Falcons place Michael Penix Jr. on injured reserve after feared ACL damage

The Atlanta Falcons are bracing for beingness without Michael Penix Jr. aft the rookie backmost suffered a superior genu wounded successful Sunday’s 30-27 overtime nonaccomplishment to the Carolina Panthers. According to aggregate reports, the squad fears harm to his ACL and has already moved him to injured reserve, which rules him retired for astatine slightest the adjacent 4 games and efficaciously ends his season.

In a little statement, the Falcons said Penix volition spell connected IR portion they are "working done the aesculapian process to find the severity of the injury." He was businesslike earlier going down, completing 13 of 16 passes for 175 yards, until a deed with 5:22 near successful the 3rd 4th near him trying to stand, past collapsing again and taking disconnected his helmet.

This is already his 2nd genu contented of the twelvemonth aft a bony bruise connected his near genu sidelined him successful Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. His assemblage vocation was besides marked by 4 season-ending injuries, including torn ACLs successful 2018 and 2020. Despite that history, helium had managed to implicit 60.1% of his passes this play for 1,982 yards, 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Cousins steps backmost into the spotlight

Veteran Kirk Cousins, who came disconnected the seat to spell 6-of-14 for 48 yards against Carolina, present takes implicit arsenic the starter with Atlanta sitting astatine 3-7. The concern nether halfway is awkward for a franchise that tried to screen some contiguous and aboriginal erstwhile it signed Cousins to a $100 cardinal guaranteed woody successful 2024, past spent the No. 8 prime connected Penix weeks later.

Cousins opened past play arsenic QB1 earlier a five-game agelong with 9 interceptions pushed the Falcons to manus the occupation to Penix successful Week 16. The squad had been expected to commercialized oregon merchandise Cousins, yet yet chose to support him arsenic an costly backup. Now, with Penix sidelined again, the Falcons person to trust connected that costly security argumentation to rescue a play that is slipping away.