Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. ‘really close’ to full health
FLOWERY BRANCH — Michael Penix Jr. simplified the Falcons’ Week 1 starting quarterback decision in a conversation with coach Kevin Stefanski.
“I just told him, ‘I’m not where I want to be right now,’” Penix said Monday afternoon. “I want to be able to be 100% so I can help this team win football games, and I’m really close. Really close.”
But not close enough to be active Sunday, when the Falcons open the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Tua Tagovailoa will start under center with veteran Cooper Rush serving as the team’s backup.
Penix returned to 11-on-11 periods at practice Aug. 24 and, entering the Falcons’ first week of game preparations, had only six sessions of team work under his belt.
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Penix did “very, very well” in his 11-on-11 periods, and Penix added he feels comfortable and confident. But he still has hurdles to clear before he’s ready for a game environment.
“I want to be stronger to be out there and give the team 100%,” Penix said. “And if I don’t feel like I can do that, that’s not fair for this team. That’s not fair for this organization. I want to make sure whenever I am out there, I’m 100%, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I trust my knee, and I trust to go out there, help this team win football games.”
Penix, who tore his ACL on Nov. 16 against the Carolina Panthers, is nearing the 10-month mark from his injury. He initially set the goal of being ready for Week 1, but a late clearance for his return to full participation — along with undergoing a different procedure designed to create more long-term stability in his knee — made the bar too high to clear.
In 2021, while at Indiana University, he returned from a torn ACL before feeling entirely like himself. He rushed back, didn’t feel confident and didn’t play well. He’s sworn several times this offseason, and reiterated Monday, he won’t play this year until he’s the truest version of himself.
There are natural nicks and bruises that accompany the football season, but given his injury-riddled past, Penix wants to ensure he’s fully confident when he steps on the field this fall.
When that time will come, however, remains a question mark. But it seems a matter of days, not weeks.
“I don’t think it’s a time stamp on it,” Penix said. “I feel like it’s more just a feeling of how I feel each and every day, waking up, the soreness I may get or how I react to a big day and stuff like that. So, it’s all of that. It’s not really a timeline to it. But I do know, like, I’m really close. I’m really close.”
Penix remains a full participant in practice, and during warmups in Monday’s media viewing portion, he followed behind Tagovailoa in drills. Stefanski declined to speculate on Penix’s role when he’s ready, and the Falcons’ first-year coach said he doesn’t think it’s fair to look beyond Week 1 with any aspect of the team.
But at least for Week 1, the Falcons are Tagovailoa’s team, and Penix has no problem supporting his quarterback counterpart.
“I want to see this team win football games, so I’m going to support him,” Penix said. “Make sure I let him know any looks that I see, being on the sideline. Anything he has questions about, I’ll help him with. Just being there for each other, that’s what’s going to help this team win football games. That’s what it’s about.”
Penix hopes to help the Falcons win games sometime this fall, which doubles as a particularly important time in the third-year quarterback’s career.
Next spring, the Falcons will have to decide whether to pick up Penix’s fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract, and general manager Ian Cunningham acknowledged Sept. 2 it would help the team’s evaluation to see Penix play significant snaps.
Penix, however, doesn’t view it through the lens of career or contractual motives. He wants to prove something to himself — and, more importantly, he wants to reward the Falcons for their faith and patience throughout a taxing, arduous 10-month span.
“It’s not about, ‘Oh, it’s a big year for me,’” Penix said. “I want to be able to give this organization, this team, 100%. And if I feel like I can’t do that, it’s not fair for them. I love this organization. I want to make sure that whenever I do step out on that field, I’m ready.”