FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. said Wednesday he expects to play Sunday against Miami after he appeared on the Atlanta Falcons' first injury report of the week as limited due to an issue with his left knee.
Penix limped back to the huddle following a hit late in Sunday night's 20-10 loss at San Francisco and said after the game he “got rolled up on.”
Caoch Raheem Morris said Monday Penix had soreness and “definitely some limitations.”
The Falcons (3-3) had a walk-through practice on Wednesday, so the injury report estimated players' availability if there had been a live practice. Penix was listed as limited.
“I feel good right now,” Penix said Wednesday. “Obviously at the end of the game I did get up a little bit slow but I feel good and continue to get better each and every day and just making sure I’m monitoring it the right way, but I do feel good.”
Asked if he expects to start, Penix said: “That's the plan.”
Before Wednesday's injury report, Morris had only said Penix had a bone bruise and that it was not an ankle or foot injury.
Penix had two ACL injuries early in his college career at Indiana before he transferred to Washington.
When asked if having the bone bruise was scary considering his history with knee injuries, Penix said, “We ain’t in college no more. Those days are over. I don’t think about those days no more.”
Morris said he'll learn more about Penix's status when the team has live practices on Thursday and Friday.
Veteran Kirk Cousins would start if Penix doesn't show in practice that he can move in the pocket well enough to avoid pass rushers.
“The organization will not put him in harm’s way,” Morris said of Penix, a 2024 first-round draft pick. “We won’t do that. So we’ll get a better feel when we practice live.”
Cousins, 37, lost his starting job to Penix for the final three games last season. Cousins' only appearance in the first six games this season came in a 30-0 loss at Carolina on Sept. 21, when he completed 5 of 7 passes for 29 yards.
Morris said he is not concerned that Cousins would be making his first start in 10 months, since a Dec. 16, 2024 win over Las Vegas.
“I think it’s safe to say that I can lean on his 13 years experience,” Morris said, adding he considers Cousins to be “a professional at the highest level and will prepare ... to be able to go out there and execute.
“He prepares every single day like a starter. He’s the ultimate pro. I got a lot of confidence in him doing those things. Yes, it will be different for him from a long time ago. But you know, he’ll use that recall and he’ll find a way to get it done if called upon.”
Added offensive coordinator Zac Robinson: “If we did have to go that direction, the full team and coaches, everybody would feel great with Kirk.”
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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. speaks to reporters after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff (47) forces a fumble against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.
Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.
On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.
No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.
After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.
Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
