The Atlanta Falcons are entering the 2026 campaign with a big question mark at the quarterback position. While they handed the starting job over to Michael Penix Jr. last year, he was mediocre during his time under center before he suffered a partially torn ACL, which ended his season prematurely.
That led the front office to go out and sign Tua Tagovailoa in free agency to come in and compete with Penix for the starting job. Right now, Tagovailoa has the inside track to be the team’s Week 1 starter, simply because he is healthy and Penix isn’t. When recently discussing his injury status, Penix issued a worrying update that quickly caught fans’ attention.
Michael Penix Jr. Still Not Cleared to Practice for Falcons
Atlanta made one of the more surprising draft selections in recent memory when it took Penix with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not only was Penix not expected to come off the board that early, but the team had handed Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract just a few months beforehand to come in and be their new starter.
Once Cousins struggled, the job was quickly turned over to Penix as a rookie, even though he didn’t do much to prove himself to be a better option than his predecessor. Still, Penix was tabbed as the team’s starter last year, but he struggled to consistently push the ball downfield before he suffered his aforementioned injury. When all was said and done, Penix’s numbers through nine starts were fairly pedestrian (166/276, 1,982 YDS, 9 TD, 3 INT).
Even if Penix was healthy, the Falcons probably would have been inclined to take a look at Tagovailoa in free agency. However, Penix’s injury status has become a bit of a concern for Atlanta, and his latest revelation that he hasn’t been cleared to resume practicing surely won’t do much to ease fans’ worries.
“Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. has not been cleared yet to resume practice due to last season’s knee injury but he told reporters, ‘(I’m) Right where I need to be,’” Adam Schefter of ESPN shared in a post on X.
Falcons Hoping Michael Penix Jr. Will Be Ready for Week 1
GettyFLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA – MAY 27: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Atlanta Falcons runs through drills during OTAs at IBM Performance Field on May 27, 2026 in Flowery Branch, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
The Falcons brought Tagovailoa to town in an effort to create a competition between him and Penix for the starting job. If Penix can’t get healthy, though, the former Miami Dolphins first-round pick may end up winning the job by default, which isn’t exactly what the team wants to have happen. After all, we just saw what happened last year when Penix was handed the starting job on a silver platter.
The good news is that there is still time for Penix to get back on track, and while he doesn’t seem concerned, the longer it takes for him to get cleared to practice, the further behind Tagovailoa he will be in the race for the starting job. Atlanta wants a battle between these two guys for the starting job, but right now, things are trending in the wrong direction for Penix.
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