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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. Suffers Partial ACL Tear, Likely Done For Season

November 17th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Connor Byrne

10:01pm: The Falcons will place Penix on IR, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report. Along with damage to his ACL, Penix aggravated a bone bruise and a knee sprain.

11:13am: Penix has a partial ACL tear and is expected to miss the rest of the season, according to Palmer.

9:55am: Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. suffered a potential season-ending knee injury in a 30-27 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Penix will go for a second opinion, but his chances of a 2025 return don’t look good. The Falcons believe Penix is done for the season, per James Palmer of The Athletic.

It seemed likely that Penix would miss at least some time when he exited early on Sunday. However, a possible season-ending injury comes as a surprise. Penix previously sat out a game this year with a bone bruise in his left knee, which he re-injured against Carolina. Kirk Cousins, who replaced Penix, will take over for the foreseeable future.

The Falcons used the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft on Penix, a stunning move after they signed Cousins to a four-year, $180MM deal with $100MM in guarantees in free agency.

Penix entered the NFL with a couple of major knee injuries in his past. Then with Indiana, Penix suffered season-ending right ACL tears in both 2018 and ’20. The southpaw finished his college career with a pair of healthy and productive seasons as a Washington Huskie, leading the Falcons to take a chance on him in the first round.

Penix began his pro career as Cousins’ backup, but the Falcons switched to the heir apparent late last season. After starting 7-7 under Cousins, the team replaced him with Penix. While Atlanta lost two of its final three games en route to an 8-9 finish, Penix showed head coach Raheem Morris enough to grab the reins as the team’s unquestioned starter entering this season. The demoted Cousins wanted out in the offseason, whether via trade or release. The Falcons wound up retaining him.

With Penix at the helm for all but one game this season, the Falcons have stumbled to a disappointing 3-7 record. Penix has underwhelmed at the head of an offense that ranks 18th in passing and 27th in scoring. He has completed 60.1% of passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions. The 25-year-old ranks 17th in the league in QBR and 23rd in passer rating.

It remains to be seen whether Penix’s injury will be severe enough to affect his availability for any of 2026. In the meantime, the Falcons will turn back to Cousins. The Falcons gambled on a Cousins mega-deal despite the fact that he suffered a torn Achilles midway through his final season with the Vikings in 2023.

Cousins, who had been prolific passer throughout his career with Washington and Minnesota, hasn’t recaptured his old form since moving to Atlanta. In his lone start this year, a 34-10 loss to Miami in Week 8, Cousins went 21 for 31 for 173 yards. He finished a lackluster 6 for 14 for 48 yards in relief of Penix in Week 11.

Having lost five in a row to fall to 13th place in the NFC, the Cousins-led Falcons will need a miraculous run to earn a playoff berth. To worsen matters, Cousins will go at least one week without the Falcons’ No. 1 receiver, Drake London, who sprained his PCL against Carolina. London won’t play in New Orleans this Sunday, and it’s possible he’ll miss more time after that, per Rapoport.

Falcons To Designate LB Divine Deablo For Return

November 17th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons should soon have their starting inside linebacker back in the lineup. According to Terrin Waack of the team’s website, the Falcons will be designating Divine Deablo for return from injured reserve.

Deablo last saw the field in Week 7, when he suffered a fracture in his left forearm. Head coach Raheem Morris indicated that his linebacker should be back on the field for Week 12, meaning it will only be a minimum IR stay for the starter.

A former Raiders third-round pick, Deablo joined the Falcons this offseason via a two-year, $14MM deal. He was one of the team’s most productive defenders through the first six weeks, as the acquisition collected 24 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Notably, he ranks fourth among 81 qualifiers on Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings.

With Deablo out of the lineup, the Falcons have turned to JD Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison to play opposite Kaden Elliss in the middle of their defense. Harrison has seemed to leap Bertrand in recent weeks, with the journeyman collecting 22 tackles and two sacks in his four appearances. Deablo will likely slide back into his starting spot next to Elliss, but Morris indicated that Harrison will still be in line for a role moving forward.

