I hate the Atlanta Falcons. I have never been a fan of the Falcons by any means but they have always played an essential part in the NFL ecosystem. The early 2000’s teams with Michael Vick, Michael ‘The Burner’ Turner, Roddy White, and Warrick Dunn were electric viewing. The 28-3 Super Bowl collapse is maybe the most famous game in NFL history. The Falcons were always good for some entertainment… as long as you weren’t a Falcons fan.

For us outsiders, it was always funny to watch the Falcons fail on every level. However, Falcons fans have been tortured for decades over the inadequacies of their franchise. Now, I can officially say that for the first time, I am on the receiving end of the clown show that is the Atlanta Falcons organization.

If you have even remotely followed me over the past two years- you know that I worship the ground that Michael Penix Jr. walks on. It went from a fun longshot Heisman bet in 2022 to me cheering on Washington from the 3rd row of the Sugar Bowl wearing a shirt with his face on it.

Obviously, going into this year’s draft I couldn’t wait to see where Michael Penix went. There were rumors of him staying in Washington and going to the Seahawks or going to the Vikings. Those both seemed like great situations for him. Closer to the draft, it seemed like almost an inevitability that Penix would be going to the Raiders. Almost every mock draft had things breaking so that the Raiders could stay put and get their QB of the future to pair with the likes of Davante Adams.

It wasn’t the best possible situation for Penix but I would have been happy to see him go to a somewhat competent team with a seemingly bright young head coach and at least one elite weapon. He would also be in a good place coming into a QB room with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. He easily could earn the starting job but also wouldn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders having two guys who started a lot of games last season in the room with him.

As we all know now, everything changed last night. In one of the most shocking picks in NFL Draft history, the Falcons picked Michael Penix at #8 overall. On the surface, this should have been an incredible moment. Penix jumped JJ McCarthy as QB4 and a guy whose football future was at one point in doubt due to injury issues is going in the top 10 of the NFL Draft.

However, after thinking for longer than three seconds… the move simply made no sense. The Falcons just made a huge splash this offseason signing Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year contract. That means that Penix will be on his rookie deal for the same length of time as their now “franchise QB.”

The Falcons have tried to justify the pick as “following the Jordan Love model” in Green Bay. However, these are entirely different situations. Jordan Love was a young QB who needed time to develop anyway, was taken late in the first round, and was going into a winning team whose QB was the long-term franchise guy who had won a Super Bowl. There was no debate about Love taking his job.

In this situation, it seems like Kirk Cousins is still going to be the Week One starter for Atlanta but if the Falcons loved Penix so much then there is no reason why there shouldn’t be an open QB competition. It just makes no sense on any level for Cousins, Penix, or the franchise.

The worst part of all of this craziness is the internet coming together to clown the Falcons once again. As we discussed earlier, I would have loved to get in on the action, but for the first time ever… I was a victim in the Falcons’ circus. I was ready to buy my black and silver Michael Penix Jr. Raiders jersey and dive in. Then the Falcons did this…

The Falcons spent huge money on a quarterback, so this draft pick should have been their chance to draft young players at other positions and try to win now. The other option would have been spending the Cousins money on other positions and drafting Penix. They opted to do both instead. Even if Penix sits for two years and you decide to move on from Cousins, you will be sitting on two years of dead cap instead of being able to load up while Penix is still on a rookie deal.

I mean what the hell is this??? So you want him to sit for his entire rookie deal, then you re-sign him to a big deal and make him the starter after Cousins retires or moves on???? And he is 28 years old at that point?? It simply makes no sense.

The Falcons tarnished what should have been the greatest night of Michael Penix’s life. I’m sure he and his family were ecstatic that he was picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, but once the dust settles, he must be thinking the same thing as everyone else. “Am I going to get a chance to compete for the starting job?” “How long am I going to sit for?” “Is the whole internet laughing at me?”

I believe that Michael Penix is a top-10-level talent and could have an amazing NFL career. But this move just starts off his entire career on a weird trajectory and I will forever hate the Atlanta Falcons if his NFL career doesn’t work out.

Unless the Falcons plan on using this…

then I truly just don’t get it.

You’re either wasting the years of an elite young QB on a rookie deal or you’ll have an $80 million QB sitting on the bench/killing you with dead cap. This situation is a lose-lose for the Falcons in every way, shape, or form.

Personally, I think Kirk Cousins should either force his way out or demand that the Falcons trade Penix somewhere else where he could be given a fair shake. This is not the way things were supposed to go and I feel utterly lost as I spill all of my thoughts here. I hope that I am somehow wrong and this situation works out perfectly for Mike because no one deserves happiness more than him.