Michael Penix Jr. is still in contention to start at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their season opener despite missing the entire preseason as he recovers from an ACL tear, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday.
Stefanski said Penix will sit out the team’s preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Tua Tagovailoa, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason to compete with Penix, will start against his former team. Backups Cooper Rush and Jack Strand also will see playing time, Stefanski said.
The Falcons’ first-year head coach said he would not speculate about Week 1 and plans to name a starter “whenever they tell me I have to, when that depth chart has to be put out.”
“I’m honestly not trying to be coy,” Stefanski said. “We will focus on what information is available to us. Every day you’re just trying to make decisions on who is available to you.”
Penix, 26, was medically cleared for 11-on-11 work late last week and returned to full team practice on Monday. He is recovering from knee surgery after suffering the ACL tear in November.
“I am best served, and we’re best served, (by) keeping it day to day,” Stefanski said. “This was an important week for Mike, the first time with people around him. I thought it was a really good first step for him, but outside of this week, I don’t think it’s fair to go beyond that.”
Penix sounded comfortable with the timetable, saying that he just got cleared and has three days of 11-on-11 practice.
“Not everybody will say it, but anytime it’s your first time out there 11-on-11, it’s moving fast,” he said. “You have to slow that down and get more reps and get comfortable. … Let me get my feet wet a little bit.”
Penix said he feels great and will be ready should he be named the starter for the Sept. 13 opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Each and every day, I am getting more confident,” he said. “As long as I keep on the track that I’m on, I definitely feel like I will be where I need to be physically and mentally to be confident going out there Week 1.”
Penix, a first-round pick (eighth overall) in 2024 by Atlanta, has completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,757 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions over 14 games (12 starts) in his career.
Tagovailoa, 28, signed a veteran-minimum one-year, $1.215 million contract with the Falcons in March after he was released by the Dolphins, who took a nearly $100 million salary-cap hit over the next two seasons by cutting him.
The 2020 first-round pick (fifth overall) completed 68 percent of his passes for 18,166 yards, 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions over six seasons with Miami.