The old NFL adage says that when you have two starting quarterbacks, you don't have one. What does it mean then when a team carries four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster going into the season?
The Atlanta Falcons are about to find out, as they decided to keep all of the quarterbacks on their preseason roster, beginning with presumed "starter" Tua Tagovailoa, the recently-returned Michael Penix Jr., veteran Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand.
According to ESPN, keeping four QBs is the biggest move that the Falcons made yesterday - despite having fleeced the Chicago Bears in a trade for defensive tackle Gervon Dexter.
"The Falcons will carry four quarterbacks, at least for now. Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Cooper Rush and undrafted
rookie Jack Strand all made the 53-man roster. Atlanta has still not decided who will start Week 1. Penix (left ACL) just got cleared, and his first full practice was only last week. Tagovailoa came into camp with a tight back and has had some struggles. Rush was signed the day before camp began because of injuries, and Strand, out of Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead, has wowed at times with his fast development. Coach Kevin Stefanski and Co. still face a major decision." - Marc Raimondi, ESPN
The fact that they decided to keep four options shows that no matter what decision Kevin Stefanski makes, odds are it's not going to work out well.
Tagovailoa was better against Miami than he was against Denver, but he was still very much reluctant to throw the ball more than six yards past the line of scrimmage. That's just not going to work in the regular season and if Tua is the Week 1 starter he may not make it to Week 3 at this rate.
Rush was also much cleaner in his second preseason game, but it's worth mentioning that Indianapolis had the second-worst passing defense in the league last year. That also takes some of the luster off of Strand's big game against them.
The best hope for this unit is that Penix is able to fully recover by Week 1 - and that he's somehow managed to improve on his development despite not getting any 11-on-11 reps this offseason until a week ago.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: ESPN names Falcons' biggest move on roster cut-down day
