Falcons HC Raheem Morris' postgame comments signal he doesn't understand how to develop Michael Penix Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons faced off on Saturday afternoon against the Baltimore Ravens but came up short on a missed two-point conversion to lose 13-12. The result of the game is disappointing, but not the biggest deal in the world because it's preseason.

The biggest story doesn't come from who played in the game but rather who didn't suit up. The starters didn't end up playing but the big shock was with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

After being selected eighth overall, the idea was that Penix, who is already 24, would sit behind new quarterback Kirk Cousins for two-plus years then potentially take over in 2026. With that philosophy, it would be important to have Penix play a lot of snaps to help his development.

Well, that didn't happen on Saturday. Head coach Raheem Morris was asked about that and gave a puzzling response.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I can understand wanting to not play your starters to keep them healthy. It makes a lot of sense, as they don't need reps to grow. Now, does your rookie first-round pick not need live reps? Well, Morris and the Falcons certainly think so.

Honestly, it feels like the Falcons have a complete lack of understanding regarding the quarterback development process. You need repos to grow at the position and he's not going to get them with Cousins in the building so why not get Penix as many reps as you can?

Being a Falcons fan is frustrating enough and there is a lot of hope going into the year. Hopefully, there aren't more puzzling decisions like this one.