Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. set for ACL reconstruction surgery

Falcons coach Raheem Morris acknowledged last week that Atlanta will need to develop alternative quarterback plans for the 2026 season with Michael Penix Jr. set to undergo surgery to reconstruct an ACL.

Penix is ​​expected to undergo surgery this week in Los Angeles and his recovery is expected to take about nine months, sources told ESPN.

If the nine-month deadline holds, Penix could be ready for the start of the 2026 season, but there is no certainty, especially for players who have injured both ACLs.

Players recovering from another ACL surgery sometimes take longer to return, and no one knows how Penix’s recovery will go.

Although they still have high hopes for Penix and are counting on his return, the Falcons can’t say when he will be back and will need to address the quarterback position this offseason.

“You do, 100 percent,” Morris told reporters last week. “You definitely have to go out and make different plans when you talk about the offseason, but we’ll talk about it and discuss it when we get there.

“Right now, we have to prepare for the New Orleans Saints, and that’s what we’ll do. It should always be something that you have in mind, no matter what, and this will definitely put it in your mind a little bit more when it happens.”

One option could be Kirk Cousins, who is expected to start for Atlanta on Sunday in New Orleans.

Cousins ​​has two years remaining on his contract, but there is no longer any guaranteed money trigger. He’s set to earn $35 million in base salary in each of the next two seasons — a figure some in the NFL would consider high for a player who hasn’t played much since last season.

Atlanta could look to acquire a veteran cheaper and will most certainly end up drafting a quarterback somewhere. But as Morris pointed out, this situation will have to be remedied.

Atlanta’s hopes, season and future took a major blow Sunday, when Penix limped off the field in what became an overtime loss to the division rival Carolina Panthers. The game left the Falcons without their quarterback and with a 3-7 record heading into Sunday’s game against the last-place Saints (2-8).

This is the fifth season-ending injury in eight seasons between college and the NFL for Penix, who tore his right ACL twice while at Indiana.

Morris noted that Penix is ​​”battle tested” and said the second-year quarterback has “done nothing but come back stronger with every opportunity he’s been given.”

“This guy is going to come back stronger for us,” Morris said. “This organization believes in him. His coaches believe in him. His guys believe in him and he’s going to come back strong for us.”

Penix, 25, has completed 60.1 percent of his passes this season for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

This will likely become the eighth straight season without a playoff berth for the Falcons, their longest drought since an eight-year streak from 1983-90.

Worse yet, Atlanta is without its 2026 first-round pick, which would currently be a top-10 pick; that pick was traded in April to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2025 first-round pick that the Falcons used on edge rusher James Pearce Jr.

Now Atlanta finds itself without its franchise quarterback and first-round pick, trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and navigate the future as best it can.