Falcons fans will love Ian Rapoport’s Michael Penix Jr. evaluation

The Atlanta Falcons still have an ongoing quarterback quandary, and the competition for the QB1 role is about to get more intense for the NFC South franchise with Michael Penix Jr. taking a big step in his progress from his ACL injury.

The former Washington Huskies star signal-caller has already been cleared for full practice, the first time he’s been given such clearance after going under the knife in November 2025 to repair a left ACL injury.

The Falcons have Tua Tagovailoa, who signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the team in the offseason, but he hasn’t been exactly impressing people in practices and in the preseason.

Tagovailoa’s struggles in the offseason with the team have made it seemingly “impossible” for the Falcons to wait several weeks into the 2026 NFL season before they can start deploying Penix under center, according to insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

“Remember, it’s still nine months or so from the ACL tear. Really, you’d like him to be inactive for the first several games and really just take his time and make sure he’s fully healthy. Tua’s play made that impossible, not just in the preseason game, which we’ve seen, but sounds like practice as well,” Rapoport said.

“All of which is to say, this is Michael Penix’s job for the taking. If he comes out and plays as well as he can, it actually could create the best-case scenario for the Atlanta Falcons.”

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: Michael Penix Jr now has a chance to win the starting job for the #Falcons, which would be great news for the organization. pic.twitter.com/rVvQHU1jLX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 24, 2026

The Falcons have one more preseason game to play, which is a date with the Miami Dolphins on the road this coming Friday. It is possible that Atlanta will wait until the last few days of the offseason to announce its QB1 decision, but it is clear that Penix will get his chance to prove himself as the team’s long-term answer under center

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