FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Will starters play in the preseason?

At this time of year, this is always the go-to question. And every head coach carries with them a different philosophy. Kevin Stefanski was asked his.

While he said that every team is different, and every year's group may require a different answer, when it comes to the Falcons in 2026, he'd like starters to see preseason action.

The plan as it stands right now is to get starters some runway in the Falcons' first preseason game against Denver and the final preseason game against Miami.

Live reps in those games will vary, Stefanski said, and they will be massaged based on players' (and coaches') needs. But in those specific games, expect starters to see time in some capacity.

"We will work through our plan for the first and third game," Stefanski said. "But in general, I think for guys to get ready to play football they have to play football."

For the second game against the Indianapolis Colts, Stefanski said the team will treat that differently because of the two joint practices in the lead up to the game.

"The majority of the reps in the practices with the Colts will go to our starters," Stefanski explained. "So, those guys will not play in that second game."

As for whether Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. will be among those playing, Stefanski said that will be a decision made at a later date and, for Penix especially, will be heavily considered in regard to where he is in his recovery.

Practice notes and observations

(Quarterback) Roll Call: All four quarterbacks — Tagovailoa, Penix, Jack Strand and Cooper Rush — were practicing Friday, all at various levels of participation.

Tagovailoa missed the entirety of the first day of practice Wednesday with what he described as lower back "tightness." He said it flared up late last week, but that he is feeling better every day.

"I feel great right now," he said after practice.

Though Tagovailoa noted that he doesn't know when he will be fully cleared, he expressed optimism that it wouldn't be too long. He participated in individual drills, and quarterbacked an 11-on-11 period midway through practice in which the offense and defense operated at a walk-through pace.

Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. continued to be held out of full team drills. However, he did get all of the high redzone reps in 7-on-7. We will talk more about this period in a later portion of this report.

To wrap up the quarterback update, rookie UDFA Jack Strand continued to take the bulk of 11-on-11 work, but Cooper Rush — who joined the Falcons Wednesday morning — did get a few looks quarterbacking the third-team reserves as he continues to learn the playbook.

A note on Bijan Robinson: The running back has been a non-participant in practice since the start of camp. Stefanski was asked about Robinson's status in his post-practice press conference. Here is what he had to say about the situation at hand:

"There's a business side to everything that we do, and there's a football side. And sometimes you're living in both worlds, if you will. But (I'm) just going to continue to coach the football team."

Stefanski added that "we all trust in the process of what's going on" and "it doesn't change relationships."

The Sydney Brown rotation: The Falcons traded for Brown earlier this year in attempt to build a variety of depth in the secondary. Early in camp, Brown is showing that versatility nearly play-in and play-out. He has gotten quite a bit of runway in the starting nickel spot, rotating (at times during 11s) every other play with Darnay Holmes.

Brown was seen Friday heading back out onto the field with the second team, only this time at deep safety, which is primarily how he was used with his former team, the Eagles. Still, Brown has that position flex the Falcons covet on defense. At least early, he's pushing for a starting spot at nickel.

That said, Stefanski said rotation is the name of the game, not just in the secondary, but all over the field as the coaches evaluate the different groupings.

"We're going to rotate different players in there, different packages, to see," the head coach said. "Once you get to Week 1 you have to have a plan of who's starting in this package and that package. But we are going to mix and match a lot."

Let's get to the redzone: As stated above, Penix got to run the gamut of the redzone, 7-on-7 period. Things started strong for the defense. Christian Harris clogged a throwing lane and nearly missed a pick. A couple plays later, A.J. Terrell jumped a route to overtake Drake London, causing a PBU. He gets his hands on it, it's likely taken 99 yards the other way. Speaking of Terrell, he had a really nice play on a deep ball in 1-on-1s to start practice. Tracking a ball from Tagovailoa intended for London on a post, Terrell slashed the pass down with a long arm.

In the 7-on-7 period, DeMarcco Hellams also got a tip in that caused an incompletion. Penix ended the drill on a positive note, though: As the play got off, the secondary covered up receivers. A big, blow up ball under his feet to mimic pressure, Penix tracked all the way through his progression before finding Cash Jones on the check down. Penix showed good poise with a ball at his feet and all his receivers heavily covered.

Speaking of rotations: Jake Matthews and Matthew Bergeron did not participate much in full team, 11-on-11 drills. They participated in everything else, so this was nothing to be concerned about as coaches were evaluating the offensive line depth.

That said, their absence in those periods opened the door for Wanya Morris at left tackle and Kyle Hinton at left guard to get a good chunk of reps. Michael Jerrell was still the primary starter at right tackle, where he has been in the wake of Jawaan Taylor's placement on active/PUP.

Inside linebackers switch out: After missing a number of spring practices healing a calf injury he sustained in college, Kendal Daniels returned to practice Thursday. The Falcons are slowly working him back in, though, and so he did not practice today.

That said, fellow inside linebacker JD Bertrand — who also missed much of the OTA voluntary period and mandatory minicamp with an undisclosed injury — returned to practice today. He took Daniels' spot alongside rookie Harold Perkins Jr.

Play of the day: OK so, maybe this wasn't the best play of the day but it was my favorite moment. In the very first full team period, Strand handed the ball off to Tyler Goodson running to the right side of the protection, Zachariah Branch was streaking opposite on a reversal as Goodson tossed the ball back the other way to him. Branch — now with the ball — streaked back left only to be met by Xavier Watts. Watts had read the play from go and in a real-life scenario, likely would have dropped Branch for a major loss behind the line of scrimmage.

That said, this moment said more about Watts and his development and smarts than Branch. Don't worry. Branch is a standout early. His short area quickness stays on display, evident during 1-on-1s to start practice when few defensive backs even touched him through his two reps off the line. Long story short on Branch?

"You see him," Tagovailoa said, "he's usually open."