Falcons To Place Michael Penix Jr. On Injured Reserve

Rapoport confirms a report from Zach Klein that Penix has damage to his ACL, and while Klein noted the ACL tear was partial, a tear is a tear. Rapoport notes ACL reconstructive surgery is on the table for Penix, who also has a bone bruise and knee sprain from earlier in the year that was reaggravated. 

The injury is to Penix’s left knee, which is not the knee Penix tore his ACL twice in during his college career. 

Veteran QB Kirk Cousins was kept as a very expensive insurance policy for Penix this offseason, one that Atlanta will now cash in on for the remainder of the season. 

Penix, 25, transferred from Indiana to Washington for the 2022 season, after spending four seasons at Indiana. The Falcons used the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft on Penix. 

Penix is in the second year of his four-year, $22,384,370 contract that included a $13,099,542 signing bonus. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028.

In 2025, Penix appeared in nine games for the Falcons and completed 60.1 percent of his pass attempts for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

We’ll have more on Penix and the Falcons as the news is available.