Michael Pennis Jr. did not play for the Falcons in their second preseason game on Saturday and will not play again in their final game next week.
But for head coach Raheem Morris, that’s not a bad thing.
“Mike did a good job last week showing us that we don’t need to use him again in the preseason,” Morris told reporters after the Falcons’ 13-12 loss to the Ravens on Saturday. According to the Falcons website:.
Pennis, the No. 8 overall pick in April’s draft, completed 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards and played the entire second quarter in the Falcons’ loss to the Dolphins on Aug. 9, helping Atlanta’s offense score 10 points on five total drives.
After Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson threw an interception and the Falcons took control from the Dolphins’ 17-yard line, Pennis completed his first pass of the drive for 13 yards and running back Carlos Washington capped the drive with a touchdown a few plays later.
He also completed a 41-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Blair earlier in the game, but the Falcons eventually settled for a field goal despite going to second down and two from the Miami 20-yard line later in the drive.
“I think I did a good job” Penis He told reporters “Obviously, there are some things we want to improve on,” he said after the Falcons’ first preseason game. “I thought our offense played the best it could. … Every time we went out there, we were looking to score, and we did. We want to score on every drive.”
Pennis, who spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Indiana before transferring to Washington for his final two seasons, was the surprise selection eighth overall after leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff finals, where they ultimately lost to J.J. McCarthy, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.
The Falcons had just signed star quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, and Cousins was reportedly “a little surprised” by the move. As The Athletic reported at the time:.
However, Cousins downplayed any potential friction between the two during a podcast appearance in May, and despite not appearing in a preseason game, he is reportedly in line to start in Week 1 against the Steelers. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:.
And the Falcons don’t need Penix to show anything else in games before he opens the year as Cousins’ backup.
“I just wanted to get him out there last week and see how he would play in a real game, which we kind of knew,” Morris told reporters on Saturday, according to the Falcons’ team website. “I just wanted to see him answer questions, talk on the sideline, go out there and play, make mistakes and know what to do.”
“… We got a good look at Michael Pennis in practice last week, so now we have an opportunity to ease him in practice. We’re having him do a lot of game-like plays that have him do everything he does in a game, except get hit.”
