Penix sits Friday in Miami: three practices, no preseason snaps, Week 1 still open

Michael Penix Jr. is not getting a live look Friday. Three full-team practices after last year’s knee was enough for Kevin Stefanski to shut it down, and Penix agreed: playing Miami would feel “too soon.”

Tua Tagovailoa starts against his old club at Hard Rock Stadium (7 p.m. ET). Cooper Rush is next. Jack Strand closes. The unofficial depth chart that listed Tua-OR-Penix as starters is now a practice document, not a Friday plan.

What Stefanski and Penix actually said

Stefanski’s version: Penix only just got cleared for 11-on-11. The staff does not want to rush him if they do not have to. He called this week “an important first step” — people around him, a pocket that moves, a chase off the spot.

Penix’s version is blunter. Three practices. A defensive line that makes the game speed up. Each day since Monday he has felt more comfortable slowing it back down. He also said the ACL work this time was a slightly different procedure than his previous knees, built to strengthen the joint as a whole, which is why the timeline ran longer.

Week 1 is still on his board. “As long as I keep the track that I’m on, I definitely feel like I will be where I need to be mentally and physically to feel confident enough to go out there in Week 1.”

Stefanski will not meet him there on a name. Asked when he wants to name a starter, he said he is “best served” keeping it day-to-day. He thought Penix looked good. He thought Penix moved well. He did not hand him Pittsburgh.

Friday is Tua’s tape, not Penix’s

Wednesday’s card period told the story before the announcement finished circulating. Tua worked with the 1s. Strand rotated in after that. Penix was not in that queue because he is not playing.

Tori McElhaney’s camp notes: Tua was nearly perfect in team periods — one incompletion counted — and hit Kyle Pitts in the middle of the end zone in red-zone 7-on-7. Penix’s best ball was a high throw to Austin Hooper on the back line with two defenders on him. Fine practice. Not a dress rehearsal.

The Falcoholic’s Jeanna Kelley had the Friday order on the record: Tua, Rush, Strand. Starters were supposed to play this one. One of the two names on that OR line is staying home.

The rest of the building is still a 53 fight

Cutdown is 6 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 30. Practice squads follow once waivers clear, usually a day later.

Wednesday was a rest day for Jake Matthews and Jawaan Taylor. Kyle Hinton still has not practiced this week after leaving the Colts game. Da’Shawn Hand has not been in pads for weeks. Avieon Terrell got his heaviest nickel load with the 1s. Bralen Trice, out of the non-contact jersey, ran with the 2s and on scout looks.

Jessie Bates III is still limited. DeMarcco Hellams has taken the first-team safety snaps next to Xavier Watts, and secondary coach Justin Hood said this is the best Hellams has looked — the defense “hasn’t missed much of a beat.” That is a roster argument, not a quarterback one, and it fires this weekend anyway.

Bird Gang bottom line

Sitting Penix on Friday is the grown-up call after three 11-on-11 days. It is also how Tua gets the only remaining live snaps before Pittsburgh. Stefanski still has not named a Week 1 quarterback, which means the card at pickembaby.com should stay penciled until somebody takes the first snap Sept. 13. Friday in Miami is now a 53 tape, not a QB coronation.

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