No NFL team had more controversy swirl around a draft pick than the Falcons in taking quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 a month after signing Kirk Cousins, but Atlanta is trying to move forward with business as usual as the surprise wears off. Players said Tuesday that they trust in general manager Terry Fontenot’s judgment.
“Terry brought me here, and I truly believe that everything he does is to help this team,” Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates said. “There’s going to be a lot of questions about why we made that pick, but as a leader, I have to be a guy that [says] this is the vision, this is what we’re going with. I can do all I can to make sure I do my part, and same for all the other guys.”
It’s unusual, if not completely unprecedented, for a team to make a $180 million commitment to a veteran quarterback — including $100 million guaranteed — and then also use a top-10 draft pick at the same position. Fontenot and new head coach Raheem Morris have made it clear that Cousins is their quarterback now, and they’re excited about Penix being their quarterback of the future at some point.
Cousins, 36, hasn’t spoken publicly yet, but Bates acknowledged the sudden attention surrounding the team from the moment the pick came in for Penix on Thursday night.
“My phone was buzzing like I got drafted again,” he said. “You know, it wasn’t very surprising to me. I knew what type of player [Penix] is. Being from Indiana, I had an idea of who he was. I think he had a couple of almost upsets against Ohio State. I just watch football, and I can tell he has a knack.
“I think he’ll bring a lot to this locker room. He may not be playing the first couple of years, but having that competitive nature in the locker room, whether it’s Kirk Cousins, a practice squad player, whether it’s me or a Pro Bowl player, whatever it is, we’re going to compete and make each other better.”
Fontenot and Morris explained that their optimism in the team’s success under Cousins would mean Atlanta would pick much later in the first round in the coming years, and as such, they wouldn’t be in position to draft a quarterback as talented as Penix. It also speaks to their confidence in the existing roster that they could use a resource as valuable as a high first-round pick on the team’s future.
Cousins barely had a head start on Penix in terms of getting to know the locker room and establishing himself as a leader, but the 12-year-veteran has done that well in the first few weeks of offseason workouts.
“It’s been phenomenal. It feels like he’s been here for years, in terms of interactions with guys,” Pro Bowl guard Chris Lindstrom said Tuesday. “You hear stories about how great a professional he is, and that reputation carries across the league, but when you get here and watch how the guy works, it’s remarkable. The way he interacts with us has been great. You can’t ask for anything more. You see the way he approaches every single day, the intensity behind every single rep, the purpose behind it, it’s really cool.”
Right now, Cousins and Penix are on the same roster, but not exactly co-existing. Penix visited Atlanta last week for an introduction with the media, but he isn’t expected back until next weekend, when the team’s rookie minicamp will take place. From there, rookies and veterans will work together in OTAs (organized team activities) building up to mandatory minicamp June 10-12, and then they’re off until the start of training camp in late July.
Cousins is recovering from November surgery for a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season early, so for a time, Penix will be able to do more in practice. Bates said Cousins’ veteran leadership can already be seen as he leads the offense through walkthrough install sessions on the field, where coaches are limited in what they can do this time of the offseason.
“His presence, that’s the biggest thing,” Bates said. “Everybody’s been asking me: ‘How’s Kirk Cousins? How’s Kirk Cousins?’ I was like, ‘Hey, just his presence alone, just being there, I think is next level.’ The coaches can’t be out on the field too much, but when you have a guy like ‘Coach’ Kirk Cousins, he can go out there and run a whole script, whether that’s with the 1s, then the 2s. That presence is something that’s priceless.
“You can’t just have Penix come in here and he can run all the jogthroughs and walkthroughs. Kirk’s done that for 10-plus years and he’s comfortable doing that. He knows what that looks like. It’ll be good not just for Kirk and our offense but for the whole entire team to see how he operates in the building. That’s going to breed a lot of wins and a lot of success in this building.”
The Falcons will have to split their reps between the two quarterbacks, no doubt giving a larger share to Cousins as the starter even as they try to prepare Penix to be ready as well. Lindstrom said building a rapport and familiarity with Cousins is crucial right now, even just linemen learning his voice and cadence and how he operates as a quarterback and what he expects in terms of protection. Lindstrom came into the league with Matt Ryan as his quarterback, so he’s seen this before, but after two seasons with much less experienced quarterbacks, he likes what he sees.
“The experience he has, the looks that he’s seen, he’s played in a lot of big games,” he said. “He understand the different challenges that he may face. … He kind of knows the way he wants things, too, which is great, so we’re all on board.”
Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
