On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons started off their season with a dud by losing on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Falcons started quarterback Cooper Rush in this one, as both Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa were dealing with injuries.

The Falcons didn't exactly get stellar play out of Rush in this one, and now, more information has been revealed about head coach Kevin Stefanski's plan once both Penix Jr. and Tagovailoa are healthy.

“It is pretty clear to me… that the Falcons would like Michael Penix to be their starting quarterback when he is healthy, when he is ready,” said NFL insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, per his account on X, formerly Twitter. “…From what I understand, the original timeframe here was about Week 2 or 3, which makes sense. They did not put him on IR to start the season.”

The Falcons drafted Penix in the first round two years ago in a controversial decision, with the quarterback struggling with injuries and inconsistent play during his tenure thus far.

Article Continues Below

On Sunday, Rush became the sixth starting quarterback to open the season in six years for the Falcons, who have been in quarterback purgatory ever since Matt Ryan departed the franchise.

While the team still has plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball, headlined by Bijan Robinson, that won't matter much unless they can finally get some consistent play at the quarterback position for the first time in years.

In any case, the Falcons are slated to continue their season on Sunday at home against the Carolina Panthers.