Things have gone from very bad to much worse for the Atlanta Falcons.
Now 3-7 after being swept on Sunday by the Panthers, the Falcons may not have their starting quarterback for the rest of the 2025 season.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Penix “suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury” in the game. Penix reportedly will seek a second opinion, but the situation is “not encouraging.”
Penix had a pair of ACL tears in his right knee during college. Earlier this season, he sustained a bone bruise in the left knee. He aggravated the left knee injury on Sunday.
The good news is that they still have Kirk Cousins, to whom they will have paid $90 million for two seasons. (They also owe him $10 million fully guaranteed in 2026.) The potential bad news is that, if Cousins doesn’t play will, it will magnify the extent of the mistake they made by giving him so much money when he was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.
On Sunday, Cousins completed six of 14 passes for 48 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Falcons led, 21-19, when Cousins entered the game.
The worst news is that, after losing a fifth game in a row, the Falcons are likely done for 2025 — barring a dramatic turnaround. And that could spark significant changes in 2026.
