Matt Ryan Breaks Down the One Thing Holding Michael Penix Jr. Back

Michael Penix Jr. is entering a pivotal season with the Atlanta Falcons in 2026.

After tearing his ACL in November, he was already going to have a difficult offseason as he went through rehab. Following an overhaul of the coaching staff and front office, Penix will also be tasked with building rapport with a brand-new coaching staff.

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The third-year quarterback is coming off a disappointing season as the Falcons’ starter, with a 3-6 record and a knee injury that cut his year short. While there is no official recovery timeline, Penix underwent surgery in late November, which reportedly went well, according to Arthur Blank.

Over his nine games as the starter, Penix threw for an average of 220.2 yards per game, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions. He completed 60.1% of his passes.

After Ryan was installed as the newly minted president of football, there was some wonder about what it could mean for his involvement in Penix’s development. While he served as a mentor for Penix last summer, he instantly pushed back on that sentiment.

“I'm not hired to come in and be the quarterback coach, but I love Mike and have gotten to know him through the last couple of years here in Atlanta,” Ryan said. “So, anything he needs from me, I'm a part of this organization and happy to help in any way that I can.”

However, Ryan was a member of the media just a few weeks ago. He was often tasked with levying his opinions on coaches and players, and he did just that on an appearance on the No Laying Up podcast, The TrapDraw, from November 3rd.

Matt Ryan on Michael Penix “Let’s hit our Layups”. pic.twitter.com/tDFYk4r0GD
— Free Game🎒 (@zayinnabag__) January 21, 2026

“In my opinion, you have to live through those growing pains so you don’t keep doing the things you’re frustrated about with Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix, drafting one and signing one in the same year,” Ryan said while responding to one of those hosts expressing his frustrations with Penix in 2025. “You’ve gotta live through a little bit of the frustration as you watch growth and development from a young quarterback.

“He is not Matthew Stafford. He is not there. He doesn’t have the ability to progress [through his reads] like you said. And, to understand instinctively, where this ball needs to be located, because I’ve thrown four million of these balls in my life. Michael’s not there yet, but I believe he can get there.”

Ryan, who played quarterback in Atlanta for 14 years and is a member of the Falcons’ Ring of Honor, certainly knows a thing or two about playing the position. He won Rookie of the Year in 2008 and an MVP in 2016, and holds just about all of the team’s franchise records.

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The former Falcon celebrated Penix’s ability to make “all the throws,” despite lamenting the overuse of that expression in scouting. Penix’s arm strength is undeniable, and it is what attracted teams like the Falcons to him during the draft process in 2024.

But it is not the arm strength that Ryan thinks needs development – he believes it is about making the easy throws more consistently that will take Penix to the ‘franchise quarterback’ level in Atlanta.

“Let’s hit our layups,” Ryan finished. “Let’s hit our layups before we start hitting 25-yard blaze-outs.”

Penix, who originally was not supposed to start games as a rookie, was thrown into the fire late in his first season in Atlanta. After playing well over the final three games of the year, he was then named the starter moving forward into the 2025 season.

Over his career, Penix has appeared in just 14 games. He has flashed some of the potential the old regime saw in him, but also several other instances where he showed plenty of room for growth.

While the sample size is small, the pressure will ramp up as he enters his third season. This will be the season that the Falcons have to decide on whether to pick up his fifth-year option. So, time will not be his friend.

On top of that, the Falcons brought in Kevin Stefanski to take over as head coach, and will also hire a new general manager. The new regime is not tied to Penix, so he will need to make every opportunity count moving forward, and that starts with getting the easy things right.