Falcons split first-team QB snaps; Michael Penix Jr. ‘working toward’ playing.

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. split first-team snaps with Cooper Rush in Wednesday’s practice and said he’s “working toward” playing in Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the Panthers, but he’s not quite cleared.

“We’re working,” Penix said Wednesday. “I’m close. I’m close. I know I’ve been saying that, but there’s just a couple technical things that I want to hit, some goals that I have, that I want to achieve before I do stuff out on that field. But I do feel really good, and we’re taking strides each and every day.”

It remains feasible, Penix said, that he plays when the Falcons face the Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“I didn’t say this week wasn’t realistic,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m working each and every day, and right now, I’ve got to be where my feet are. So, today I felt good in practice. I want to keep making strides, keep feeling better each and every day, and that’s what it’s about.

“And once my knee feels where I need it to be, I’m going to be ready to play. It’s no number on it — no Week 3, Week 4. No, like, whenever my knee feels good, I’m going to be out there. It’s nothing else other than that.”

Penix, like last week, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. After throwing off to the side while the rest of the team stretched, and often going behind Rush and Jack Strand in footwork drills, Penix leapfrogged Strand during the hand-off period.

When the Falcons’ quarterbacks started throwing during warmups, Rush delivered passes to the starting receivers, then Penix followed. Penix threw to tight end Kyle Pitts and receivers Drake London, Jahan Dotson, Olamide Zaccheaus and Zachariah Branch. Strand threw to the reserves on the opposite side of the field and took scout team reps during practice. Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) did not participate.

Penix still has goals to hit before being cleared to play. He opted against sharing the specifics of his goals, keeping them between himself and the training staff. Penix, who previously said he had to clear a mental hurdle before being ready to play, told reporters Wednesday it’s “not really a mental thing” anymore. He wants to physically be ready.

Whether Penix plays Sunday is ultimately his decision — one based on the feeling within his knee and his confidence in it — but it’s also centered on his ability to hit certain biometric marks.

“I got the final say, because I’m the only person that knows how my body feels,” Penix said. “But at the same time, whenever you look at biomechanics and metric stuff, that’s where the training staff is telling me, ‘Hey, your numbers are this, this and that, and we want them to get here.’ But then even if I hit those numbers, if I don’t feel, as far as my body, then I won’t be out there.

“But I am close to hitting those numbers, and my body is getting better each and every day. So, that’s all I can focus on right now.”

Penix said he’s seen online comparisons to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who tore his ACL nearly one month after Penix but returned to the field in Week 1. It’s an incomparable situation, Penix said, because he has undergone more procedures than Mahomes.

The 30-year-old Mahomes simply had ACL reconstruction surgery and could use his patellar tendons. After tearing his right ACL twice in college, Penix’s surgeons used the patellar tendons to help fix his ACL. For his third ACL tear — on the left side last November — he no longer had a patellar tendon at his disposal.

So, Penix underwent a quad graft, which involved putting a piece of his quad into his knee to repair the ACL. His doctor also performed a lateral extra-articular tenodesis graft, which is designed to build additional stability within his left knee.

“I got more done to my knee than he got,” Penix said. “So, if you look at me after my first ACL surgery in 2018, I was back in six months. But this is my third one. I don’t have the same tendons and stuff to use for this ACL graft. So, it’s more than, ‘Oh, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL. He’s playing. Why isn’t Mike?’ It’s two totally different injuries.

“And not everybody knows that. Not everybody understands that. But it’s not for everybody to understand.”

Since being cleared for 11-on-11 participation Aug. 20, Penix said he’s taken enough reps in team periods to feel ready.

“They’re keeping me in the loop, so whenever I am 100% back out there, I didn’t miss a beat,” Penix said. “So, I’ve been getting a lot.”

That included reps with the starting offense Wednesday, and London said Penix passed the test.

“It’s always good to see Mike out there,” London said. “Obviously, that’s what he loves to do, and that’s slinging the pill. So, it was really, really good to see that, and it’s cool to see him fight back that hard to get back for this team. And he’s been looking great.”

Penix acknowledged if he feels well enough Saturday, it’ll be too late in the week for the Falcons to start him. That sets a soft deadline by the end of Friday afternoon’s practice for the 26-year-old to hit his biometric numbers and, more importantly, feel like his knee is at full strength.

The Falcons are entering a precarious stretch for Penix to return. After Sunday’s meeting against Carolina, the Falcons have a short turnaround before facing the Packers on Thursday Night Football, then a longer-than-usual break with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Saints in Week 4.

Penix said he isn’t thinking about the schedule or turnaround time. He’s focused on improving his knee — because ultimately, he knows once he’s healthy, he gets to “showcase what I can do” to the Falcons’ new regime.