FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - With two days remaining before the Atlanta Falcons open up their preseason against the Denver Broncos on Friday evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the only thing we really knew going in was that Michael Penix Jr. would not be playing.Penix has yet to be cleared for 11v11 at training camp, while Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand took turns running team sessions. Penix has competed in everything else at training camp, dating back to OTAs in June, but the Falcons and his medical team are taking extra precautions with his surgically repaired knee. Tagovailoa missed the first week of training camp as well with back tightness. He was cleared as a full participant this week and has looked sharp running the offense. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Tagovailoa will start against the Denver Broncos. "The plan for play time it's in pencil, and we need to get through this practice to then get it into pen, but feel good about it," Stefanski said on Wednesday afternoon. "We'll play our starters a series, maybe 10 plays to see how that feels, and then we'll roll our guys through. We'll also vary playing time by player. Some guys may get more; some guys may get less. "Tua will start in this game. I won't go up and down the roster player by player, but just understand that we'll vary."Stefanski was quick to point out that Tagovailoa being named the starter doesn't mean he's named a starter for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. "I know the semantics (of what he said). I'm not there yet," Stefanski said. "We're not there to name a starter for Week 1. We'll cross that bridge."Strand was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Falcons out of Minnesota State-Moorhead. With both potential starting quarterbacks limited or out in the first week of training camp, he took advantage of his opportunity. He's a big quarterback at 6'5 and 240+ pounds and has a quick, 3/4 release and a strong arm. He stands to get a lot of action during the Falcons' three preseason games as he attempts to make the initial 53-man roster as a third quarterback. The Falcons took just two quarterbacks last year, Penix and Kirk Cousins. Cooper Rush joined the Falcons on the first day of training camp. Trevor Siemian was signed as a free agent in the spring, but he was waived before ever suiting up for Atlanta. Rush got the call the day before camp, signed, and was on the field the next morning. He has looked like a steady presence the Falcons needed at camp to help run the 90-man practices and get everyone reps. Rush has 16 starts in his career, including eight in 2024 with the Dallas Cowboys. He has a 9-7 record as a starter in an eight-year NFL career. Stefanski confirmed Rush would be the second quarterback in behind Tagovailoa, followed by Rush to finish the game against the Broncos. Stefanski noted last week that he believed in starters playing in the preseason and pegged game one against the Broncos and game three against the Dolphins as the games starters will see action. The Falcons travel to Indianapolis next week for joint practices with the Colts before they face each other in game two. Stefanski said the presumed starters will get the bulk of the reps in joint practices, giving reserves a much bigger chance to shine in the second game. Sign up for our free Atlanta Falcons newsletter and follow us and 30,000 Falcons fans on Facebook and X for the latest news!Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow