Falcons moving full bore with Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback

By signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million in March 2024, the Falcons thought they’d solved their QB issue for the short-term. In April 2024, they drafted Penix to be the long-term solution.

But 14 games and a league-leading 16 interceptions later, the Falcons pulled the plug on the Cousins’ era. The Falcons have Penix on an offseason plan, and he’s set to return for the training program, which starts April 22.

“When you talk about Michael, what is your offseason plan?” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Tuesday at the league’s annual meeting. “How do you go about that process.”

The Falcons gave Penix some guidance after the season.

“Try to hook him up with people to talk about what they’ve done in their past,” Morris said. “Whether it be Matt Ryan, his coaches or whatever the case may be before he left.”

The Falcons also wanted to know about his nutrition, living plan, performance and development.

“All of those things when it comes out to be worked outgoing into April 22,” Morris said. “He knows coming in, he’s the guy. He’ll be ready to go, and get his guys ready to go.”

The Falcons also wanted to know about some of his mechanics.

“What is they rhythm and routine with his arm,” Morris said. “When does he take off? When does he get back going? All of those things have been fully discussed with Michael.”

Penix went 1-2 as a starter. He completed 58.1% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“I believe that he’s on the right path, right track to doing everything the right way, like he’s done since we (drafted) him,” Morris said. “You’ve seen nothing but a mature young man, who’s shown mature excellence throughout the course of his stay here. I couldn’t be more pleasantly surprised with what he’s done.”

Falcons owner Arthur Blank is supporting his football staff on the decision to shift to Penix. Cousins essentially lost his position to an injury (shoulder), which led to the interceptions and the poor play.

He was on the injury report after the Saints’ game Nov. 10, but said it was a clerical error. After the season, before the Super Bowl, he acknowledged that he was injured in the Saints’ game.

“At the end of the day, and I’ve said this many times in the past, and I’ll say it candidly, I’m the custodian for the franchise for our fans,” Blank said. “That decision to move on to Michael was primarily a coaching decision. Raheem decided to make the change. Raheem, (offensive coordinator) Zac (Robinson) and (general manager) Terry (Fontenot) decided to make the change. They had their reasons, and they seemed to make sense to me. I wish it was never necessary. It’s not a reflection on Penix.”

Would it have been more prudent to allow Cousins to get healthy and then let him compete with Penix to regain his starting position?

“He played the last three games and showed us all of the capabilities that we saw in the draft analysis and played at a very high level,” Blank said. “The hope is that we have our franchise quarterback. He’s a relatively young man. We’ll see.”

For most of last season, Penix ran the scout team, helping the first-team defense get prepared for the upcoming opponents. After another shaky performance where the velocity on Cousin’s passes was low against the Raiders on Dec. 16, the Falcons made the move.

They’d seen enough to move on from Cousins.

It was the third season in row, the Falcons switched quarterbacks. In 2022, they moved from Marcus Mariota to Desmond Ridder. In 2023, they moved back and forth between Ridder and Taylor Heinicke.

The Falcons noticed traits in Penix that made them comfortable with the move.

“I think really for us, it was poise,” Morris said. “I don’t think we knew how poised he was in the moments. We all saw the arm talent. We all saw the superior throws down the field to his guys (at Washington and Indiana). So, the guy went out there and competed at the very highest level, getting to the (College Football Playoff).”

Penix came in as a rookie, kept quiet and tried to learn as much as he could from Cousins.

“I don’t know if we knew about the poise that he had,” Morris said. “How calm he was under pressure. Nothing seemed to really rattle him. He’s just a poised young man.”