Tempers flared during Wednesday’s joint practice between the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found himself in the middle of the scuffle.
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After Penix hit Ray-Ray McCloud III on a deep pass, Penix was exchanging pleasantries with Titans defenders when things went from heated to physical. The Falcons quarterback ended up in the middle of a pile as players from both teams ran over from the sidelines.
“They had a lot of words throughout practice, so I gave them my words and it just went a little bit too far,” said a smiling Penix.
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There were no reported injuries from the incident and Penix was out on the field for the next series. Several instances of pushing and shoving occurred after that, but no punches appeared to have been thrown.
“[Penix] started it on that one, on Team 1,” said Titans linebacker Arden Key, via ESPN. “But again, those guys in Atlanta, they protected the quarterback, which they were supposed to do. O-line came in, did what they did, and we wasn’t allowing that, but that’s what they were supposed to do.”
Penix was appreciative of his teammates coming to his aid before anything escalated saying, “A lot of guys asked me if I was good, and it was good to know that those guys had my back.”
The second-year Falcons quarterback joked he blacked out during the fight and that he was “somebody else out there.” Not one to initiate trash talk, Penix said he’s not afraid to give it right back to opponent who thinks he doesn’t have the ability to dish it out.
“They probably looked at me as just the quarterback, [that] I wasn’t that type of person,” Penix said. “But I’m from Tampa. I’m from Dade City. … There’s a respect part about it. We’re all playing, we’re all competing at a high level, but when disrespect comes in, it’s like, ‘All right, this ain’t football no more.'”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has already announced that Penix will not play on Friday in the team’s second preseason game against the Titans. Kirk Cousins will also likely sit with Easton Stick and Emory Jones seeing action.
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