The Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick, but, as expected, he’s not in the mix to unseat Kirk Cousins as the team’s QB1 this summer.
Head coach Raheem Morris said in his Thursday press conference that Penix will split the backup quarterback reps with veteran Taylor Heinicke during training camp.
“It won’t be much different than what you’re accustomed to,” Morris said, referencing the reps allocation from the offseason program. “Obviously, Kirk took our first team reps, Penix and Heinicke definitely split our second reps, and [John] Paddock was able to get what he can get. We get to those moments and get the chance to get Paddock some of those things. Usually, they will split days when we get the chance to get to the other field, to get those guys reps and get those guys ready. Our walk-throughs and jog-throughs are very important for those guys.
“It will be exciting. It won’t be much different than what you are accustomed to seeing from the spring and what we did in OTAs.”
Cousins is fully cleared from his torn Achilles suffered last season, though there’s a chance the Falcons could be cautious with him and give him some maintenance days. Cousins also noted on Thursday that he’s not going to play in the preseason, which should give Penix plenty of opportunity to get on the field in August.
