Falcons Announce Michael Penix Jr. to Start Season Opener vs. Packers Thursday
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will make his first regular-season start this Thursday night, playing at home against the Green Bay Packers. The team confirmed his debut on Monday.
Marc Raimondi Sep 21, 2026, 04:37 PM ET Close Marc Raimondi's first year covering the Falcons was 2024, but it wasn't his first year at ESPN. He joined the company in 2019 and was a top combat sports reporter. He also covered professional wrestling and wrote the book "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. Raimondi also worked for the New York Post and Newsday, beginning in 2009, covering high school and college sports, plus the NFL, NFL, MLB and NHL. Follow on X
_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50000410/falcons-start-qb-michael-penix-thursday-vs-packers)._
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