Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. started the Falcons’ first exhibition game Friday at Miami and looked fine. A handful of his passes were too high or long, but Penix also flashed the attributes that made him a collegiate star. He has a quick release, a strong arm and accurate passes.
But, ultimately, Penix’s solid performance in the exhibition game doesn’t matter much. I’d say the same if he’d looked terrible. That’s not because Penix played with and against backups while facing a rudimentary defensive scheme in a game that doesn’t count.
D.J. Shockley, the color commentator for the Fox 5 TV broadcast, indirectly got to the crux of the matter. He said Falcons coach Raheem Morris told the broadcast team that he was fine with Penix, the No. 8 overall draft pick, playing behind the backup offensive line because the group had performed well in training camp.
“Not a lot of teams want to put their top-10 pick out there with the second-string offensive line,” Shockley said.
That’s because not a lot of teams draft a QB that early with no intention of eventually starting them as a rookie. No other franchise has signed the most expensive free agent QB and selected a QB in the draft’s top 10 in the same year. It’s an extremely inefficient use of limited resources when only one quarterback can play at a time.
Those circumstances are why Penix’s 2024 outlook won’t change even if he becomes the NFL’s exhibition MVP. Kirk Cousins will be the QB for the games that count. That’s how it is until he’s hurt or gone. The unprecedented situation makes it hard to know what a successful rookie season would even look like for Penix. The Falcons will have internal criteria, but even they can’t know for sure if he doesn’t play much in real games.
It’s good for the Falcons that Penix performed well enough in his (unofficial) debut. He proved he could make plays against other professionals, even if none of them are NFL starters and some aren’t even NFL-caliber. Penix played five series while passing 16 times, completing nine for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
The highlight was his 41-yard completion to wide receiver Chris Blair down the right sideline during the third series. Penix let the ball fly as soon as Blair beat his man off the line. He put just the right amount of touch on the pass, and Blair caught it while running full speed. It was great anticipation and execution by Penix.
After the long gain by Blair, Penix missed on a pass to Casey Washington, who was wide-open to his left. But on the next play Penix, a lefty, pump-faked right before zipping a crisp pass down the middle to Washington for 16 yards. The Falcons faced a third-and-2 at Miami’s 21-yard line when Penix, under pressure from the pass rush, passed too long to give Carlos Washington a chance to make the TD catch.
Penix got a prime scoring chance to start his next series. An interception set up the Falcons at Miami’s 16-yard line. A Penix screen pass to Carlos Washington gained 13 yards. He tried a fade pass to Casey Washington on third-and-goal, but it wasn’t there. Carlos Washington ran for a TD on fourth down.
Penix’s final series included another overthrown pass, this time on a check-down attempt to Carlos Washington. Penix found John Fitzpatrick for three yards on third-and-1. His third-down pass for KhaDarel Hodge was knocked away by Nik Needham, who made a nice play on the ball.
That was the last play for Penix. The Falcons tallied 10 points on his five drives (one ended after two plays because Blair fumbled the ball away after a short reception). Penix looked comfortable. He made quick decisions and never put the ball in danger.
“Just trusting my preparation,” Penix told Fox 5. “At the end of the day, it’s football. Obviously, we are doing it at the highest level right now. But I feel like I’m here for a reason.”
The reason isn’t to play meaningful football games this season or anytime soon. Penix won’t get many official snaps this season unless Cousins is injured or the game is a rout. No other NFL franchise has developed a top-10 quarterback this way during the free agency and salary-cap era (starting with the 1994 season).
Each of the other 53 quarterbacks selected that high in the draft from 1994 to 2024 joined teams with either journeyman veterans or lesser young players as the other option. Those type of quarterbacks can be pushed aside when it’s time for the young hotshot to play.
The Falcons signed Cousins for $100 million guaranteed. They can’t move on from him before the 2027 offseason without wrecking the salary cap. They can’t play Penix over Cousins. Falcons decision-makers could end up evaluating the No. 8 pick without ever seeing him play in an official, competitive game this season and maybe two more.
The Falcons may get little or zero value from Penix’s below-market, rookie-scale contract. Every other team will get some production this season from their first-round picks if they are healthy. At the very least they’ll figure out those guys can’t play against top competition and plan accordingly.
The Falcons likely won’t get any of those benefits with Penix. Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot will continue to say it’s wise to have Cousins’ heir on the sideline watching. Those of us unpersuaded by that argument will continue to wonder why they didn’t either find a starting QB in the draft or in free agency, but not try to do both. Everyone will watch closely the rookies the Falcons could have drafted.
At least Penix had a pretty good exhibition debut. Maybe he’ll look even better when he next plays in a game that doesn’t count. I suppose that’s what would have to count as success for Penix during his rookie season. It’s his bad luck that he was drafted by a franchise with a nonsensical quarterback plan.
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