FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons may be better positioned for a winning season going into their second year with Raheem Morris as head coach because the offense will be led by a quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., who won’t feel like a first-year starter.
After Thursday’s opening practice of training camp, Penix said he feels more confident entering his second season in the NFL because he was given his first three starts to close Atlanta’s 2024 schedule after veteran Kirk Cousins was benched.
“Yeah, it’s very important,” said Penix, the No. 8 pick of the 2024 draft. “Just knowing, just being able to go out there and get those games with full-speed reps, it instills confidence, knowing I can go out there and do the same thing that you saw in college and all my life. So, you know, just I would say the biggest thing is confidence.”
The Falcons were 1-2 with Penix as the starter to finish 8-9 and post their seventh consecutive losing record. Though the switch to the rookie didn’t produce a playoff berth, Penix said the experience was important for his 2025 outlook and his chemistry with everyone else on offense.
“Week 1 this year won’t be the first time I’m on the field with the starters in a game-time situation,” Penix said. “I feel like that was good as well. So the guys around me as well know what they’re going to get out of me.”
Penix spoke with confidence when he was asked about the potential for an offense that returns running back Bijan Robinson, receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts — a trio of young skill-position players, all of them former top-10 draft picks — and an experienced offensive line.
“We should be the best in the league with the guys we’ve got around us,” Penix said. “We should be unstoppable. So that’s our goal. We want to be No. 1 in all categories.”
Penix spent extra time throwing to Pitts and London this offseason, and the quarterback had the 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end on his mind when he spoke with reporters Thursday.
“You see we got KP the ball today,” Penix said to open the interview session. “There’s going to be a lot of that.”
Penix has the confidence of his teammates as the new leader of the offense.
“He’s just that guy, and he goes out there and he does the same thing every day and that’s work hard,” London said, adding that the left-handed Penix “has a cannon” of an arm when it comes to passing.
Meanwhile, Cousins returns in a backup role after disclosing on the second season of the Netflix docuseries “Quarterback” released earlier this summer that he played through pain in his right arm in the second half of the season, in part to avoid losing his job to Penix. Cousins threw eight interceptions with no touchdowns in a stretch of four straight losses after a 6-3 start and insisted through the losing skid that he was healthy.
Morris said Thursday the comment by Cousins in the Netflix show was “kind of old news” and added “we addressed that when it was happening. … Nothing was a shocker.”
Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract last March that included $100 million guaranteed. General manager Terry Fontenot has said the team is comfortable with Cousins as the backup to Penix. Morris said in the offseason “we won’t hold him back if the opportunity presents itself” for the four-time Pro Bowl selection to be traded to a team looking for a starter.
Like his starting quarterback, Morris said “it feels more settling, more at ease” as he begins his second season as coach.
“I think it feels even more familiar than it had felt before,” he said. “Being back the second time, being back with the same people … I’ll come back with the entire offensive staff coming back.”
Morris said all of Atlanta’s players reported to camp Wednesday as expected, and all are on schedule to be available for the season. Due to injuries, some players — including linebacker Troy Andersen (knee), who was placed on the physically unable to perform list — won’t be exposed to all contact at the start of camp.
Inside linebacker Malik Verdon, defensive lineman LaCale London and defensive back Cobee Bryant were placed on the nonfootball injury/illness list, while defensive back Kevin King was released. Right tackle Kaleb McGary showed off a new short haircut and said he is “all good” after having bone spurs removed from his ankle in an arthroscopic procedure.
Fans were invited to the opening practice, producing a long line at the gate surrounding the facility an hour before the session started.
Morris said he is “really fired up about this team, really fired up about this organization, really fired up about the fan base.”
The team’s first practice in pads will be on Tuesday.