It's gotten overshadowed by the search for a new regime, but Michael Penix Jr.'s ACL rehab is one of the biggest storylines of the Atlanta Falcons' offseason. Many fans have started to question his standing as Atlanta's franchise QB, but he'll still receive a shot to prove himself under Kevin Stefanski.
We haven't been given a ton of answers about where Penix is at in his rehab, but we finally received a major update from the man himself. While on the Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams yesterday, the 25-year-old revealed he's feeling good, and may even be a little bit ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Michael Penix Jr. says he’s “maybe a little bit ahead of schedule” on his ACL rehab.
— Rise Up Ryan (@RiseUpReader) February 6, 2026
via @UpAndAdamsShow @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/3opxP8lmZZ
The Washington product also revealed that he expects to be ready "whenever the time comes". Presumably the time he is referring to is Week 1, because most reports have indicated that he should be good to go by training camp and is almost a lock to be good to go once the 2026 season kicks off.
Penix has been through this process before, so he should know what to expect by now, but that's just as much of a curse as it is a blessing. His history with significant knee injuries will always have Falcons fans on edge, but at least he knows exactly what he needs to do to come out of this even stronger.
Michael Penix Jr. dropped a positive update on when the Falcons expect him to return to the field
Adams did a great job with this interview, and it's because she made sure people are seeing the whole story with Penix. Unlike Stephen A. Smith, who bashed the Dirty Birds for drafting him, she set out to make sure that people aren't labeling the young QB too quickly through their discussion.
Adams' show displayed a graphic that compared Penix's numbers through his first 14 starts to the last two MVPs, Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford, and they were pretty similar. And they also spoke about his polarizing Instagram post, which he said had nothing to do with Matt Ryan or Stephen A.
The 2024 first-round pick partially tore his ACL in Atlanta's Week 11 overtime loss to the Panthers, which came in mid-November. Usually, the timeline for full recovery for an ACL surgery is between 9 and 12 months, so even though the tear wasn't full, surgery required a full reconstruction of his ACL.
Penix has all of the talent in the world to develop into a viable franchise QB, especially in Stefanski's system and surrounded by this much talent. And if he's back in Week 1 as expected, it won't take long for him to show off his arm talent and set the NFL on fire the way fans have been waiting for.