Michael Penix Jr. is not expected to see the field much during his first couple of years with the Atlanta Falcons after the team selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL Draft just months after also signing Kirk Cousins to be their starting quarterback. And in a shocking twist, it sounds like he isn’t going to play much in the preseason, either.
After Michael Penix Jr. did not appear in Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, head coach Raheem Morris said that the team has “seen enough” from Penix resulting in their decision to hold him out for the game.
“It was all about that. Last week we wanted to get him out there and get a feel for what he was in a live game, which we kind of already knew,” Morris said according to Pro Football Talk. “We wanted to see him be able to answer questions, talk about it on the sideline, go out there and execute, make mistakes and know what to do. . . . We saw enough last week of Michael Penix in the live stuff and now we had the chance to mitigate him in practice, you know, we give him a bunch of live stuff in practice that you do everything that you would do in a game other than get hit.”
And based on his comments, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to play in the third preseason game, either.
“We feel really good where we’re at with Michael. . . . Mike showed us last week enough that we don’t have to play him in the preseason,” Morris said.
Needless to say, this bizarre announcement sparked reactions and outrage from fans on social media.
This is exactly why, I struggle cheering for the Falcons! This makes no sense! https://t.co/jaMJQBTZYq
— James Earl Cray (@J_Earl_Cray) August 19, 2024
The way the Falcons are handling this whole Penix situation is incredibly weird https://t.co/vy6BPkuFdq
— Greg Liodice (@Gregasus14) August 18, 2024
Basically saying “He’s already Better than Kirk, but since we paying Kirk big money we can’t have people seeing how much better Penix is than Kirk, so we don’t need to play again” https://t.co/2hTUQoUCDb
— Say Less (@silvaa_dree) August 18, 2024
I just don’t understand Atlanta.
Resting a rookie QB you took in the first round after giving Kirk Cousins $180 million. What? https://t.co/nmilDwk24x
— Kyler Burd (@AZCard_BurdsEye) August 19, 2024
This is the most poorly run franchise from the front office to now apparently the coaching staff. This is absolutely baffling. You draft a 24 year old quarterback 9th overall to sit for 3 seasons and you are now further preventing his development by taking away NFL reps. https://t.co/1qL23E4m1g
— Mark♦️ (@MarkNeedsNFL) August 18, 2024
Man and I like Raheem Morris but good Lord WHY don’t these coaches want to get these kids live game reps? https://t.co/IhKWezl6U9
— Jobes! (@jobes44) August 19, 2024
It’s certainly an odd situation all around.
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