FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Michael Penix Jr. has been named the Falcons' starting quarterback for the team's Thursday night prime-time game against the Green Bay Packers.
This news comes after an 0-2 start to the 2026 season by the Falcons. In the last two games, Atlanta is the only offense in the league to not have an appearance in the red zone. This stat being the by product of an offense stunted by turnovers and lack of consistency in the pass game.
Penix underwent surgery in early November 2025 after suffering a torn ACL midway through the season. He missed the final seven games of the season.
The quarterback returned to practice in limited fashion throughout the spring calendar and majority of training camp. Penix was cleared medically to participate in 11-on-11 work prior to the start of the third and final week of the preseason.
"I think Mike's looked good," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said of Penix just last week. "He's been really going here for a few weeks now. I didn't know Mike pre-injury very well, except from afar. But he looks sharp, moving well. I think he has confidence in it. Obviously, his arm talents is easily seen. But in terms of the lower-body movement and his ability to play quick and do those things, I think Mike's progressed really nicely."
Though Penix had hope he'd be ready to go Week 1 if he was needed, he was not quite there yet as the Falcons turned to Tua Tagovailoa as the starter for the season opener in Pittsburgh.
"I just told (head coach Kevin Stefanski) I'm not where I want to be right now," Penix said on Sept. 7. "And I want to be able to be 100% so I can help the team win football games. And I'm really close. Really close."
Penix went on to say he wanted to be stronger. He added that when he was working through his previous knee injuries in college, he felt he came back a little too early and the results were not what he wanted.
Of course, it's no secret what happened thereafter: Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury at the tail end of Week 1's prep. He was ruled out and has not been back to practice as a full participant since.
Cooper Rush has started each of the last two games for Atlanta. After accounting for three turnovers (one fumble, two interceptions) in the Falcons' Week 2 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Rush was taken out of the game in the third quarter in exchange for rookie UDFA Jack Strand.
"Mike's done everything we've asked of him with, really," Rees said last week. "Over the last few weeks, he's looked sharp without many limitations. He's moved in the pocket. He's gotten outside of the pocket. I'll let the medical side handle all those things, but I'm very pleased with where Mike's been."
"I'm close," Penix said. "know I've been saying that, but there's just a couple of 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."
Now, it's official: Penix isn't just close. He's ready to go. He will make his first start of 2026 on Thursday night.
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Week 2.