“We played some really good ball with JD,” Morris said (via Waack). “But Ronnie has really earned more reps and more role, and it’s kind of been increased since he’s been here. A lot of credit to Ronnie, a man that’s come here with us from training camp and really increased his role from a practice squad player to a special teams player to now being out there with that first-team defense in some situations. The way he’s playing, it’s going to do nothing else but increase.”

As Waack notes, the 3-7 Falcons have dropped each of the four games they’ve played without Deablo in the lineup. While the linebacker won’t solve all of the team’s woes, he’ll surely help his squad as they look to make a late-season push.

Falcons Fear QB Michael Penix Jr. Could Miss Time Due To Knee Injury

November 16th, 2025 at 7:49pm CST by Rory Parks

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. missed his team’s Week 8 matchup, a blowout loss to the Dolphins, due to a bone bruise in his knee. That same issue could now force him to miss more time.

According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Penix is believed to have aggravated the prior injury during Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, which forced him out of the game early. Atlanta fears its QB1 could be sidelined for a stretch.

The Falcons’ selection of Penix in last year’s draft was perhaps the biggest surprise of the event, as the club had just signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract. Cousins’ demotion in favor of Penix during the 2024 campaign triggered plenty of trade/release speculation this offseason, though the trade deadline has passed and Cousins remains on the roster.

The 37-year-old was not particularly impressive in relief of Penix in the above-referenced Miami contest, and while Penix has flashed at times, his overall body of work puts him in the bottom half of the league in terms of both traditional quarterback rating (86.8) and QBR (53.6). The Falcons have now lost four in a row, and Penix started the last three games in that span (although those losses came by a combined 10 points, and the last two defeats were decided in overtime).

Now sitting at 3-7 and in third place in the NFC South, the Falcons will surely be cautious with Penix. Cousins will again step into the starting lineup for however long Penix is out, and if he performs well, he could perhaps convince a team in need of a bridge passer this offseason to swing a trade for him.

Coming into Sunday’s Week 11 game, Penix had completed just 58.8% of his passes, which was the third-worst mark in the league among qualified players. While the Falcons were just inside the top half of the league in terms of total offense, they were a bottom-six outfit in terms of points per game.

Per Tori McElhaney of the team’s official website, top wideout Drake London also exited Sunday’s loss early due to a knee injury of his own. London’s hip ailment forced him to miss the game that Cousins started earlier this year, so it will be bad luck for both London and the veteran passer if the knee injury leads to missed time.

Fortunately, he may be able to avoid that. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, London’s malady is not believed to be overly serious, though an MRI on Monday will reveal more.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/25

November 15th, 2025 at 8:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor NFL moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s slate of games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

With the 49ers set to see their starting quarterback return, Martinez’s presence on the 53-man roster is no longer necessary. He’ll likely find his way back to the team’s practice squad.

The Panthers’ two elevations, Barnes and Mukuamu, are direct reflections of injury absences for tomorrow’s game. With Trevin Wallace and Lathan Ransom ruled out for Sunday, Carolina made the decision to call up another player at each position.

Mevis will once again be called upon for kicking duties in Los Angeles. In his NFL debut last week, he was untested in terms of field goal attempts, but he converted all six extra point attempts in a blowout win in San Francisco.

Kamara in Tampa Bay is being called up for the third time this season. If the Buccaneers intend to play him in another game this year, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster, much as the Ravens did after Bryan exhausted all three of his standard gameday practice squad elevations.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/25

November 14th, 2025 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Today minor transactions as we head into the 11th weekend of the regular season:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Buccaneers will see undrafted rookie running back Josh Williams miss the next six weeks after he was suspended without pay for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, so Wright makes his way up to the active roster to reinforce Tampa Bay’s depth at the position.

