The 2024 Atlanta Falcons went from 6-3 to 7-7 before head coach Raheem Morris somewhat controversially benched quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr.
in an attempt to save Atlanta’s playoff hopes.
During a recent chat with Scott Thompson of Fox News Digital, Penix revealed the advice he received from Cousins ahead of the rookie’s first regular-season start.
“Just let the game come to you and be patient,” Penix explained. “Even if you call a shot play, or a big play, you don’t have to take the big play if it’s not there. A lot of the stuff I learned from him was a lot of visual things, just the way he moved through his progression, getting to his fifth read, that’s hard to do, especially at the level we’re playing at. Hearing him in meetings talking about how he got to that last read, how he canceled out stuff early and stuff like that, it helped me out when I got in there early.”
Penix ultimately completed 18-of-27 passes for 202 yards with no touchdowns and an interception that wasn’t his fault in Atlanta’s Week 16 34-7 win over the New York Giants. While he subsequently lost back-to-back starts, he played well enough for the Falcons to begin preparing for life after Cousins less than 12 months after the club signed the veteran to a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed.
Cousins understandably wasn’t thrilled the Falcons drafted his eventual replacement instead of using the eighth overall pick to grab a different offensive or defensive playmaker. Despite that, the 36-year-old seemingly proved to be a tremendous mentor for Penix before the season and even as Cousins dealt with lingering elbow and shoulder issues that may have caused him to have a “dead” arm before he was relegated to QB2 duties.
“I feel like I always had to be ready because I didn’t know when my time was going to be,” Penix said about replacing Cousins so late into the campaign. “Whenever it did come, I wanted to be ready for that moment. Each and every day, I prepared like I was the starter. I prepared like I was going to be out there. So, whenever that moment did come, it didn’t seem like a surprise for me.”
Penix completed 58 percent of his pass attempts for 737 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions over his three starts. He’ll look to build upon those performances when he enters springtime workouts as an NFL QB1 for the first time later this year.
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