Michael Penix Jr. Takes First-Team Reps, Signaling a QB Shakeup in Atlanta
Penix says he took all the first-team reps in practice. (via Marc Raimondi)
The ' expensive veteran insurance policy might have just expired. According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, rookie quarterback told reporters he took all the first-team reps in practice on Wednesday.
You do not hand a rookie every single starting rep in the middle of the week just to keep him loose. This is the universal NFL signal that a changing of the guard is happening under center.
is coming off a 30-23 loss to the , a game that apparently pushed the coaching staff to hit the emergency button.
Remember the collective gasp when the Falcons drafted Penix eighth overall right after handing a massive bag of guaranteed money? We are officially at the fireworks factory of that decision.
If Penix is indeed taking over, the offensive dynamic shifts entirely. You swap out a veteran pocket manager for a rookie with a massive arm who is ready to test the deep boundaries of the field.
Oddsmakers and fantasy managers are going to have a field day recalibrating the value of and . A quarterback change this drastic completely rewrites the weekly projections and forces sportsbooks to scramble on the game lines.
We will see if the team makes a formal announcement before the weekend, but the writing is on the wall. The Penix era in is arriving a whole lot earlier than the front office originally pretended it would.