Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski was non-committal when speaking about his starting quarterback on Tuesday.
When asked about whether the injured Michael Penix Jr. would be his starter when healthy, Stefanski told reporters at the NFL Combine that he is “not big on giving out positions in February.”
“I think you guys know how I feel about Michael and I’m excited about his trajectory,” Stefanski continued. “I know he’s focused on his rehab, which is the right thing to do.”
Penix, who was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, started nine games for the Falcons last year before his season was cut short by a torn ACL in November. He had surgery to repair the injury, and is expected to be out for at least nine months and will almost certainly not be ready to play by the beginning of the 2026 season.
It was reported on Tuesday that the Falcons plan to release veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins when the new league year begins on March 13. Cousins was signed to a four-year deal entering the 2024 season, but the 15th-year player was benched after just 14 starts in his first season with the Falcons.
Earlier in February, new team president Matt Ryan also refused to commit to Penix as the starter moving forward.
“Neither of us are the head coach of the football team, so we can’t answer your question on that,” Ryan said at the introductory press conference of new general manager Ian Cunningham on Feb. 3. “... I think as we start to get into this process and dive deeper into the roster -- how it currently stands, where it’s going in the future -- I think those are conversations that’ll be a part of it.
“Quarterback’s obviously very important, and we’re excited about Mike and what he’s doing with his rehab. I’ve been up at the facility the last three weeks, and Michael’s been in there attacking that and he’s in a good space right now, so we’re excited about where he is at. But certainly, a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster.”
The Falcons finished 8-9 last season and missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The team has finished with seven or eight wins in seven of those seasons, meaning the chance to pick at the top of the draft has eluded them - outside of the 2021 draft, when they spent the fourth-overall pick on tight end Kyle Pitts (who will now reportedly be franchise tagged).
Atlanta moved on from head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot after the 2025 season, and hired Ryan to the team president position to complete a reset of the front office.
Now they will have to figure out what the quarterback position will look like moving forward. Penix threw for 1,982 yards and nine touchdowns against just three interceptions in his nine starts, but the team went 3-6 in those games. The team went 5-3 with Cousins at the helm, including winning each of their final four games.
Stefanski spent the past six seasons coaching the Cleveland Browns. He was fired after the team finished 5-12 this past season, and finished his tenure with two playoff appearances and a 45-56 record overall.
The Falcons will not have a selection in the first round of the draft in April, after they sent their pick to the Los Angeles Rams as part of the deal to trade up to the first round in last year’s draft.
