FaKevin Stefanski’s Falcons preseason announcement comes with Michael Penix Jr. catch

The Atlanta Falcons recently learned that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was medically cleared to play, marking a full return from his ACL injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely. The news comes as the Falcons gear up for the upcoming 2026 NFL season, with Tua Tagovailoa expected by most to be the starter at this point.

The Falcons have one more preseason game this week against the Miami Dolphins, and recently, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski made a big announcement regarding the team’s plan for that game.

“The Falcons will play their starters Friday against Miami in the preseason finale, but no decision made yet on Michael Penix Jr,” reported Josh Kendall of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.

This will seemingly pit Tagovailoa against his former Dolphins teammates for the first time, although it’s unclear how long Stefanski plans to leave the starters in the game for.

Meanwhile, Atlanta would likely want to get Penix Jr. as many live reps as possible before the new season gets underway, with the former first-round draft pick hoping to prove that he is indeed fully recovered from his latest ACL injury.

Injuries have always been a big concern for Penix Jr. dating back to his college days, and he had been having an iffy second season in the NFL last year before going down with the third ACL tear of his career.

In any case, the Falcons’ regular season is slated to get underway on September 13 on the road vs the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1:00 pm ET.

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