The health and projection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is the most pivotal factor in the Atlanta Falcons’ future.
Selected by Atlanta with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Penix has started just 12 games over his first two seasons due to a combination of being behind veteran Kirk Cousins for the majority of 2024 and partially tearing his ACL in November of last season.
Where is the soon-to-be third-year quarterback in his recovery? New Falcons president of football and franchise royalty Matt Ryan pulled back the curtain on the matter.
“I have had the opportunity to sit with Michael and, you know, No. 1, how do we bring him along? You get healthy first. The first thing you’ve got to do is get yourself in a place where we can practice and do that. So, job No. 1 for Michael is to keep doing exactly what he’s doing. He’s been in our building doing his rehab. He’s in a good place right now,” Ryan said about Penix in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday.
“As a former player, like, it never leaves me. Everybody’s like, ‘When is he going to be back?’ Well, you don’t know. There’s ups and downs that come with that rehab space, but we feel like we’re on track and in a good space with Michael right now.”
As for what’s to come, Ryan is bullish on Penix, especially with the coaching staff that Atlanta has put around him.
“To me, it always comes down to the fundamentals. Do we start with our feet? I know in that interview process, [quarterbacks coach] Alex [Van Pelt] is going to hammer the footwork and going to hammer getting the basics right. So, it starts with the basics. Michael does a great job,” Ryan said. “He can spin the football. We’re excited about what he does, and we’re excited about the staff we’re putting around him.”
Across the nine games that he appeared in last season, Penix totaled 1,982 passing yards, nine passing touchdowns, three interceptions and an 88.5 passer rating, while completing 60.1% of his passes. The year prior (three starts and five appearances altogether), Penix posted a 78.9 passer rating and completed 58.1% of his passes.
In college, Penix spent the first four seasons of his career at Indiana (2018-21) before transferring to Washington and shining. Across his two seasons with the Huskies (2022-23), Penix averaged 4,772 passing yards, 33.5 passing touchdowns, 9.5 interceptions and a 154.2 passer rating per season, while completing 65.4% of his passes. In 2023, Penix led Washington to a Pac-12 title, an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship and was the runner-up for the 2023 Heisman Trophy Award.
Regarding the coaching staff around Penix, Van Pelt comes to Atlanta after being a senior offensive assistant for the Los Angeles Rams last season and offensive coordinator stints with the New England Patriots (2024), Cleveland Browns (2020-23) and Buffalo Bills (2009), among many other offensive assistant roles. Of course, Van Pelt is the quarterbacks coach for new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski, who was previously the head coach of the Browns from 2020-25; Van Pelt coached under Stefanski in Cleveland from 2020-23.
Stefanski’s offensive coordinator is Tommy Rees, who was the Browns’ offensive coordinator under Stefanski last season and coached in Cleveland from 2024-25. Rees had previous offensive coordinator stints at Alabama (2023) and Notre Dame (2020-22).
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