Atlanta Falcons President of Football Operations Matt Ryan met the media on Tuesday, alongside his new hire at the General Manager position, Ian Cunningham. He was asked if Michael Penix Jr., the 8th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will be the Falcons starting quarterback this upcoming season.
Ryan would not commit to a real answer, either way.
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“Neither of us are the head coach of the football team, so we can’t answer your question on that,” Ryan said, as quoted by ESPN. “Quarterback’s obviously very important, and we’re excited about Mike and what he’s doing with his rehab.
“I’ve been up at the facility the last three weeks, and Michael’s been in there attacking that and he’s in a good space right now, so we’re excited about where he is at. But certainly, a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster.”
With Kirk Cousins expected to be let go, due to salary cap concerns, the job is clearly Penix’s for the taking. However, one could understand why Ryan, “Matty Ice” himself, would refuse to annoit him the starter. With the Falcons, nothing can be given, and everything must be earned. Ryan was actually the starting quarterback the last time that Atlanta had a winning record, or made the postseason.
So this is a hard reset, to say the least, and new head coach Kevin Stefanski will undoubtedly lead the way. When one analyzes the hires that Stefanski has made, in filling out his new staff, it’s clear that Penix is the no doubt bonafide QB1.
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The Falcons new staff is filled with coaches who can best tap into the specific skill set possessed by the Washington graduate and Indiana transfer. And Penix is excited to get going under Stefanski and company.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things,” Penix said in a one-on-one with RG.org. “I feel like he’s going to up our offense, take that next step that we need. We have the players to do it. I feel like the scheme that he’s bringing in is definitely going to help us as well. We look forward to it.
“I did have a brief conversation with him and Tommy Rees, the offensive coordinator. Those guys are super excited for what we’re going to be able to do and accomplish. I’ve heard nothing but great things.”
The third year Falcons signal caller recently had surgery to repair the ACL that he tore in November. His return timeline has him back in action sometime around August. He’s only played 14 games, starting 12 of them, so it’s still far too early to truly pass a judgment on whether or not Penix was a smart pick with the 8th overall selection in 2024.
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Now that the shuffling back and forth with Cousins in the starting role appears to be ending, the Falcons will now see what they really have. It certainly helps that in Rees, Penix will have an OC who knows first hand what it’s truly like to be a big name starting quarterback. Rees started all four years that he was at Notre Dame (2010-2013), and he led the Fighting Irish to an undefeated 2012 regular season, and a national title game appearance.
“The quarterback position, there’s no ups and downs, you got to be steady and have a good demeanor about yourself,” Rees said in an exclusive with The Sports Bank in 2019.
“Whereas other places you might be able to be able to hide a little bit- there’s none of that at the quarterback position.”
Prior to moving over to Atlanta with Stefanski, Rees has held the OC positions with Cleveland, Alabama and at his alma mater of ND. We’ll see how he gels with Penix, who has put up some good individual statistical numbers in his limited body of work.
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During his first two years in the NFL, Penix had put up a 84.5 passer rating, completing 59.6% of his passes and throwing for 2,757 yards, 12 TDs against only six interceptions.
So all the potential in the world is there.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Upcoming season a critical opportunity for Michael Penix Jr.
