Falcons GM Ian Cunningham said there are “a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster” when asked if Michael Penix (knee) would be the guaranteed starter when he returns from injury.
In an article written by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Cunningham said the team is “excited about (Penix) and what he’s doing with his rehab,” but didn’t comment on whether he would be locked in as the team’s QB1 for next season. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 11, but underwhelmed in his second season, throwing for 1,982-9-3 in the nine starts he made. For his career, Penix has completed just 59.6 percent of his passes while going 4-8 as a starter. With Kirk Cousins likely to be playing elsewhere in 2026, any competition Penix could face for the starting role will likely come from the outside via either the draft or free agency. Penix said during the Super Bowl media week that he “absolutely” expects to be ready by Week 1, but given the timing of his injury, he’ll likely have several hurdles to clear just to be ready in time for training camp. Regardless, we would expect the Falcons to address their QB room in some way this offseason.