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The plan was for Michael Penix Jr. to sit behind Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Kirk Cousins this year, possibly for a few years, as he developed. That plan has been upended.
Following a really poor stretch of play, Kirk Cousins has been benched with the Falcons still in playoff contention and three weeks remaining in the season. Michael Penix Jr. is now the starter, and he found out in hilarious fashion.
Penix was a surprise selection with the 8th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Falcons. It wasn’t necessarily because he wasn’t worthy of being drafted that high, as plenty of teams had him as a top-ten pick. Rather, it was because the team had just signed Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million guaranteed contract with $100 million guaranteed. Many thought that they would use that pick to upgrade the roster elsewhere, since signing Cousins was a signal they wanted to compete right away. But, that’s not what they did. Instead, they took Penix. Penix had lit it up with Washington after transferring from Indiana, finishing as the Heisman runner-up and leading Washington to the National Championship Game in 2023.
Now he will be starting for a Falcons team that is just one game back and has the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South with three weeks left. How did he find out that he had been named starter on Tuesday?
So turns out, Michael Penix Jr. found out he would be #Falcons QB1 while getting a hotdog at @Costco with his girlfriend 😂🌭@FOX5Sports @AtlantaFalcons pic.twitter.com/mZ5G2ScAQ7
— Mary Alex Anders- Fox 5 Sports (@maryalexanders_) December 19, 2024
If you’re a CostCo member, you know that the $1.50 hot dog deal is as good as it gets. If I were him, I still would’ve bought the hot dog!
He will be eased into his first start, as the Falcons take on the lowly Giants on Sunday.