Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. could still be 4 weeks from full return

The 26-year-old Penix visited an independent doctor last week and was denied clearance to participate in 11-on-11 periods to begin training camp, which started Wednesday.

“I was told another four weeks, possibly going into that next stage,” Penix said Wednesday. “But at the same time, it could be earlier. It just depends on how my body is doing throughout this whole camp process.”

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said he “definitely would not characterize” the development as a problem in Penix’s recovery plan.

“This is all part of the plan moving forward,” Stefanski said Wednesday. “I think every player, every injury you treat differently and you treat based on how a person’s doing, the checkpoints, all those things.
He’s hitting every single checkpoint. So I’m very, very confident in the plan.”

If Penix isn’t cleared to participate fully for another four weeks, he’d miss the Falcons’ first two preseasonexhibition games. The team has set a date, albeit not publicly disclosed, when Penix must be cleared for him to start Week 1.

The Falcons, however, aren’t fixated on any long-term thoughts.

“I can’t even think about the season until I’m recovered,” Penix said. “I can’t be on the field unless I’m 100% healthy. So, I got to make sure I take the rehab process seriously and make sure I attack it hard each and every day.”

Penix is eight months removed from tearing his left ACL in November against the Panthers. During OTAs and minicamp, he participated in individual throwing periods and 7-on-7 sessions but watched as Tua Tagovailoa and Jack Strand handled all the 11-on-11 work.

Tagovailoa didn’t practice Wednesday because of a back injury that flared up, though the Falcons expect him back “sooner than later,” Stefanski said. With Tagovailoa and Penix both restricted from 11-on-11s, Strand, the undrafted rookie from Division II Minnesota State, Moorhead, paired with veteran Cooper Rush — who signed Wednesday morning — to lead the team through six plays.

In 7-on-7, Penix went 6-for-8 passing, including a 45-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Zachariah Branch and a deep shot down the left sideline to Brian Robinson Jr. for a big gain.

With Tagovailoa inactive, Penix has a window to make an impression for the starting job, but the length of his recovery timeline makes it difficult to envision a world where he’s the Week 1 starter. It isn’t frustrating, he said, because he wants to make sure the Falcons get his best version.

And Penix, who tore his right ACL twice in college, is prioritizing the health of his knee, too.

“It’s tough,” Penix said, “but at the same time, I feel like your health is the most important. I want to take that seriously. Obviously, I have a long injury history, so the last thing I want to do is try to rush back just to get out on the field.

“I want to make sure my body is healthy, so that whenever I do get on the field, I can give this team 100%.”

Penix believes he was cleared by this point in the process after his first two ACL tears, yet while he’s perhaps behind on his own optimistic expectations, he’s further along than where his doctor thought he’d be.

During Wednesday’s practice, Penix moved well during warmups and scrambled in a 7-on-7 rep. He’s still fearful of a player falling and landing on his leg, hence his restriction from 11-on-11, but he feels his knee is in a good place.

“To be honest, I’ve been feeling really good,” Penix said. “With the timeline he wants me on, I’m just doing what I can each and every day, but I feel great. I feel like I can do everything, but at the same time, I got to be smart about it.”

Penix, who started nine games for the Falcons last season, has made a positive impression on Stefanski and the coaching staff with his approach to the rehab process. His teammates have noticed, too.

At 8 a.m., more than an hour before the Falcons started practice, offensive tackle Wanya Morris went into the facility to stretch. All alone on the field, running laps, was Penix.

“He was out here before everybody,” Morris said.

Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom raved about Penix’s confidence, personality and ability to overcome adversity. He’s used all three to propel him this summer.

“Whatever setbacks he’s had in his career, he’s always overcome it and come in with a great attitude, and he did that again today,” Lindstrom said. “So, you just really want the best for him. And so I think he put his best foot forward and kind of looking forward to seeing where that goes.”

Where Penix’s training camp — and season — goes from here depends on how soon his left knee heals. He doesn’t know. Nor do the Falcons. Nor do his doctors.

There’s a rough estimate, a chance, at a late August return, but it may be too late to save his starting job. Penix won’t let his mind linger there. In the meantime, he’ll bide his team and try to repeat Wednesday, when he stole the show during 7-on-7s and looked, by and large, like he’s ready to roll.

“I’m just running my own race, just taking it day by day,” Penix said. “There’s no set date where it’s like, ‘OK, this day you’re going to be good.’ Like, no, it don’t work like that. Sometimes the body reacts great, sometimes it doesn’t. So, you never really know.

“But at the same time, I just got to do what I can to make sure I’m taking the right steps and continue to move forward.”