FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons’ offseason has begun. With the conclusion of minicamp on Wednesday, the team now has a six-week break until training camp begins on July 29.The new regime in Atlanta — president of football Matt Ryan, head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham — seems pleased overall with the progress of their group, but plenty of questions remain. Here are seven of the most critical issues headed into the break.Where does the QB competition stand?It hasn’t started yet, honestly. Michael Penix Jr. has yet to be cleared for 11-on-11 work, making a fair evaluation all but impossible, according to quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt.“We are not giving out any jobs in June,” Stefanski said.Penix, who has 12 starts in two seasons in Atlanta, believes he’ll be ready for the first day of training camp. However, he acknowledged this week that he still needs clearance from his doctors and the team’s medical staff.“For any player, it’s sometimes our job to protect the player from the player,” Stefanski said. “I’m not a medical expert, so I lean on our experts and take their lead. I’m very, very comfortable with the plan that we have.”If that means the competition has to wait even past the opening of training camp, then the Falcons are prepared to wait.Penix participated in seven-on-seven work in organized team activities and minicamp, and Stefanski and Van Pelt were both impressed with his progress, they said. However, he struggled with accuracy at times.During a red zone drill Tuesday, he was 3-for-8 passing. Two of those incompletions were drops, but Penix missed high on three vertical routes into the end zone, perhaps a sign that he can’t fully follow through on his throwing motion.“I’m not 100 percent yet, but I know I will be right on time,” he said. “I’m just working on controlling what I can control now. Each and every day I come out here I feel better, and I feel like that’s a good thing.”The relationship between Penix and his new challenger, free-agent addition Tua Tagovailoa, has been “nothing but good since he got here,” Penix said. Still, both players understand the reality of their situation.“Competition is going to be there whether it is said or not said. This is the NFL,” said Tagovailoa, who took the majority of 11-on-11 snaps with the first team this spring. “You’re either coming out there to compete, or you’re not. We’ve all been in this league long enough to know this isn’t something you can walk through. We have to take our job seriously. I look at it all as a competition, but I don’t think that changes my relationship with anyone on the team.”How Tua Tagovailoa could make a case to startJosh KendallWill James Pearce Jr. play in 2026?That’s still up in the air.The Falcons brought Pearce back into the building this week for the first time since his February arrest. The second-year pass rusher faces three felony charges in Florida following an incident with former girlfriend Rickea Jackson — for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing the police and resisting an officer with violence.According to an arrest affidavit filed in the case, Pearce followed Jackson’s car for an extended period, intentionally collided with both her front and rear bumpers and attempted to block her access to a Doral (Fla.) police department building. But he is currently in a pretrial intervention program that could lead to all those charges being expunged.Atlanta now appears to be waiting on the NFL to decide on Pearce. Under the league’s personal conduct policy, commissioner Roger Goodell has wide latitude to impose discipline regardless of the outcome of the criminal case.The league is likely to suspend Pearce. Steelers defensive back Cam Sutton was suspended eight games in 2024 after a domestic violence incident that began as a felony charge but was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor. Goodell could also place Pearce on the commissioner’s exempt list, which serves as an indefinite suspension while the league gathers more information.A direct suspension would be better for the Falcons because it would give them a definitive answer about Pearce’s status and allow them to make firm plans for replacing his snaps. Pearce led all league rookies with 10 1/2 sacks last year and finished third in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.When the league’s decision will come is anybody’s guess. The Falcons have not received any communication on the subject as of this week, Stefanski said.Pearce participated in individual drills but not in team work during the two days of minicamp practice. On Wednesday, he was sprinting up the hill adjacent to the team’s practice fields while his edge rusher teammates took on-field reps.“It’s good to have him back,” running back Bijan Robinson said. “It’s good to see him getting his feet wet. I know he wants to be back with his teammates. It’s cool to see him smiling. I think he’s going to give all his best efforts to be great for the team and himself.