FLOWERY BRANCH — Jahan Dotson doesn’t remember his first conversation with Michael Penix Jr. verbatim, but the Falcons’ free agent signee and projected starting receiver thinks it went something like this: Ready to do this thing. Let’s get to it.
On Monday afternoon, Penix was able to get to work at full capacity after a nine-month rehab process.
Penix played 14 snaps in 11-on-11 team periods Monday, his first practice since being cleared for contact by his independent doctor Aug. 20. He went 4-for-8 passing and also had a scramble down the left sideline that may have been enough for a first down.
The 26-year-old Penix’s best throw may have been his last. He dropped back on fourth down, glanced right, then fired over the middle to receiver Drake London, who snagged a pinpoint pass just beyond the outstretched fingertips of cornerback A.J. Terrell.
Penix also had several misfires.
The first play of Monday’s practice produced Penix’s first 11-on-11 throw of the offseason. In a goal-to-go setting, he fired toward the right pylon, but he missed wide right. His next two throws — a rolling-left comeback to receiver Zachariah Branch and an in-the-pocket dig to London — both bounced short of his intended targets.
Then, Penix found his rhythm. After missing his first three attempts, he completed 4-of-5 passes to end the session. His lone miss came on a deep ball to Dotson down the right sideline. Dotson ran a deep cross and beat safeties Xavier Watts and DeMarcco Hellams by a few steps, but Penix’s pass sailed wide right.
Dotson felt Penix showed well for himself Monday.
“He’s the same every day he comes out here, no matter how much he’s doing,” Dotson said after practice. “Whether he’s doing just 7-on-7, we got to see him in 11-on-11 action today, and that was a good step in the right direction for him. But yeah, he’s the same.
“He approaches every day like a professional. It was good to see him out here in action.”
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice that adjusting to the pass rush and getting in and out of an 11-man huddle were two of Penix’s biggest challenges after an offseason spent repping 7-on-7.
The Falcons’ defense condensed pockets around Penix, and on his underthrown bounce pass to London, one of the Falcons’ pass rushers fell on the ground a few feet in front of the leg. In short, Penix’s balance and accuracy appeared to wane as a result of pressure by his feet.
Penix’s pocket presence, however, drew strong reviews.
“He commands the huddle as a quarterback should,” Dotson said.
Stefanski, Dotson and several of Penix’s other teammates have expressed their excitement for him to return to 11-on-11 action. His scramble was “cool to see,” Dotson said, as was the velocity he generated on his attempts.
“He has a rocket as an arm,” Dotson said. “It’s extraordinary. It truly is. He can truly make every single throw on the field, whether it’s a 50-yard bomb, intermediate routes. And he trusts in his arm to get it there, and that’s a big thing I first noticed when I got here.
“He trusts that he can make the downfield throws, no matter what the platform is. So, it’s really cool playing with him.”
Penix split first-team snaps with Tua Tagovailoa, who played 11 reps and went 0-for-3 passing. Running back Bijan Robinson dropped Tagovailoa’s final pass, a quick throw to the left on a roll-out. In his lone red-zone throw, Tagovailoa’s attempt generated a defensive pass interference penalty.
Though the competition between Penix and Tagovailoa is beginning in earnest, Falcons offensive tackle Wanya Morris said the quarterback position’s collective camaraderie remains intact.
“They’re such a tight-knit group,” Morris said Monday. “They’re together, so they move as one. They’re all doing their thing.”
The Falcons ran 26 full-speed plays in team periods Monday, and all but one of those snaps went to Penix and Tagovailoa. Undrafted rookie Jack Strand received one snap, throwing an incomplete pass in a goal-to-go period.
Strand and veteran Cooper Rush led the offense through half-speed walk-through periods. And while Strand took a backseat to Penix on Monday, he enjoyed watching his teammate take an ever-important step in his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last November.
“He was excited for sure,” Strand said about Penix. “It was really good to see him back out there, going full 11-on-11.”
The Falcons’ quarterback competition remains open. Stefanski didn’t commit to Penix, or Strand for that matter, being in contention to start Week 1. Tagovailoa, who took the bulk of the first-team snaps in 11-on-11 periods this summer, has long been viewed as the favorite, but the race appears open entering the preseason finale.
Neither Penix nor Tagovailoa starred Monday, but the former certainly produced better than the latter. It was the first day of a new chapter in the Falcons’ quarterback battle — a day that, if nothing else, carried the excitement of the long-awaited unknown and delivered a significant milestone in Penix’s recovery.
“I know it’s been a tough journey, so it’s good to see him on the opposite side of that,” Dotson said. “It’s exciting seeing your teammates doing what they love to do. You can tell he loves the game of football, so it’s really cool to have him back out here.”
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