New Orleans – No player in the NFL wants to have their exit role removed, especially a team’s franchise quarterback.
Atlanta Falcons veteran Kirk Cousins had to tackle that reality by week 15, in the middle of a division title run no less, as head coach Raheem Morris said he turned to Michael Penix Jr. To play below the middle.
Cousins had fought despite coming out of a 15-9 win over Las Vegas Raiders the week before. Before this game then four straight loss atlanta dip below .500. So Morris got Penix to New York Giants for his first career start.
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Falcons Quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. And Kirk Cousins on the field before the Pittsburgh Steelers game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Dale Zanine-Preferred Pictures)
Penix, who spoke with Pakinomist Digital on Radio Row in front of the Super Bowl Lix, explained the central advice he gathered from the cousins he had seen and studied all season.
“Just let the game come to you and be patient,” Penix said, also discussing his partnership with Sharpie. “Even if you call a shot game or a big spectacle you don’t have to take the big game if it’s not there. A lot of the things I learned from him were a lot of visual things, just as he moved through his progression , to come to his fifth reading, it is hard to do, especially at the level we play on it.
Penix’s first start did not see his first career touchdown pass, but he went 18-for-27 in 202 yards with an eavesdropping. With the help of his defense, scoring two touchdowns on the low giants, won Falcons 34-7 and hit 8-7 in the season.
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Penix said the usual jitters were not there thanks to watching a few snaps in losses earlier in the season as well as for season play. But he also knows that nothing can prepare you for the first start … unless you act like a starting every week.
He said that his biggest takeaway from the season was to have the mindset to always be ready, which may have to happen next year also with the fact that cousins left under contract, despite Morris turning to his young rookie at the end of the season.
“I feel I should always be ready because I didn’t know when my time should be,” he said. “Every time it came, I would be ready for that moment. Every day I was preparing myself as if I were starting. I was preparing as if I were going to be out there. So when that moment came it didn’t ‘I look like a Surprise for me.
Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Runs against Carolina Panthers, Sunday, January 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Penix could not lead Falcons to the NFC South title and lose its last two starts of his rookie campaign. However, he showed blinks of why Falcons were so high on him with the eighth overall election in the 2024 NFL draft.
On the way into his second season, Penix will continue to work hard with his thinking that does not change. But his experience with Cousins shows that although the veteran gun sheath wants to remain a starter in the league, he is willing to teach the next generation in his quarterback room.
‘Passing the pen’ with Sharpie
Penix was among Sharpie’s “Rookies of the Year,” which marked the preliminary class as they entered their professional journeys. From signing day, to his case, my bricks this season, Sharpie has allowed Penix to add a personal touch to his rookie moments.
Now he is ready to “pass the pen” to the next class, which includes the top NFL views Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State and Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona. He shared his love for their respective games.
“Especially these two, I played against T-Mac, McMillan, just when he saw him live, he is doing big-time acting,” he said. “He is a great recipient and he wants to do a good job in this league and with Sharpie. I look forward to it. With Ashton, the year he had, came the number two in Heisman, I did last year .
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As the left side, Penix has had to deal with smears throughout his work from a young age. But he showed his appreciation of Sharpie S-Gel with it is “no smears, no smear technology.”
“It was crazy. It sucked when you didn’t have that Sharpie pen in your hand, but I found the solution now, so I’m super excited to be able to do it,” he said.
