Michael Penix Jr.'s ability to endure a scuffle in Atlanta Falcons' arena suggests he's capable of participating in preseason matches.
Atlanta Falcons' Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to Skip Preseason Games
The Atlanta Falcons have announced that second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will not participate in the team's preseason games this year. Head coach Raheem Morris has expressed his intent to prioritise Penix's health and readiness for the regular season, a decision that contrasts with his approach in 2010 with Josh Freeman, another second-year quarterback under his tutelage.
During a scuffle in joint practices with the Tennessee Titans, Penix demonstrated his competitive spirit, exchanging words with defenders and participating in a physical altercation. However, he managed to avoid any injuries during the incident. Speaking about the scuffle, Penix referred to it as a competition and expressed his enjoyment of competing at a high level.
Penix's past is marked by a series of injuries, having finished four consecutive seasons at Indiana University with either a torn anterior cruciate ligament or a damaged shoulder. Despite these setbacks, Penix has expressed that he no longer focuses on his past injuries and trusts in his faith that God will protect him. This unwavering determination is also reflected in his approach to football, as he plays each game as if it could be his last, striving to play for God's glory.
Morris's philosophy on handling the quarterback position is to limit the number of unnecessary hits they take. This approach is evident in Penix's limited preseason game experience, having only 24 snaps in exhibition games during his rookie year and three NFL starts. The Falcons' head coach believes that preserving the quarterback's health and mental readiness outweighs the benefits of preseason game reps.
Penix's teammates describe him as quieter than a typical morgue, a testament to his focused and determined nature. Despite his reserved demeanour, Penix doesn't shy away from competition. He competes at a high level and doesn't do much talking until someone says something to him.
In 2010, Morris played Josh Freeman in the first two of four exhibition games, and Freeman started all 16 games that regular season. The context was different then, as Freeman was a rookie needing the game-day experience. Penix, on the other hand, is already a second-year starter with some regular-season experience and demonstrated clutch performance late in the previous season, lessening the perceived need for preseason snaps.
Penix Jr. won't play in the first exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans on August 19, 2025, and likely won't play in the third and last exhibition game on August 22 at Dallas. The Falcons will be carefully managing Penix's workload to ensure he is fully prepared for Week 1 of the regular season.
The reasoning behind Morris's decision in 2025 is a strategic trade-off prioritizing health and focused readiness over preseason experience, which differs from his 2010 approach with Freeman due to maturity and context differences between the quarterbacks and their career stages.
[1] Source: Atlanta Falcons Official Website
