Every defining question of the Atlanta Falcons' offseason has been all about Michael Penix Jr. You'd think his last name is Kardashian the way he's getting all of this media coverage. But when you put it into the context of the Falcons' QB competition, the Penix hype starts to make more sense.
The 26-year-old is set to battle with Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback in training camp, but the competition has yet to truly begin because of health concerns. Tua is much healthier because Penix is still in the midst of recovering from a partially-torn ACL suffered in November.
Most Falcons fans have been rooting for the third-year man to be the Week 1 starter, but that won't come easy. Kevin Stefanski revealed yesterday that MPJ has yet to be cleared for 11-on-11s, but he's making it clear that while he's not 100%, he's where he needs to be. And that may be more important.
Michael Penix Jr. still hasn't been cleared for contact at Falcons minicamp
While addressing the media after the Dirty Birds' opening day of mandatory minicamp, the 2024 first-round pick spoke on his recovery status. He made sure to reveal that he's "making strides", while doubling down in his belief that Week 1 is a realistic target date for his return should he win the job.
"I'm right where I need to be," Penix said. "Making strides. I'm not 100% yet but I don't need to be... Making sure I'm ready for Week 1."
Minicamp was once looked at as a target date for Penix to be cleared for contact, but that's nothing to worry about. The Falcons are still trying to manage his workload. It's his third ACL tear in seven years. With a summer break around the corner, the last thing you want is for him to suffer a setback.
Ideally, the Washington product should be cleared for full contact around the start of training camp in mid-July, which is roughly a month away. He's been throwing since mid-March and took part in 7-on-7s and individual drills in OTAs, so as long as he keeps progressing on this schedule, he'll be okay.
Not being cleared for contact in what's likely to be his final chance to do so before training camp is ideal, but it's not like we have yet to see him take the practice field at all. There's a reason Falcons fans and players continue to rave about where Penix is at in his recovery. His timeline is perfect.
Michael Penix Jr. has one roadblock to attack at a time. Right now it's the rehab process and getting healthy, and later this summer it'll be the QB battle.
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