What Is Michael Penix Jr.'s Timeline to Return from Knee Injury? Latest on Falcons QB

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr.'s second NFL season is over after nine games.

Penix will miss the rest of the 2025 campaign after suffering a partially torn ACL in his left knee, the Falcons announced Wednesday.

Given a standard nine-month recovery timeline, Penix would be projected to return around mid-August 2026, as noted by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Penix previously suffered multiple severe injuries to his other knee during his college career. He underwent surgery to address a torn ACL in his right knee in both 2018 and 2020.

The tear in his left knee came on a hit late in the third quarter of last Sunday's Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The defeat dropped the Falcons' record to 3-7.

The quarterback had already missed one game this season due to a left knee injury, which the Falcons identified as a bone bruise, back in Week 8.

In addition to causing the ACL tear, the hit against the Panthers aggravated the bone bruise and a previous knee sprain, per Rapoport.

The Falcons will now turn back to veteran signal caller Kirk Cousins for the remainder of the 2025 season, starting with Sunday's Week 12 matchup at the New Orleans Saints.

The right knee ACL tears weren't the only season-ending injuries Penix suffered during his college career. He also dealt with a fractured clavicle in 2019 and a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder in 2021.

Penix's injury history was severe enough that he addressed it in an open letter to NFL general managers published in the Players' Tribune ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

In that open letter, Penix referenced players like Thomas Davis and Frank Gore, who recovered from multiple ACL tears and each went on to star in the NFL.

The Falcons went on to draft Penix with the No. 8 pick. After starting out as a backup, Penix took over for an injured Cousins late in the season and went into the 2025 campaign as QB1.

Atlanta will now have to hope Penix is able to follow in the footsteps of players like Davis and Gore by recovering from his third major knee surgery and returning to play in the NFL.

Given that the recovery timeline for ACL surgery calls into question whether he will be available for the start of the 2026 season, and that Cousins' $180 million contract includes an out after 2025, the Falcons will need to focus on acquiring an interim option who can take over until Penix is ready to attempt that comeback.