Michael Penix Jr. on his transition to the NFL: 'You gotta learn how to be a pro'

Michael Penix Jr. may not see a lot of action during his first NFL season, but the Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback knows he needs to be ready if his number is called. While speaking to reporters during minicamp, Penix was asked about his transition from playing for the Washington Huskies to being an NFL QB.

“You gotta learn how to be a pro,” Penix said. “You don’t have school anymore, you don’t got to worry about that in your schedule. …You working. This is a job. It’s like you trying to perfect your job. You trying to be as good as you can. And now I got the time, I got the resources, the money, that’s a part of it too. You can have those resources. Get the best massage therapist, get the chefs and staff like that, so just learning how to become a pro.”

Penix being selected No. 8 overall by the Falcons in the draft was one of the most shocking things to happen in the NFL offseason because the team signed veteran QB Kirk Cousins to a four-year $180 million contract in March. The goal is to have Penix ready once the Falcons move on from Cousins in two or three years.

Kirk Cousins on the Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr.

“I think you’re reminded again that there are things you control and there’s a lot of things you don’t control,” Cousins said on Bussin with The Boys in May. “And so let’s deal in reality and recognize that fact and then be a steward and not an owner. So I just believe that I gotta steward what comes my way and control what I control, which is what a steward does.”

“But a steward doesn’t worry about that which they can’t control, an owner does,” Cousins added. “An owner would be like oh my goodness. So I just got to steward this and just do kind of what I’ve always done as a player and let the chips fall where they may.”

ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. did not see Penix being drafted by the Falcons. But he believes that the team made the right call if Cousins leads the Falcons to a Super Bowl.

“If Kirk Cousins coming off the injury isn’t the same at age 36, you turn the page and go to Michael Penix Jr.,” Kiper said. “Then what does Michael Penix Jr. become? The win-win here is if Kirk Cousins develops big time, takes you to a Super Bowl, has a big-time year and he shakes off the Achilles [injury] that he had and has a Super Bowl year. And then Michael Penix Jr. takes over in a couple of years and he develops into a great quarterback. That’s a grand slam.”

On3’s Nick Geddes and Kaiden Smith contributed to this story.