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Is Michael Penix Jr. the Falcons’ long-term answer at QB? This NFL Insider isn’t sure
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- Is Michael Penix Jr. the Falcons’ long-term answer at QB? This NFL Insider isn’t sure
Is Michael Penix Jr. the Falcons' long-term answer at QB? This NFL Insider isn't sure appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
After an up-and-down 2025 season that resulted in another playoff absence and the firing of head coach Raheem Morris , the Atlanta Falcons hope they have the winner ricipe to get back to Super Bowl contention with Kevin Stefanski calling plays and franchise legend Matt Ryan in the front office.
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On paper, that seems like a pretty good combo, but is their incumbent starting quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. , the kind of player who really brings it all together? Or will he instead get everyone chopped like the famous cooking show?
While opinions on that matter are mixed, ESPN's Louis Riddick falls more on the pessimistic side of the cupboard, noting that he believes the Falcons will go in another direction before everything is said and done at quarterback.
"No, personally, I don't. Look, I understand looking like you nailed it. Look, obviously, Kevin's trying to kind of buy himself some time. He's saying, 'Hey, look, we'll work through that. He's just trying to get healthy. We're just going through our process.' Whatever other buzzword that you want to use. The fact of the matter is, though, they don't have anybody healthy and/or on their roster under contract that they could line up right now and play and play a regular season game with and win a game," Riddick said.
"Now, I understand that it's we're still in February and we're just about to start the new league year, but we're talking about the most important position on the roster and we're talking about the guy who's coming back having a long extensive injury history and we're talking about a whole new regime here and we're talking about a guy who's running the personnel department and Matt Ryan who is a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback. He's not going to go into the season with these kind of questions."
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So how would Riddick attack the QB position? Well, he believes there are options, including the top quarterback in the free agent market, Malik Willis .
"I think they are going to be in the market for a veteran signal caller. I think they're obviously going to look at the draft and see if they could find some kind of value there," Riddick said. "But you're going to tell me like a guy like Malik Willis wouldn't make sense in Kevin Stefanski's offense, concerning the offense that he's just coming from in Green Bay and the carryover that he carry over. It would have in Atlanta. Matt Ryan is going to make a big move here because he knows how important the position is."
After taking $35 million in dead money against the cap by releasing Kirk Cousins , would the Falcons really consider outbidding opposing teams for Willis, who could command a deal worth $35.5 million annually , according to Spotrac? It's hard to say, but if Ryan and Stefanski feel a similar way to Riddick, the next few months could prove very interesting for fans in Atlanta.
Related: Ranking 5 best Kirk Cousins free agency destinations once he's released by Falcons
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