Just like when they drafted Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons’ preseason plan for the rookie quarterback is raising plenty of eyebrows.
Penix Jr. did not play in the team’s second preseason game Saturday against the Ravens and will skip the preseason finale Friday against the Jaguars, despite being the backup to starter Kirk Cousins.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris is content with what he and his staff saw from Penix Jr. in his lone preseason game and the team’s joint practices against the Dolphins earlier in camp.
The rookie completed 9-of-16 passes for 104 yards without a touchdown or interception in Atlanta’s 20-13 loss to the Dolphins on Aug. 9.
“You’ve seen the amount of reps that Michael’s been able to get (in practice) without really taking away from our starters and Kirk and it’s been awesome,” Morris said, per ESPN. “And I don’t see that varying at all in his developmental plan, even moving into the season. Because he’ll be able to have 100 percent of the reps versus our defense. And he’s getting I don’t know how many reps versus our starting defense now.”
Preseason games provide rookies the first true opportunity to test their skills in a competitive atmosphere and those reps can be quite helpful.
The conventional thinking would be Penix Jr. would benefit from those snaps more than his draft classmates such as Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye since he may not start one game this season.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed this offseason before they made the stunning decision to draft Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in April.
Drafting a player that high usually comes with starting expectations, but Cousins’ presence could delay that timeline for quite a few years.
One reason for this unusual plan is that Morris does not want his top players on the field during the preseason, per ESPN.
Morris also noted on “Up & Adams” that injury concern is a factor, adding Penix Jr. would be playing behind backup offensive linemen.
“You could prepare yourself (to) mitigate injury and we’ve learned so much more in the new game of football and new age of football,” Morris said during a recent appearance on the show. “We got a different approach and our approach works for us. … This kid is going to develop and he’s done a great job of doing it already and I’m fired up to see him keep maturing.”
He added: “One thing I did learn about coaching, you don’t get mulligans if you do get a player hurt that you’re counting on. I want to prepare myself and put myself in the best situation to not have that.”
Penix Jr. will participate in the team’s scrimmage Wednesday.
“I’ll be able to get a nice look at him on Wednesday,” Morris said, per ESPN. “And (see) some of the problems and the things that we want to see if he can actually grasp and hold onto a little bit more, from our standpoint, which he’s done a great job of getting better, throughout this process.”