Falcons president Matt Ryan addresses future of Michael Penix Jr. after emotional Instagram post

Recently hired Atlanta Falcons president of football Matt Ryan generated headlines when he suggested during Super Bowl week that he, new Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham and new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski weren't married to the idea of starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. when Penix recovers from his latest injury. 

Ryan later spoke with Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports about those comments. 

Matt Ryan, Falcons remain "high" on Michael Penix Jr.?

"I'm high on Michael Penix," Ryan insisted, per Zach Bachar of Bleacher Report. "I have been for a long time. His ability to throw the football, his ability to layer the football, to drive it to all different parts of the field. I think Mike's awesome. I think he's done a great job with his rehab."

Specifically, Ryan said on Tuesday that neither he nor Cunningham is "the head coach of the football team" who will make decisions about the depth chart. While speaking with Jones, Ryan mentioned that he was merely pointing out that Stefanski will be able to start his preferred quarterback this coming September. 

"What I'm making clear is I'm not the head coach of the football team," Ryan continued. "And I know what my role is and what my role is not. Kevin's responsibility is to be the head coach of the football team, and he's going to let you know who our starters are and who our starters are not. It's not my place to go in there."

Shortly after Ryan made his original comments, Penix took to Instagram and shared that he "never needed motivation or a pat on the back." Penix also noted in that post that he is carrying "a lot of 'pressure' each and every day." 

It would make sense if the new Falcons regime wasn't all-in on starting Penix this coming fall. He suffered two ACL tears before he was drafted, and his 2025 season ended prematurely when he needed surgery to repair a partially torn ACL. In total, he made just 12 regular-season starts over the past two campaigns. 

"He’s 4-8 as a starting quarterback and 24th in EPA per dropback (0.03), 29th in passing yards per game (196.9), 42nd in off-target percentage (13.9) and 44th in competition percentage (59.6) among quarterbacks with more than 250 pass attempts in the last two years," The Athletic's Josh Kendall wrote about Penix for a piece published on Friday. 

Falcons will reveal QB1 "when the time is right"

Stefanski seems open to holding onto veteran Kirk Cousins as Penix recovers. During a Thursday appearance on the "Pro Football Talk Live" program, Cousins said he is keeping "an open mind" regarding his future. He likely will be released before March 13 unless he and the Falcons come to terms on a reworked contract. 

"Of course my input will be there," Ryan told Jones. "But at the end of the day, it's the head coach's responsibility to let you know, when the time is right, who's going to be our starting quarterback."