'm advocating that they keep 3 QB's on the active roster (53), that way they will have 2 NFL-experienced QBs and Rookie high upside QB, Jack Strand. This is seldom done because it wastes a roster spot for another position player possibly needed on game day. BUT... there's an out.
The Emergency Third Quarterback Rule : Keeping Strand on the active 53-man roster allows the Falcons to designate him as an inactive emergency QB on game days. He wouldn't take up an active game-day spot, but he would remain fully protected from the waiver wire. And if they actually needed him in a game, he would be made "active".
If he doesn't win the QB1 or QB2 position outright before the season, this is the direction I would hope they'd consider. How many years have we watched the same players week after week sitting IDLE (inactive) on game day? Never has one of them been a potential franchise QB in-waiting.
And I have to agree. Strand has undeniable potential, and he’s very smart and a quick learner. We know who Cooper Rush is as a player, and I respect the hell out of journeymen backups like Rush because that uncertainty does not make for an easy road, but Rush’s ceiling is a little one-story church, while Strand’s is the Sistine Chapel.
I don’t know what Stefanski et al WILL do, but I hope they keep Tua, Penix, and Jack Strand on the 53-man roster for the reasons Marco laid out.
Submit your questions for this week’s mailbag in the Feed!
We all have questions about the Falcons, and I’ll do my best to answer yours on Friday. To submit your questions, click here, and the Feed editor will pop up. I’ll answer the five questions that get the most recs in Friday’s Opening Drive.
The reason I’d like to use the Feed for the questions is so we can all discuss them. I’m curious to know what y’all think too, so please share your thoughts and answers in the comments on those Feed posts!
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The Falcoholic’s Question of the Day:
If you could choose one Falcons player from history and add the prime version of that player to this current team, who would it be, and why?
I suspect Matt Ryan will be a popular answer, and I get it. I don’t disagree. But I’m hoping to see some deeper cuts! In that spirit, I’m going with someone who can get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Give me John Abraham.
Share your answers in the comments!