Though he was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix is expecting to play against the Dolphins on Sunday.
Penix, who is officially listed with a knee injury, told reporters, “That’s the plan,” when asked if he thinks he’ll be able to go.
Penix added that he’s feeling good now.
“Obviously, at the end of the game, you saw I did get up a little bit slow, but I’ve been feeling good,” Penix said, via transcript from the team. “Just continuing to get better each and every day and make sure I’m monitoring it the right way. But I do feel good.”
Penix has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,409 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
If things change for Penix’s availability, Kirk Cousins is Atlanta’s backup.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been on the injury report with a left thumb issue for the last couple of weeks.
There was no change to that for Miami’s first injury report of the week on Wednesday, as Tagovailoa does not appear to be at risk of missing Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons.
Tagovailoa was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. Via multiple reporters, Tagovailoa was asked about his throwing thumb in his weekly press conference and said that it’s “good.”
Tagovailoa has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 1,313 yards with 11 touchdowns and a league-high 10 interceptions so far in 2025.
Cornerback Storm Duck (ankle) and defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (foot) were also full participants in Wednesday’s session for the Dolphins.
Defensive back Elijah Campbell (quad) and tight end Julian Hill (ankle) did not participate.
Offensive lineman Aaron Brewer (pectoral), cornerback Jason Marshall (hamstring), and safety Dante Trader Jr. (shoulder) were limited on Wednesday.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix will be on the practice field on Wednesday, despite the bone bruise he suffered during Sunday’s loss to the 49ers.
Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris told reporters in his press conference that Penix will practice in a limited capacity to open the week.
“Tomorrow we’ll have more answers, and then Friday we’ll have more answers, and then Saturday we’ll have more answers with Mike,” Morris said.
But, Morris is optimistic that the quarterback will be able to play in the Week 8 contest against the Dolphins.
“I still feel really good about him. He’s the ultimate tough guy,” Morris said. “Obviously, it’s going to be based on movement, it’s going to be based on what he can do, all the stuff that he has.
“The organization will not put him in harm’s way. We won’t do that. So, we’ll get a better feel for it when we practice him live, and we’re doing some of those things on Thursday, obviously, and Friday and Saturday.”
If Penix is not available, the Falcons will start Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Given Cousins’ experience, Morris noted there’s “certainly” a comfort level with Cousins to be able to do the job.
“Having Kirk here, definitely a guy that’s played a lot of football in this league, and it gives you a lot of comfort that you have Kirk — a lot of confidence knowing that you have Kirk,” Morris said. “Obviously, it’ll be all based on Mike’s injury status and Mike’s injury status alone.”
In six games this season, Penix has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,409 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Additionally, Morris noted Divine Deablo is week-to-week and could go on injured reserve — though the Falcons will likely take the rest of the week to make that determination. Tyler Allgeier is also to be limited early in the week at practice.
Dolphins tight end Darren Waller will be out for at least four weeks.
Waller has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a pectoral injury during Sunday’s loss to the Browns.
After coming out of retirement over the summer to play for Miami, Waller has caught 10 passes for 117 yards with four touchdowns.
As a corresponding move, the Dolphins have signed Greg Dulcich to the 53-man roster from the team’s practice squad. A third-round pick in 2022, Dulcich caught 33 passes for 411 yards with two touchdowns for the Broncos as a rookie. But he played only two games in 2023 due to injury. He was subsequently waived from the team midway through the 2024 season.
The Giants claimed him off waivers, and he appeared in five games for the club. They waived him at the start of the 2025 regular season, and he signed with Miami’s practice squad.
Miami also signed tight end Chris Myarick to the team’s practice squad. He previously spent time with the Dolphins from 2019-2020.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has thrown six interceptions in the last two weeks and he’s leading the league with 10 interceptions, but head coach Mike McDaniel says he isn’t wavering in his belief that the quarterback is the right person for the job.
McDaniel said on Monday that Tagovailoa will start against the Falcons in Week 8 and offered another vote of confidence during his Wednesday press conference. McDaniel was asked how things stand between him and the quarterback, and he said that they had a pair of “great” meetings the last two days to go over what’s gone wrong on offense.
“As Tua and I have always operated, I think there’s zero uncertainty with Tua on my conviction in him and my belief in him,” McDaniel said. “I think we’re both very, very eager to do better at our jobs and we’re both very committed and trusting in each other to respond to what is necessary for the team to do better.”
There’s little outside confidence that McDaniel and Tagovailoa are going to come up with ways to significantly change their results in their fourth year together, but there’s also little reason to think that going to Quinn Ewers or Zach Wilson is going do that. That may leave the two men together at the helm of a sinking ship and it appears that McDaniel is content to go down together.
