All summer long, Michael Penix Jr. has been the biggest wild card in determining the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback dilemma. If he was healthy, he would be in the drivers seat to be the Week 1 starter, but if he missed any time, he would offer Tua Tagovailoa the opportunity to run away with the starting job.
And at the start of training camp, things were looking bleak. It came out that Penix was roughly four weeks away from being cleared for full contact, effectively ending his chances of being the starter. And while it's later than we expected, we're coming up on the four-week mark from those comments.
While addressing the media yesterday afternoon, Penix revealed just where he's at in his recovery from a torn ACL. He said that he had a call with his doctor on Thursday night, and while he may not be in much of a position to handle taking hits right now, but thinks that his timeline to return is looming.
"If I had a rush coming at me, I can get away," Penix said. "It’s just, if I don’t get away, that’s what we’re thinking about right now, if I don’t get away. I don’t think my doctor is ready for me to take those hits right now, but that time is coming real soon."
Michael Penix Jr.'s return to full contact could be just a few days away
The 26-year-old said he needed a couple of weeks before returning to 11-on-11s on July 29. The four-week mark would come this coming Wednesday on Aug. 26, so even if he isn't cleared today or at some point soon, it's a safe bet to assume his clearance will come at some point in the next week.
It remains to be seen what "real soon" could mean because that is the loosest term of all time, but the update itself is promising. He did reveal that while he will respect his doctor's wishes, he obviously hopes to be cleared, since this could be the update that turns out to determine how this season goes.
Since Tua hasn't taken advantage of his early lead in the Dirty Birds' QB battle, a clearance in the near future will give Penix a shot to make up some ground in this competition. And he's looked good in 7-on-7s to the point that we know the arm talent is there and looking stronger than ever post-injury.
One thing has become clear: as long as the third-year QB. is healthy, this is his job to lose. He has way more upside than Tagovailoa within this system, and this coaching staff has every incentive to want to get him on the field--and a turning to a healthy Penix has always been Kevin Stefanski's plan.
Ultimately, Tua Tagovailoa was insurance in the case that the former top-10 pick wasn't ready to go Week 1, but it sounds like he's goal-to-go from a clearance standpoint. And once Michael Penix Jr. gets cleared, he'll kick off his final opportunity to prove he's the Falcons' long-term franchise QB.
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