Falcons Michael Penix Jr. Done For Season; New Starting QB Announced

November 19, 2025

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. runs with the ball during 2025 game.

The Atlanta Falcons thought they had finally stabilized their quarterback room. 

Instead, Michael Penix Jr.’s partially torn ACL has pushed their long term plan right back into chaos. The second year passer will undergo season ending surgery on his left knee and is not expected to be cleared until around mid August 2026, with no training camp and little or no preseason. 

In the short term, Kirk Cousins steps back in as the starter while the Falcons try to salvage a 3–7 season. He will be throwing without Drake London in Week 12 after the young star wideout suffered a PCL injury, another gut punch to an offense that has not lived up to its talent. 

Longer term, the Penix injury leaves Atlanta stuck in the middle. They already traded their 2026 first round pick to the Los Angeles Rams, so there is no easy path to drafting a new franchise quarterback. Penix’s recovery will also be his third ACL surgery after two previous tears in college, on top of a clavicle fracture, shoulder sprain and earlier knee issues. 

That is a tough medical file to bet a fifth year option on.

Falcons’ QB gamble looks worse after Michael Penix Jr. ACL injury

When the Falcons drafted Penix eighth overall in 2024, one month after handing Cousins 180 million dollars with 100 million guaranteed, the logic was simple. 

Cousins would be the short term answer while Penix developed into the eventual successor. Two seasons later, Atlanta still does not know if Penix can be that guy. 

In 12 career starts he has completed under 60 percent of his passes for 2,700 plus yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions, with the team going 4–8 in his starts. Now he has a long rehab ahead and will miss crucial reps in 2026.

That uncertainty spills directly into the fifth year option decision. For the 2023 first round quarterback class, that number is projected around 22.9 million dollars and it will be even higher for Penix’s 2024 group. 

Committing that kind of money to a quarterback with limited tape and a long injury history is a massive risk. At the same time, declining the option would fast track him toward free agency if he does finally break out.

Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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