The Falcons right guard battle won’t be decided until after preseason, per Dan Quinn

When you watch the Falcons take the field today, and whether Wes Schweitzer or Ben Garland ultimately starts, remember that the right guard battle is as of yet unsettled. It will continue to be unsettled until after preseason is over, evidently.

This is the expected play—we’ve been saying this since minicamp—and definitely the fairest way to play the situation. Ben Garland was never going to roll over and let Wes Schweitzer have the job, and he’s been impressive enough to this point that making the call before both players had a chance to start two games apiece would have been foolish. It doesn’t mean we should stop watching these preseason games for signs of who might be ahead, however.

My bet is still on Schweitzer, all these months later, particularly after he looked nimble and strong against an underrated Steelers defensive front.

Both he and Garland are reasonably cheap, but Schweitzer is six (!) years younger, under team control through the 2019 season, and has a fun, super gritty guard name. None of that will stop the Falcons from starting Garland if he’s obviously the superior option, but Schweitzer appears to be the future at guard. The future might as well start now.