RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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With just over three weeks to go before the start of the 2026 NFL season, former Washington Huskies star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been cleared to return to action.
After suffering a partially torn ACL in November 2025, which forced a premature end to his first full season as the Atlanta Falcons ' starter and third knee surgery of his career, following his selection with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Penix has had a long road back that has officially come to an end.
"Mike has been cleared," head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media after Atlanta's 34-6 preseason win over the Indianapolis Colts.
For Penix, who has been working in individual and 7-on-7 drills but hadn't been cleared for full contact, he stated that the final hurdle he had to clear in his recovery was mental.
Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski told reporters that QB Michael Penix Jr. now has been cleared to return to 11-on-11 work.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 22, 2026 "Mentally, I don't know how to put it; unless you've been in that position, it's like if something bad happened to you, you remember every step that took up to the place where something bad happened to you," Penix said. "The next time you're going to do it, you're going to do it, you're going to think about it again, even if you feel like the results are going to be better."
"It's in your mind. I've been through it two times already; I know what I'm going to be going through, I know the mental aspect of it to where it's like, 'Ok, yes, I am healthy, but do I trust that?'"
Now that he's fully healthy, the Falcons will hold a competition between the 2023 runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and veteran Tua Tagovailoa, who went 3-for-5 for 22 yards with a fumbled snap in Atlanta's first preseason game, a 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos, for the starting job on Sunday, September 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Former Washington football star cleared to return to action
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