Inside Falcons Plan for QB Michael Penix Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons have a plan for the present with Kirk Cousins and future with Michael Penix Jr. -- here's what it is.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will remain the backup to Kirk Cousins against the Las Vegas Raiders. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

In the moment, Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.'s job was to help others warm up.

Tight end Ross Dwelley stood on the right side of Penix, who was throwing passes to quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates. Once Yates secured the pass, he turned to his left and pitched the ball to starting signal caller Kirk Cousins, who threw straight to Dwelley. The ball eventually returned to Penix.

Over. And over. And over. Again, and again.

As kickoff inched closer and closer in the Falcons' Dec. 8 match against as the Minnesota Vikings, the story had little to do with Penix.

Cousins was seconds away from his first game back in Minnesota since leaving the franchise in free agency this past spring, an occurrence that brought an onslaught of boos when he took the field for the first time.

It was Cousins' time. Even after his no-touchdown, two-interception performance in Atlanta's 42-21 loss, it still is. Even with zero touchdowns and eight interceptions in his past four games -- all losses -- it still is.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said moves like benching Cousins are always taken into consideration -- but it's also Morris's job to lead the organization in a way that promotes stability and avoids sudden, short-minded decisions.

Mistakes happen. Some are avoidable -- and Morris believes it's only right to stick with Cousins, who's won two NFC Offensive Player of the Week awards and enters Week 18 ranked fourth in the league in passing yards overall (3,396) and per game (261.2).

"When you lead an organization, you have to have trust and belief in the people that got you to where you were," Morris said. "Kirk came here, and he got us to a point we are in playoff contention. You have to believe and have to have the resolve to stick and stay steady-handed by the guy you believe in.

"I just feel like it's our job and my job to back him at the highest level of certainty to get him to get out there and play better."

It's also Morris's job to not compromise the development of the 24-year-old Penix, who Atlanta drafted No. 8 overall in the spring with hopes of letting him sit and learn behind Cousins.

Penix has played in two games this season -- a pair of blowout losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. He went 3-for-5 passing for 38 yards.

Morris acknowledged he doesn't know if giving Penix extended action this year would harm his development. Nobody does, he said. But Morris knows this: he and the Falcons have a plan for Penix.

The plan, Morris said, centers around how to play and utilize Penix -- but only "when it's time." And the Falcons, who are 6-7 but only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, have no interest in jumping the gun on Penix's development when Cousins has put them in a spot to fight for a playoff berth.

"You can look at different organizations that's pulled the trigger and put guys out there too early and it's gone terrible," Morris said. "I don't want to be that guy."

And this, perhaps above all else, is why the Falcons wanted to put Penix behind Cousins. Atlanta's vision from the start featured Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, helping the team snap a six-year playoff drought before handing over the reins to Penix at some point in the next few seasons.

None of the Falcons' decision makers expected this conversation so soon.

But the fact it's happened isn't necessarily a bad thing for Penix's growth.

"I told you right from the beginning, he's our future," Morris said. "And for our future to go out there and be preparing like he's preparing, to be the solid human he's been throughout the whole process and to have the respect, the confidence, the wherewithal to support Kirk and all this stuff too, it's a great learning lesson for him as well."

The ecosystem within the Falcons' quarterbacks room helps Penix's cause, too. In addition to the 13-year veteran in Cousins, Atlanta also has Nate Peterman, who's been in the NFL for eight years and started five games, on its practice squad.

In addition to Yates, the Falcons have assistant quarterbacks coach DJ Williams, who was with the New Orleans Saints for Drew Brees' final four seasons and now works more with Penix than Yates does.

The result, Yates said, is a bevy of healthy conversations in the meeting room -- and between that in his practice snaps, Penix has capitalized on his opportunities to grow.

"Mike has progressed really well," Yates said. "One of the best things, he gets to go against our defense every single day on scout team, and he treats all of those reps like he's getting ready. He takes those reps seriously, he competes really, really hard against our defense and he does a great job.

"He's more of a quiet guy that sits back and learns and listens, but by osmosis or observing what Kirk does, he has continued to become a better and better pro each week just by being in that room."

And ultimately, that's the Falcons' biggest goal for Penix this season: evolving as a professional quarterback. Cousins is Atlanta's present. Penix is its future.

Where the Falcons go this season will ultimately be decided by how well Cousins plays over the final four weeks. But it appears clear Atlanta will ride with Cousins until the proverbial wheels fall off, something Morris doesn't foresee happening.

"It's the ultimate encouragement and backing from our building to go out there and support him," Morris said. "So, to say benching doesn't cross your mind, you always have to consider those things if you feel like it's something that's irreplaceable, or something that's irreparable.

"But I don't feel that way. I feel like he's going to come out of this thing and he's going to go on a run here and get us to do the things that we need to do."

Cousins' future might just depend on it.