Falcons' Michael Penix has been waived against the Bears after suffering a rib injury as Caleb Williams' status remains unclear.

Michael Penix Jr. is fully fit to face the Chicago Bears after a rib injury scare, and Kevin Stefanski said no extra protection is needed.

Caleb Williams 'inevitable', Jaguars 'could take 1 seed', will Eagles' mistake be fixed? | FTF

Caleb Williams has "a very good chance" to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons and changed his Instagram bio to "I'm inevitable" before the game. Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, Kevin Wilds and Danny Parkins discuss what to expect from Williams and the Chicago Bears on Sunday, as well as the most interesting stats entering Week 6.

Michael Penix Jr. made his long-awaited debut of 2026 in Week 3, helping the Atlanta Falcons to their first win of the season.

Atlanta followed with another victory, as the Penix threw for 223 yards and Bejean Robinson rushed for 145 in a dominant win over the New Orleans Saints.

Then came another fear. A sack late in Atlanta's Week 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens briefly sidelined Penix. He returned one game later but did not play in overtime due to rib discomfort, leaving many to wonder if he had suffered another setback.

Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley leads the Baltimore Ravens to an improbable victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

After an MRI earlier this week, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that Penix is on track to start Sunday barring a setback. On Friday, Penix was injury-free and cleared to play as QB1 this weekend.

Penix has been practicing all week, and Stefanski added that he doesn't anticipate the signal caller needing any extra protection for his ribs on Sunday. The Falcons' first-year head coach also doesn't believe the game plan needs to be adjusted to play the Bears.

Kevin Stefanski says Michael Penix Jr. likely to start for Falcons against Bears despite rib injury

Penix played a key role as the Falcons combined for 80 points in Weeks 3 and 4.

Penix's injury history dating back to his college days is well documented. He suffered his latest ACL injury last November and underwent surgery. Penix has thrown for 719 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.

Bears star Caleb Williams' status for Sunday's game at Atlanta is much less clear than Penix's. He has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday that Williams will be a full participant on the final injury report.

On Thursday, Williams was listed as a full participant on the team's injury report for the second straight day. However, he stressed that no decision has been made yet on whether he will be available for Chicago's Week 6 game against Atlanta.

"Before you ask, you don't know if I'm still playing," Williams told reporters. "You have to go through a bunch of medical protocols, obviously you have to go out and train, do the stress test, when you want to come back from an injury or a serious injury."

Williams also took issue with the way his injury was reported. He said "every report" was false and clarified that he had suffered a "very serious" hamstring tear.

"Nothing has come out right about what it is and what it was," Williams said.

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