This is Tua’s time to take over as Falcons quarterback

FLOWERY BRANCH — Tua Tagovailoa started ahead of Michael Penix Jr. in the competition to be the No. 1 Falcons quarterback just by virtue of his health.

Now, Tagovailoa is making his case to win the job with his practice performance.

“He’s getting better every day,” Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said Tuesday. “I think he’s becoming more comfortable with the system, and the play calls and the protection adjustments and everything. It’s tough always coming into a new system (and) picking that up.

“Missing the first part of camp set him back just a little bit but, really, the last three or four days, he’s really come on.”

A back injury limited Tagovailoa at the start of camp. Since recovering from that setback, he’s taken most of the snaps during full-squad practice periods. Penix is still sitting out during those periods to avoid the risk of contact with his surgically repaired left knee.

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski hasn’t revealed his plan for the quarterbacks for the exhibition opener on Friday. If Tagovailoa plays and performs well, then it would be another data point to suggest that he will be the starter for the regular-season opener at Pittsburgh.

Penix has said that he could be medically cleared for contact two weeks from now. That timeline would keep him out for the joint practices with the Colts and the second exhibition game on August 22. The Falcons will play their final exhibition game on Aug. 28 at Miami.

It’s possible that Tagovailoa will have the job locked up by then. Stefanski has taken measures to create fair competition for Penix, despite his physical limitations. But, at some point, Falcons coaches must decide on the starter and get him ready for the season opener on Sept. 13 at Pittsburgh.

“It’s tough,” Van Pelt said. “Right now, Mike is taking the majority of the 7-on-7 reps because he’s missing the team reps. We’ll start to see where that goes moving forward. We are starting to get Tua in a little bit more in the 7-on-7 reps now.”

Tagovailoa has done his part by operating the offense efficiently in practice while making good decisions and delivering accurate passes.

Tagovailoa performed well during the team’s practice at Lanier High School on Saturday. Penix watched from the sidelines as Tagovailoa went 6-for-8 with two touchdowns during the full-squad scrimmage (Penix didn’t participate in any of the team periods).

“I feel good out there,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s necessarily how good one person or one individual is doing. That’s not how I look at it. It’s a combination of the aspect within the team, how the team is doing …

“It’s my job to be able to handle the motions, to be able to handle the checks at the line and put us in really good situations offensively.”

The fact that Penix still can’t fully participate in practice confirms the wisdom of the Falcons signing Tagovailoa to a veteran’s minimum contract.

They didn’t have much cap space and needed a plausible contender for the starting job. Penix was recovering from season-ending ACL surgery in November and hadn’t yet proved he’s the guy over 12 starts.

Tagovailoa started 76 games over five seasons for the Dolphins.

“I think the biggest thing is you can tell he’s a veteran,” Van Pelt said. “He can see the field really well. If the defense makes a mistake, he can see that and exploit it. He did that a few times (Monday) with some throws.”

Tagovailoa said he’s “feeling comfortable with the system” after getting more practice experience. Tagovailoa could get a chance to operate the offense against live competition on Friday against the Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Tagovailoa said that in each of his six years with the Dolphins, he and the other starters typically played in at least one exhibition game.