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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Throws first regular-season pass
Penix completed his only pass attempt for 14 yards during Sunday's 34-14 loss to the Seahawks.With the game out of hand, Penix made his NFL regular-season debut. He played seven offensive snaps and completed his only pass to fellow rookie Casey Washington. Despite Sunday's dud, Kirk Cousins has fully shaken off the early-season rust and revitalized Atlanta's offense, so Penix is relegated to backup duties for the foreseeable future.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Won't play in preseason finale
Penix is expected to be held out of Atlanta's final exhibition game against Jacksonville on Friday, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.Penix also didn't play in the Atlanta Falcons' second preseason contest versus Baltimore on Saturday. Head coach Raheem Morris explained that the team feels it "saw enough last week [in Atlanta's preseason opener] of him and the live stuff," adding that "[Penix] showed us last week enough that we don't have to play him in the preseason." The rookie QB completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against Miami in Atlanta's first game of the preseason and is slated to open the regular season as the team's backup behind Kirk Cousins.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Held out of preseason loss
Coach Raheem Morris said Penix showed enough in his preseason debut last week that the Atlanta Falcons didn't feel the need to play him against the Ravens on Saturday, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.This was a surprising decision given that Penix is a first-round-pick and expected to ride the pine once the regular season starts, but it perhaps makes more sense in light of the Falcons holding out other highly regarded backups. Both Baltimore and Atlanta largely used Saturday's exhibition to evaluate players at the bottom of the roster or on the wrong side of the bubble, leaving Penix and many others to watch in street clothes. Penix completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards the previous week in a preseason loss to Miami.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: In street clothes
Penix appears unlikely to play in Saturday's preseason game at Baltimore, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.With the rookie in street clothes for warmups and Kirk Cousins not expected to play at all this preseason, the Atlanta Falcons have Taylor Heinicke and John Paddock to take QB snaps Saturday afternoon. Penix completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards last Friday in Atlanta's preseason opener against Miami.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Solid showing in pro debut
Penix started the Atlanta Falcons' 20-13 preseason loss to the Dolphins on Friday night, completing nine of 16 passes for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.The rookie eighth overall pick played on the Falcons' first five possessions, leading Atlanta to 10 points overall on the third and fourth drives of the contest. Penix displayed solid command of the offense during his time in the game and connected with Chris Blair on a 41-yard pass for the Falcons' biggest pass play of the night. The performance was certainly an encouraging one for a pro debut, and with Kirk Cousins not slated to play this preseason, Penix should be afforded ample playing time again in Atlanta's second exhibition on the road against the Ravens on Aug. 17.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Primed for preseason debut
Penix looks slated to start Friday's road exhibition matchup against the Dolphins with Kirk Cousins not in line to play this preseason, Victor Prieto of Fox 5 Atlanta reports.Penix, the eighth overall pick of April's draft, looks positioned to spend at least his rookie campaign redshirting behind Cousins, so even preseason game reps figure to be valuable for his development. D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Cousins isn't expected to take the field at all this preseason, which should mean Penix is also primed to start versus the Ravens on Aug. 17 and against the Jaguars on Aug. 23, before returning to a backup role at home against the Steelers in Week 1. Coach Raheem Morris declined Wednesday to name a starting quarterback for Atlanta's preseason opener, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports, but the expectation is that Penix will enter the game first, followed by Taylor Heinicke and Nathan Rourke.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Michael Penix: Goes eighth overall to Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons selected Penix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, eighth overall.It's a stunning pick for Atlanta to make, both because Penix wasn't expected to go this high and because the Falcons just gave Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract. Penix will be about 24.5 years old as a rookie, and he'll have no shot to play anytime soon if Cousins is healthy. Penix in any case boasts a uniquely strong arm, and he was memorably good at avoiding sacks as a college quarterback. Before Penix emerged as a star passer for Washington he did his best to carry the Indiana program before that, but unsurprisingly he found it easier to move the ball in a Washington offense with three NFL receivers and two NFL tackles. Despite possessing a 40-yard dash time just under the 4.60 mark, Penix very rarely attempted to run in college and therefore is unlikely to leverage his speed in the form of rushing production at the NFL level. It's possible that Penix's lack of rushing activity was influenced somewhat by his injury history, as he tore his ACL twice (2018 and 2020).