“He knows that we have his back. We all talk to him. I think he’s really listening and understanding what it takes.”Pearce did not speak to the media this week, but Stefanski said he has communicated his expectations to Pearce.“I believe in the people we have in our locker room,” Stefanski said. “Any player that comes into our building understands what’s expected and what’s important.”Pearce must avoid further legal issues, undergo therapy and pass regular drug tests as part of his intervention program. A failure to do so would almost certainly affect his status with the Falcons as well as result in legal consequences.James Pearce Jr. returns to practiceJosh KendallShould you monitor the supplemental draft?It probably wouldn’t hurt. The Falcons are hopeful their 2027 quarterback is already on the roster, but with former Cincinnati and Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby expecting to enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft this summer, Atlanta’s personnel department has to at least take a look. That process is likely already happening as part of the team’s prep for the 2027 draft.The supplemental draft requires teams to submit blind bids to the league indicating which round’s pick they would use on a player. If two teams bid for the same round, the tie is broken using a tiered system that compares the teams’ records from the previous year.The Athletic’s Dane Brugler doesn’t expect any teams to bid a pick in Rounds 1, 2 or 3 on Sorsby. Any team acquiring him would lose its pick in that round in the 2027 draft.How are the vibes?Very good, although that’s typically the case when a new coaching staff takes over.“I think this is one of the best locker rooms I’ve been a part of, the human beings we have in there,” Tagovailoa said.Stefanski, too, has been impressed with his inherited roster so far.“It’s a team that works,” he said. “The best players on this team work the hardest. … There has been a lot thrown at them, and the guys have attacked it. I have appreciated that.”How does the rookie class look?It’s hard to tell because the six draft picks weren’t on the field a lot during OTAs or minicamp.Fourth-round linebacker Kendal Daniels has been held out due to a lower leg injury, and sixth-round defensive tackle Anterio Thompson has not been with the team for most of the offseason due to issues Stefanski called “injury-related.” Daniels is expected to be 100 percent, and Thompson is expected to be back with the team for training camp.Second-round cornerback Avieon Terrell (hamstring) pronounced himself fully healthy this week after being limited by a hamstring injury, but he was in the third group of cornerbacks during team drills Wednesday.That trio’s limited work has left the rookie stage almost entirely to third-round wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who has spent plenty of time with the starting offense and scored a long touchdown this week.Sixth-round linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. was with the second team of linebackers during Wednesday’s minicamp finale. Meanwhile, seventh-round offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa took most of the second-team reps at right tackle, but that positioning might be misleading considering projected starter Jawaan Taylor and projected swing tackle Wanya Morris aren’t on the field yet.What position is the most up for grabs?Nickelback. With returning starter Billy Bowman not on the field while he’s recovering from the Achilles tear that ended his 2025 season, the Falcons have tried a bunch of people at the inside cornerback position.Sydney Brown, who was acquired via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, has spent much of the offseason with the starters. Free-agent addition A.J. Woods, who has yet to appear in an NFL game, took first-team reps Wednesday as well.Darnay Holmes, a six-year veteran who signed in the offseason, was working with the second-team defense. Terrell also is an option at nickel, according to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich (returner Natrone Brooks looks to be out of this mix after spending a lot of time at safety this spring).What’s the biggest worry?It’s still depth. The Falcons are in OK shape in terms of top-line talent, especially offensively, but the entire roster was lacking when first-year general manager Ian Cunningham took over. Along with the traditional acquisitions in free agency and the draft, Cunningham has signed 14 undrafted free agents, four players off tryouts, three alumni from the UFL and traded for Morris and Brown since the beginning of the year.Atlanta signed the three UFL players — defensive end Keshawn Banks, defensive tackle Devonnsha Maxwell and wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. — on Wednesday, releasing wide receiver Casey Washington and defensive linemen Elijah Garcia and CJ Nunnally IV.