Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. addressed the media Wednesday and pushed back on comparisons to Patrick Mahomes’ quicker return from an ACL tear, saying the two recoveries are not the same.
“Not all injuries are the same,” Penix said. “He didn’t get the same procedure as me. … I got more done to my knee than he got.”
Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. Speaks Out About Injury
The comments came as Penix continues working his way back from the ACL reconstruction he underwent last November after a Week 11 injury against the Carolina Panthers. It was the third ACL surgery of his career after two reconstructions on the other knee in college. Because both of his patellar tendons had already been used as grafts, surgeons used a quadriceps tendon graft for the latest repair and also performed a lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) procedure for added stability.
Mahomes returned for Kansas City’s season opener roughly nine months after his own ACL tear. Penix, now about 10 months removed from surgery, has practiced but has not yet taken the field in a game. He was inactive for Atlanta’s 20-13 Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Penix made clear he wants to play. He described himself as “dying to be out there” and said the remaining steps are physical, not mental.
“Mentally, I want to go play, but I am not going to go out there if I’m not where I need to be physically,” he said. “It’s not really a mental thing. … Physically I need to hit a couple more goals. And I’m really close.”
He added that he has the final say on readiness because only he knows how his body feels. He did not rule out playing Sunday in the Falcons’ home opener against the Panthers, saying a Week 2 return was still realistic and that he felt good in Wednesday’s practice, where he split first-team reps with Cooper Rush.
“There’s no number on it. No Week 3, Week 4. Whenever my knee feels good, I’m going to be out there,” Penix said.
The Falcons’ quarterback picture remains unsettled. Tua Tagovailoa missed Wednesday’s practice with an oblique issue, and Rush has been dealing with back spasms after a rough Week 1 start. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has not named a starter for Sunday.
Penix’s explanation underscored a point often lost in timeline comparisons: not every ACL reconstruction is identical. After two previous surgeries, he no longer had the same graft options available, and the additional lateral work made the latest procedure more extensive than a first-time reconstruction. He noted that after his first ACL surgery in 2018 he returned in six months — a reminder that this recovery is different by design.
For now, Penix says he is close. Whether “close” means Sunday against Carolina will be decided by how his knee responds over the next few days.