Michael Penix left Week 5’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a rib injury, but the former first-round pick could return to the field sooner rather than later. The eighth-overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Penix began his career on the bench before taking over for an ineffective Kirk Cousins towards the end of his rookie season. While the team went 1-2 in his starts, the rookie looked promising and finished the season completing 58.1% of his passes for 775 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Following this strong finish, Michael Penix entered the 2025 season as the starter. However, he couldn’t build on his promising 2024 and guided the team to a 3-6 record while completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions before tearing his ACL. He returned to the field in Week 3 and guided the Falcons to two dominant wins but left Week 5’s contest early with a rib injury. While he never returned to the game, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the quarterback “does not believe it will be a long-term issue.”
Michael Penix
| Source: Lastwordonsports.com - David Latham, Managing Editor
Michael Penix Injury Update: Falcons QB Suffers Rib Injury, Probably Not A Long-Term Issue
This is fantastic news for the Falcons, as a healthy version of Michael Penix gives this team the best chance to win. While he has yet to justify his top-10 draft status, the quarterback is considerably better than Cooper Rush and Tua Tagovailoa, as the former Dolphins backup threw a game-losing interception in Penix’s absence.
If Michael Penix cannot play, Tua Tagovailoa will make the start against the Chicago Bears in Week 6. Tagovailoa has only thrown three passes this season, completing two of them for 34 yards and an interception. Third-string quarterback Cooper Rush, meanwhile, was an outright disaster during his two weeks of action early in the season. The Chicago Bears are coming off a lopsided loss to the Green Bay Packers and might have former first-overall pick Caleb Williams back in the lineup.
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