After picking Michael Penix Jr. as the No. 8 overall pick to eventually replace Kirk Cousins, the Falcons have decided to limit the rookie quarterback’s time in the preseason.
Penix played 24 snaps in the preseason opener against Miami, completing 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards.
However, he did not play in the game against the Ravens over the weekend, and head coach Raheem Morris stated that he does not plan to use Penix in Friday’s preseason finale against the Jaguars.
Morris mentioned after Saturday’s game that Penix had already demonstrated enough and wouldn’t need to play again in the preseason. He explained his decision further during his Monday press conference.
“Michael’s role is very clear in terms of what we want to see,” Morris said. “We had the opportunity to give him two tough practices against the Dolphins, which I value just as much as these games.
We got him some practice against the Dolphins and tried to avoid injuries. While you can’t prevent all injuries, especially with our upcoming scrimmage, it’s important to manage them.
“In a typical year, you’d want four joint practices to complete these evaluations and reduce injury risk. I managed to simulate three joint practices with other teams and get him some game work action. I think he had about 25 plays. Through those practices, we gained a lot more insight.”
I’ll get a good look at him on Wednesday during our scrimmage and check how well he’s handling the challenges and things we want him to understand better.
He’s been improving a lot throughout this process, so it will be a similar approach to how we’ve been handling things this week and in the next preseason game.
When asked if not playing Penix was only about preventing injuries, Morris said the rookie has been getting plenty of practice without taking away from Cousins.
“And it’s been great,” Morris said. “This won’t change in his development plan, even as the season starts. He’ll get all the reps against our defense as the scout-team quarterback.
He’s getting a lot of practice against our starting defense, which is very good. I’m confident about his progress and future development.
“If I thought we needed to see more from him, we would play him more. But I don’t think that’s necessary, and the people I trust also don’t think so. That’s why we’re not playing him more.”
For this weekend’s game, Morris said the quarterback rotation will be the same, meaning Taylor Heinicke and John Paddock will be the ones playing.
