The Atlanta Falcons shocked the league when they drafted Michael Penix Jr at No.8 overall last year. The selection came just one month after they handed Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million monster deal. Fast-forward to present day and Penix is set to be the Falcons’ starter heading into 2025, as Cousins stumbled during his first year in Atlanta.
One thing nobody wants to see is the potential franchise quarterback in the middle of practice fights. That’s exactly what happened with Penix on Wednesday, as the Falcons and Tennessee Titans held joint practice in Atlanta, according to Marc Raimondi of ESPN.
Raimondi mentioned that after Penix completed a long pass to Ray-Ray McCloud III, that’s when he and Titans defenders started jawing with each other. Tensions flared, leading to Penix being in the middle of a scrum and at the bottom of the pile. Penix talked about his Falcons teammates coming to his aid at that moment.
“I’m glad they did, because obviously that’s not something that we want to be doing in practice. We want to get all reps in, get that good work in. But it went how it went. But to see the team have my back and they were there, make sure they protect me. A lot of guys asked me if I was good, and it was good to know that those guys had my back.
While that may have been a good sign of camaraderie in the Falcons’ locker room, having the starting quarterback in the middle of fights isn’t ideal. Penix admitted that he wasn’t himself in that moment, saying, “I don’t really do too much talking until somebody say something to me and maybe I’ll want to, ‘OK, I threw a touchdown, now what y’all talking about.'”
The Falcons are extremely fortunate Penix came out of the rift unscathed. The Falcons will take on the Titans on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.