FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons aren’t ready to say starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will miss the rest of the season, but Monday’s injury update didn’t sound good.
Penix will be placed on the injured reserve list due to a left knee injury suffered Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, meaning he will miss at least the next four games and could be done for the season, coach Raheem Morris said.
“There is always concern” of a season-ending injury, Morris said.
Penix had an MRI at the team’s facility on Monday morning, but Morris declined to address the exact nature of the injury. WSB-TV in Atlanta and the NFL Network reported that Penix suffered damage to his ACL.
“I don’t want to say that because it’s not my place to say yet,” Morris said of those reports. “I want those guys to get a chance to look at and see it and get all the details about it. I want to make sure we are sure before we confirm anything.”
Penix will receive at least one second opinion from a doctor outside the team building, Morris said.
“We have a bunch of different things that have to go on over the course of the next days,” the coach said.
Kirk Cousins, who is in his 14th season and has started 164 games in the NFL, will take over as the Falcons’ starting quarterback.
The 25-year-old Penix, who was the eighth pick in the 2024 draft, is 4-8 in 12 career starts for the Falcons. He is 25th in the NFL this season in EPA per dropback (0.00), 29th in completion percentage (60.1) and 31st in off-target throw rate (14.1 percent), according to TruMedia. The earliest he could return to the lineup is in Week 16 against the Cardinals in Arizona.
Penix was injured with 5:22 left in the third quarter Sunday when Carolina safety Tre’Von Moehrig blitzed unblocked off the left edge and took Penix to the ground as the quarterback threw the ball away. He injured the same knee on which he suffered a bone bruise earlier this season, causing him to miss the Week 8 game against Miami, but Morris said Monday he was unsure if the two injuries are related.
If this injury does end Penix’s season, it will be his fifth season-ending injury in the last eight years. He suffered season-ending ACL tears in his right knee during his college career in 2018 and 2020 and still plays with a large brace on that knee. He also suffered season-ending shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2021.
“Hurting for the young man,” Morris said.
Few offensive players were available when the Falcons locker room was open to the media on Monday, but Easton Stick, who will now move into the backup quarterback role behind Cousins, did speak.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Mike yet. I know they are still working through a lot of things,” Stick said. “Really, that’s the thing that is on the top of my mind the most: how he’s feeling, how he’s doing. That’s a tough deal however it turns out.”
Morris gave the team the news in a Monday meeting.
“He’s so positive and uplifting. That’s just his MO,” Stick said. “It’s been a tough stretch for us, obviously. It’s been cool to see him lead us through that and be the same guy every day. … He’s positive. He’s honest. He tells you where you need to get better, and I think we all respond well to that.”
Star wide receiver Drake London could also miss this week and possibly more after suffering a PCL injury in his left knee, Morris said Monday.
“He will be week to week,” Morris said. “We say that when we don’t know. We will see. He could come back tomorrow and feel a lot better.”
Cousins has appeared in three games this season and is 32-of-52 passing for 250 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. In his one start, the Falcons lost 34-10 to the Dolphins in Week 6.
Cousins was signed to a four-year free-agent deal in March 2024. Its total value of $180 million made it the largest free-agent contract in NFL history, and the relationship started well. The Falcons went 6-3 in Cousins’ first nine starts last season, but after suffering elbow and shoulder injuries in Week 10 against New Orleans, he had a five-game stretch in which he threw nine interceptions and just one touchdown pass.
Cousins was benched in favor of Penix following a Week 15 win over the Raiders, and the Falcons immediately pivoted to planning for a future under the new quarterback. Cousins is under contract in Atlanta through the 2027 season, but he would have a $57.5 million cap hit in each of the next two seasons. It’s hard to imagine he could play well enough down the stretch for the Falcons to be willing to pay that amount. If he is released this offseason with a post-June 1 designation, Atlanta would forfeit $22.5 million in cap space in 2026 and $12.5 million in 2027, saving a total of $80 million in cap space over the two seasons.