Oliver has been out since suffering a knee injury in the Titans’ second game of the season. He was able to start practicing again by Week 6 but was still consistently ruled out for each game. He finally earned a “questionable” injury status in the final game before Tennessee’s bye week after three-straight limited-participation practices, and he held that status throughout limited practices this week. Ultimately, he was ruled out for the weekend, and his placement on injured reserve indicates that a setback may have occurred as he’s now guaranteed to miss at least four more games.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/13/25

November 13th, 2025 at 7:52pm CST by Connor Byrne

Here’s are Thursday’s practice squad changes from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

  • Placed on practice squad/injured list: TE Layne Pryor

New York Giants

  • Signed: LB Trace Ford

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/25

November 13th, 2025 at 6:53pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL…

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Conner, a sixth-round pick from Texas, has yet to debut as a rookie after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. The Cardinals placed Conner on IR with a return designation when they trimmed their roster to 53 players on Aug. 26. Now that Conner’s back at practice, the Cardinals will have 21 days to activate him.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson will miss Thursday’s game against the Jets with a toe injury, leading the Pats to elevate Johnson. He’ll work behind TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, though the latter is playing through a knee issue. It’s the third and final standard elevation of the year for Johnson, meaning the Patriots will have to sign him to their active roster if they want to promote him again. The 29-year-old has totaled just 15 snaps (nine on special teams, six on offense) this season.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

Falcons OT Storm Norton Reverts To Season-Ending IR

November 12th, 2025 at 4:48pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Falcons offensive tackle Storm Norton reverted to season-ending injured reserve on Wednesday, per team reporter Terrin Waack, the first player in the league to do so this season.

Norton landed on IR with a return designation during final roster cuts after undergoing ankle surgery in the preseason. He returned to practice on October 22 and was a full practice participant right away. He then re-aggravated the injury the following week and has not practiced since. His 21-day practice window expired on Wednesday, forcing him to watch the rest of the season from the sidelines.

Head coach Raheem Morris declined to give details on Norton’s setback, but acknowledged that “it wasn’t great news.”

The Falcons already lost starting right tackle Kaleb McGary for the year after he suffered a leg injury in training camp. That was a major loss for Atlanta’s offensive line, especially considering McGary’s job to protect left-handed quarterback Michael Penix‘s blind side. The team has relied on Elijah Wilkinson to fill McGary’s spot, but he has allowed 30 pressures, the fifth-most among all offensive tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Norton would not necessarily have been an upgrade. His only full year as a starter came in 2021 for the Chargers, when he allowed 59 pressures, the second-most by an offensive tackle that season and the third-most in a single season since 2019. Since then, he has only started four games, though he still could have pushed Wilkinson for his job.

The Falcons will also place fourth-year linebacker DeAngelo Malone on IR. He suffered a broken ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Colts and underwent surgery on Monday. Malone will miss at least four games, but his absence could be longer, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 2022 third-round pick is a core special teams contributor who has not had more than a peripheral role on defense since his rookie year.

In other Falcons news, linebacker Malik Verdon was designated to return from the non-football injury list. The team signed the former Iowa State safety as an undrafted rookie with the intention of converting him to linebacker in Jeff Ulbrich‘s defense. Verdon played through an arm injury during his last year of college, but it is unknown if it is related to the shoulder issue that landed him on the NFI list in July.

Finally, Atlanta signed safety Jammie Robinson to their practice squad. The 2023 fifth-round pick appeared in 21 games for the Panthers over his first two years, primarily on special teams. He was waived before the end of his second season and has since spent time with the Cardinals, Chiefs, and Lions, though he has not played this year. He will add special teams depth in Atlanta, which may come in handy with Malone sidelined for the foreseeable future.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/11/25

November 11th, 2025 at 7:35pm CST by Connor Byrne

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers 

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released: LS Peter Bowden

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

The Panthers waived White from their practice squad on Nov. 8, but the team quickly brought the veteran signal-caller back. White will continue to provide experienced depth behind Bryce Young and Andy Dalton. He served as the Panthers’ emergency third QB in their Week 9 win over the Packers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/25

November 8th, 2025 at 5:55pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Several teams around the NFL made tweaks to their rosters on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s slate of games. Here are all the latest moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Week 10 will mark the debut for both players the Chargers gave the IR-designated for return label during roster cutdowns in August. Their activations had already been accounted for, but Hand’s had not. With those three now back in the fold, the Bolts have three IR activations remaining on the season.

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