Falcons head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged last week that Atlanta will have to make alternative quarterback plans for the 2026 season with Michael Penix Jr. about to undergo surgery to have an ACL reconstructed.
Penix is expected to undergo surgery this week in Los Angeles, and his recovery is expected to take about nine months, sources told ESPN.
If the nine-month period holds up, Penix potentially could be ready for the start of the 2026 season, but there are no certainties, especially for players who have injured both ACLs.
Players recovering from another ACL surgery sometimes take longer to return, and no one yet knows how Penix's recovery will play out.
While they still have high hopes for Penix and are counting on him to return, the Falcons can't say when he will be back and will have to address the quarterback position this offseason.
"You do, 100 percent," Morris told reporters last week. "You definitely have to go out and make some different plans when you talk about the offseason, but we'll talk about that and address that when we get there.
"Right now we've got to prepare for the New Orleans Saints, and that's what we'll do. That's always got to be something that's on your mind, regardless, and definitely puts it on your mind a little bit more when this happens."
One option could be Kirk Cousins, who is slated to be Atlanta's starter Sunday at New Orleans.
Cousins technically has two years remaining on his contract, but no more guaranteed money triggering. He is scheduled to make $35 million in base salary in each of the next two seasons -- a figure that some around the league would consider high for a player who has not played much dating to last season.
Atlanta could look to acquire a less expensive veteran and most certainly will wind up drafting a quarterback somewhere. But the position, as Morris noted, will have to be addressed.
Atlanta's hopes, season and future took a major hit last Sunday, when Penix hobbled off the field in what became on overtime loss to the division-rival Panthers. The game left the Falcons without their quarterback and with a 3-7 record heading into Sunday's game against the last-place Saints (2-8).
It marks the fifth season-ending injury in eight seasons between college and the NFL for Penix, who tore his right ACL twice while at Indiana.
Morris noted that Penix is "battle-tested" and said the second-year quarterback has "done nothing but come back stronger every single opportunity he's been given."
"The guy's going to come back stronger for us," Morris said. "This organization believes in him. His coaches believe in him. His guys believe in him, and he's going to come back strong for us."
Penix, 25, completed 60.1% of his passes this season for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
This likely will become the eighth straight season without a playoff berth for the Falcons, their longest drought since an eight-year streak from 1983 to 1990.
Making matters worse is the fact that Atlanta doesn't have its 2026 first-round pick, which right now would be a top-10 selection; that pick was traded in April to the Rams for a 2025 first-round pick that the Falcons used on edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
Now Atlanta is without its franchise quarterback and its first-round pick, trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and navigate the future as well as it can.