Michael Penix Jr. will make his season debut in primetime this week, giving the winless Atlanta Falcons much-needed relief at the quarterback position.
The Falcons announced Monday that Penix will start Thursday night on the road against the Green Bay Packers. It will be Penix's first start since Week 11 last November when he tore his left ACL.
Penix had reconstructive surgery a few weeks later and then another procedure to further stabilize the joint. He was cleared by doctors to practice fully in late August but told the team before Week 1 that he was not ready for live game action. The typical timetable for a return from ACL surgery is between nine and 12 months.
Tua Tagovailoa, whom the Falcons signed in the offseason, got the starting quarterback job out of training camp. But he suffered an oblique injury in practice, forcing third-stringer Cooper Rush into starts in the Falcons' first two games.
Rush, who was dealing with back spasms, struggled in those games. He was 22-of-39 passing for 229 yards with one touchdown, four interceptions and a lost fumble. Rush was benched for undrafted rookie Jack Strand in the third quarter of Sunday's 34-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Strand, seeing his first NFL action, threw a pick-six on his first pass attempt. He finished 8-of-15 for 59 yards with no touchdowns and the interception. He was the first quarterback to throw a pick-six in his first career pass attempt since Sam Darnold in 2018 -- and the first Falcons quarterback to do it since Brett Favre in 1991.
Penix, 26, has completed 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions over two seasons. He was drafted No. 8 by Atlanta in 2024 and replaced Kirk Cousins late in the 2024 season as the starter. Penix still has only 12 career starts.
