Tight QB1 races for the Falcons, Browns, Raiders and Vikings? We projected the Week 1 starters
The four spots we're looking at this year: Atlanta, where a former Falcons first-round pick is trying to hold off a former Dolphins first-round pick...
Key points
- The four spots we're looking at this year: Atlanta, where a former Falcons first-round pick is trying to hold off a former Dolphins first-round pick Cleveland, where the Browns always seem to have a quarterback competition of some sort Las Vegas, where the Raiders brought in a veteran so the first pick in this year's draft doesn't feel pressured to play right away Minnesota, where last season was such a catastrophe that the Vikings had to bring in someone else, even if he was a castoff We'll hit these alphabetically, starting with the Falcons' battle between two lefties.
- Jump to a QB1 battle: Falcons | Browns | Raiders | Vikings Atlanta Falcons Candidates: Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa Penix was the eighth pick in 2024, when Terry Fontenot was the Falcons' general manager and Raheem Morris was their coach.
- "He was hurt all the time in college, and that was one of the big concerns." A couple of the people I spoke to expect the Falcons to want to play Penix at some point this season, to see whether they have something there before they have to decide on his fifth-year contract option in May.
- If Penix can get healthy and outperform Tagovailoa in camp, Penix could open the season as the starter and theoretically run with the job.
What happened
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The four spots we're looking at this year: Atlanta, where a former Falcons first-round pick is trying to hold off a former Dolphins first-round pick Cleveland, where the Browns always seem to have a quarterback competition of some sort Las Vegas, where the Raiders brought in a veteran so the first pick in this year's draft doesn't feel pressured to play right away Minnesota, where last season was such a catastrophe that the Vikings had to bring in someone else, even if he was a castoff We'll hit these alphabetically, starting with the Falcons' battle between two lefties. Jump to a QB1 battle: Falcons | Browns | Raiders | Vikings Atlanta Falcons Candidates: Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa Penix was the eighth pick in 2024, when Terry Fontenot was the Falcons' general manager and Raheem Morris was their coach. "He was hurt all the time in college, and that was one of the big concerns." A couple of the people I spoke to expect the Falcons to want to play Penix at some point this season, to see whether they have something there before they have to decide on his fifth-year contract option in May. If Penix can get healthy and outperform Tagovailoa in camp, Penix could open the season...