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Michael Penix Jr. didn’t play for the Falcons in their second preseason game Saturday and won’t play for them again during their finale next week, either.
But to head coach Raheem Morris, that’s not a bad thing.
“Mike showed us last week enough that we don’t have to play him again in the preseason,” Morris told reporters after the Falcons lost to the Ravens, 13-12, on Saturday, according to the Falcons’ website.
Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in April’s draft, completed 9-of-16 passes for 104 yards during the Falcons’ loss to the Dolphins on Aug. 9, playing into the second quarter — for five total drives — and helping the Atlanta offense produce 10 points.
When Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson threw an interception and the Falcons took over at the Dolphins’ 17-yard line, Penix completed his first pass of the drive for 13 yards — and a few plays later, running back Carlos Washington capped the possession with a touchdown.
He also completed a 41-yard throw to wideout Chris Blair earlier in the game, but the Falcons ended up settling for a field goal despite getting to second-and-2 from the Miami 20-yard line later in the drive.
I feel like I did OK,” Penix told reporters following the Falcons’ first preseason game. “Some things that, you know, definitely want to get better. I feel like I executed the offense the best that I could. … Just trying to get points on the board whenever I was out there. Was able to get some points. We want to score every drive.”
Penix, who spent his first four years at Indiana before transferring to Washington for his final two college seasons, became a surprise selection at No. 8 overall after leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff title game — where they eventually lost to J.J. McCarthy, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.
The Falcons had just signed star quarterback Kirk Cousins, coming off a torn Achilles, to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency, and Cousins was reportedly a “bit stunned” by the move, according to a report from The Athletic at the time.
But Cousins downplayed any possible friction between the pair during a podcast appearance in May, and he reportedly remains on the path to start Week 1 against the Steelers — despite not playing in any preseason games, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And the Falcons don’t need to see anything else from Penix in games, either, before he opens the year operating as Cousins’ backup.
“Last week we wanted to get him out there and get a feel for what he was in a live game, which we kind of already knew,” Morris told reporters Saturday, according to the Falcons’ team website. “We wanted to see him be able to answer questions, talk about it on the sideline, go out there and execute, make mistakes and know what to do.
“… We saw enough last week of Michael Penix in the live stuff and now we had the chance to mitigate him in practice, and, you know, we give him a bunch of live stuff in practice that you do everything that you would do in a game other than get hit.”
