When Michael Penix Jr. tore his ACL last November, the goal was to have him ready in time to start Week 1. But with the season opener in the books, the Atlanta Falcons opted to hold Penix out for a little longer, so with Tua Tagovailoa also injured, they were forced to start Cooper Rush against the Pittsburgh Steelers--and that went horribly.
Rush's brutal start has all but confirmed the Falcons need to get Penix back out there ASAP. We can not handle another week of truly abysmal quarterback play. And given he said he's real hopefully we see him either this week in Sunday's home opener against the Panthers--but I wouldn't count on it.
During an episode of NFL Network's The Aftermath, league insider Ian Rapoport was going over why he has not started yet and when he could come back. He said the initial target date was Week 2 or 3, which seems reasonable, but then he shattered expectations: "it might be a bit too early" for Penix to return.
"It is pretty clear to me that the Falcons would like Michael Penix Jr. to be their starting quarterback when he is healthy, when he is ready, and when he can do it," Rapoport said... "From my understanding the initial timeframe was about Week 2 or 3. It seems at this point that it might be a bit too early for Michael Penix."
The Atlanta Falcons badly need Michael Penix Jr. back on the football field
Here's the thing though. The former top-10 pick at 80 or 90% is miles better than even a fully healthy Cooper Rush--but Rush wasn't even close to 100%. Like Rapoport mentioned, the Dirty Birds never placed Penix on short-term IR, so clearly they think he'll be back sooner rather than later anyways.
The Falcons are playing it way too safe with Penix to the point where he should absolutely be ready to play this or next weekend. But instead they are overthinking this. The usual recovery timetable for a torn ACL is between nine and 12 months, and we're at the 10-month mark. What is the hold-up here?
For reference, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL a month after Michael Penix Jr. did and still managed to start for the Kansas City Chiefs during their Week 1 victory on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, Penix was a healthy inactive which was the reason Atlanta was forced to turn to Rush to begin with. But once he's healthy, we all know he's going to start.
At what point do we stop treating the 26-year-old as delicate? It's been three weeks since he was cleared for full contact and he's able to do everything in practice, yet we have no clue when he'll start. It's a mystery not even Scooby-Doo could solve because none of what we are hearing makes sense.
Yes, the Falcons are more focused on how Penix feels rather than any conventional timeline, but the guy hasn't taken any in-game reps since the last meeting against Carolina. If there is going to be an acclimation process once he's healthy anyway, wouldn't you want to get that out of the way sooner?
Given Michael Penix Jr.'s injury history, the re-injury potential will always be there, but the Atlanta Falcons are getting too cautious. We should see him back soon, but let's stop dragging out this dog-and-pony show and saying it's too soon. Eventually you're just going to have to take the leap of faith.
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