Falcons' Penix to have surgery on partially torn ACL
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will have season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn ACL, the team announced Wednesday.
Penix faces at least nine months of recovery, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That timeline would put his return around mid-August at the earliest, just before the 2026 campaign kicks off.
Penix sustained the injury in his left knee, the same location where he suffered a bone bruise that sidelined him earlier in the year.
While this will be Penix's third ACL surgery, the previous two were to his right knee. He tore his right ACL as a freshman at Indiana in 2018 and then again in 2020.
Kirk Cousins will finish the remainder of the season as the Falcons' starting quarterback, with Easton Stick expected to back him up. Cousins is 0-1 as a starter in 2025, but he went 7-7 across 14 starts for Atlanta last year.
This season was the first time Penix opened a campaign as the Falcons' starting quarterback. The 2024 eighth overall pick also started the final three games of his rookie year.
Penix threw for nine touchdowns to three interceptions this season, guiding Atlanta to a 3-6 record. The team sits at 3-7 overall.