Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. Gives Positive Injury Update, Plus One Wild Stat

The Atlanta Falcons are in the thick of their offseason, but the NFL world is in the final days of the open-media period in the buildup to Super Bowl LX. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was one of the many players taking part in the media days out in San Francisco, and he sat down with Kay Adams to give the latest on his progression ahead of year three.

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. says his recovery from knee surgery is a "little bit" ahead of schedule.

Penix Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury Week 11 against the Panthers.@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/Uw0CzAOXUI
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 6, 2026

Penix says he is in a good place mentally as he continues to recover from the ACL injury that cut his 2025 season short. He just met with his doctors on Thursday, and they “like” where he is in his rehabilitation process.

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“We’re starting to get things going,” Penix told Up & Adams on radio row. “I’m doing a lot of strengthening and stuff right now. I know I’ll be back and ready whenever that time comes.”

This has, unfortunately, been too common a scenario for the 26-year-old quarterback. This is the third ACL injury that he has suffered, albeit on a different knee, and he understands what this process takes.

“I wouldn’t say too much of a test,” he said, responding to Adams. “It’s my third time going through it now, so I kinda knew what to expect and knew how to attack the rehab process so that I can be better after [I come back].”

These updates coincided with what Penix told WSB-TV’s Zach Klein on January 28th, but he was able to provide one important piece of news while he was on with Adams.

“Maybe a little bit ahead,” Penix said with a smile while responding to Adams, saying his goal was to be the starting quarterback for the Falcons in Week 1.

Shoutout to Kay Adams for putting things into perspective for Michael Penix’s start to his career

Big things coming for 9!! pic.twitter.com/S4ZkVFov7o
— ATL Birds Muse (@ATLBirdsMuse) February 6, 2026

The pair also discussed how green the young quarterback still is. The clip above highlights how Penix has only played 14 games, and Adams highlighted where the last two MVP winners were at this point in their careers:

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Michael Penix Jr. – 2,757 yards, 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 85.8 quarterback rating

Matthew Stafford – 2,831 yards, 17 touchdowns, 24 interceptions, 67.8 quarterback rating

Josh Allen – 2,581 yards, 12 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 70.8 quarterback rating

“I know who I am as a player, I know who I am as a person,” Penix said when asked how he feels when seeing numbers like this. “I don’t let the whole outside world get to me. I know what I can do on a football field, and I’m going to show that.”