Falcons name Michael Penix Jr. starting quarterback for Week 3 game vs. Packers

After 10 long months, Michael Penix Jr. is ready for live NFL action.

Penix will start at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, the team announced on Monday.

Penix will be making his first start since suffering a season-ending knee injury last November.

He was officially a full participant in Monday's estimated practice report.

Cooper Rush started Atlanta's first two games of the 2026 season, both losses, in place of the sidelined Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, who has been dealing with an oblique injury.

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier Monday that he had no update on who his Week 3 starter would be but had an idea where Atlanta was going. In the end, the Falcons are going back to their 2024 first-round pick.

Penix's road back to the field lasted a little longer than expected. After tearing knee ligaments in November and undergoing surgery, Penix was not cleared to fully participate in practice until Aug. 22. Tagovailoa, who was signed in the offseason for the veteran minimum, was named the Week 1 starter over the still-ramping Penix but was sidelined due to an oblique injury suffered during practice that week.

In came Rush, who through two weeks has struggled, to put in mildly. The 32-year-old journeyman completed 56.4% of his passes for 229 yards and a league-high four interceptions in Atlanta's first two games, which it lost by a combined score of 54-16. Rush was benched in the second half of Sunday's blowout loss to Carolina in favor of undrafted rookie Jack Strand, who fared no better.

In Penix, Atlanta hopes to have its first glimpse of a legitimate starting QB leading Stefanski's offense in 2026. Before suffering his season-ending injury, the southpaw was having a solid campaign in his first full year as starter, completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three picks. He finished the year with a league-best 1.1 INT percentage.

The Falcons could surely use Penix's sturdy production to get off the mat on a short week. At 0-2, Atlanta will be traveling to face the Packers in their home opener at a hostile Lambeau Field.

Atlanta is no stranger to a left-handed quarterback stunning the Green Bay faithful in prime time (see: Mike Vick in the 2002 Wild Card Round). We'll see if Penix can deliver a similar performance on Thursday Night Football.