Falcons' Matt Ryan Responds to Michael Penix Jr. Commitment Questions

The quarterback position has been a hot-button issue for the Atlanta Falcons for many years now. This goes back to 2022, when Terry Fontenot made the aggressive move to try to acquire Deshaun Watson, before subsequently having to trade Matt Ryan.

The years since have been a roller coaster in Atlanta, and the Kirk Cousins-Michael Penix Jr. fiasco of 2024 only served to throw kerosene on an open flame.

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With Penix suffering another knee injury that cost him the 2025 NFL season and an entirely new regime taking over in Flowery Branch, there is fair reason to wonder if this new era would involve the young quarterback. Penix will be 26 by the time next season kicks off, and his rehab timeline remains unclear.

During Ian Cunningham’s introductory press conference on Tuesday, the president of football, Matt Ryan, was asked if he would commit to the quarterback moving forward. He deferred the decision to Kevin Stefanski, saying he is not the head coach and “can’t answer” the question.

“Quarterback is obviously very important,” he said. “And we're excited about Mike and what he's doing with his rehab. I've been up at the facility over the last three weeks, and Michael's been in there attacking that. He's in a good space right now, so we're excited about where he's at, but certainly a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster.”

Many in the national media took that to mean Ryan was refusing to commit to Penix moving forward, but that is not the case.

Ryan, who was taking part in the media frenzy ahead of Super Bowl LX in San Francisco, sat down with CBS Football’s Jonathan Jones to provide clarification on the matter.

EXCLUSIVE: I sat down with Falcons president of football Matt Ryan to exclusively discuss what he does, his hires and where the Falcons stand today https://t.co/AaNriF42fC
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 5, 2026

“I love Mike! If you listen to the entirety of the quote, I think it’s very clear I’m high on Michael Penix, and that I have been for a long time,” Ryan said. “His ability to throw the football. His ability to throw the football and to layer the football to all different parts of the field. I think Mike’s awesome. I think he’s done a great job with his rehab.

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“What I’m making clear is, I’m not the head coach of the football team. I know what my role is, and I know what my role is not. Kevin’s responsibility is to be the head coach of the football team, and he’s going to let you know who the starters are and who the starters are not. It’s not my place to go in there [and do that].”

Simply put, Ryan isn’t distancing the Falcons from his young quarterback. Instead, he made it clear that he is respecting the organizational structure and letting his guys do their job.