The Atlanta Falcons’ preseason was supposed to be about Michael Penix Jr. Then Kirk Cousins would take over for the regular season.
Apparently Penix doesn’t need the preseason reps that much.
It was a surprise that Penix didn’t start Saturday’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Taylor Heinicke was the starter. Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Penix did enough last week to sit out the final two preseason games.
“Mike showed us enough last week that we don’t have to play him again in the preseason,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said after the game. via Terrin Waack from the team’s site.
The thought process behind that is hard to follow. If all goes well for the Falcons this season, Penix won’t play any meaningful snaps. The eighth pick in the NFL Draft was selected to eventually replace Cousins, but there’s no doubt that for the next season or two Cousins will be their preferred starter and will keep the job if he plays well. You’d think the Falcons would want Penix on the field when they can.
Last week, Penix looked good, completing 9 of 17 passes for 104 yards. He played about a quarter and a half, and apparently that’s all he’ll play until … well, we don’t know. When Cousins was healthy during the 2022 season for the Minnesota Vikings, he threw 643 passes and his backup Nick Mullens threw 25. It’s reasonable to think something like that will happen with the Falcons this season, as long as Cousins doesn’t get hurt.
It seemed logical that the Falcons would play Penix a lot in the preseason. The decision to draft Penix just over a month after signing Cousins was unconventional, and the decision to bench Penix for most of the preseason is also a bit counterintuitive. But that’s apparently the decision. It may be a long time before we see Penix play in a meaningful way again.