Falcons offseason will include plenty of golf, including a QB working on a ‘horrible’ game

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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been “addicted” to golf since his father introduced him to the game as a 5-year-old. Now, he’s starting to see the same signs in his quarterback.

“Mike (Penix Jr.) is at the point where it seems like he is addicted,” Robinson said.

Robinson played for four NFL teams and spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams before coming to Atlanta in 2024, and no team he’s been on has more golfers — or wannabe golfers — than the Falcons, he said. Penix, who was drafted eighth in 2024 and took over Atlanta’s starting job at the end of last season, noticed the same thing when he arrived and decided he needed to pick up the game to fit in.

His game is a work in progress.

“I started about a year ago and I try to go at least once a week,” Penix said. “Yesterday was terrible; don’t ask about yesterday. Yesterday was bad. It was bad. I don’t even want to tell y’all, but there are a lot of guys that play. We bond like that. Safe sport, fun sport.”

Penix is on the hunt for an instructor this offseason, he said.

“Whenever I’m done playing (football), I feel like I might want to play, so I need to learn now,” he said.

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was happy to hear Penix acknowledge his game has a long way to go.

“That’s a big step because around me, he talks like he’s the coldest player in the world,” Bijan Robinson said. “Mike Penix is horrible.”

The second-year quarterback does have potential, though.

“I’ve played with him before and when he gets ahold of it, obviously it can go a long way,” Zac Robinson said of Penix. “Golf is the toughest sport to master, and he’s right in the thick of learning the game.”

Zac Robinson isn’t upset Penix is moonlighting in another sport.

“You can never fully master golf. It feels very similar to football,” Zac Robinson said. “There is never a stopping point. There’s always something you can work on. I like it from the aspect of competing with yourself. It’s a different thing than being in a team sport.”

The Falcons have a group chat that includes “25 or so guys” where players post any tee times they have with an open spot.

“They’re saying, ‘Need two, we’re playing at The River Club.’ It’s, boom, ‘I’m in, I’m in,’” Zac Robinson said.

Tight end Kyle Pitts, center Ryan Neuzil, place kicker Younghoe Koo, offensive lineman Matthew Cindric and wide receivers Jesse Matthews and Dylan Drummond are among the regulars in the rotation. Pitts recently shot a 37 on the back nine of a round he played with Penix, the quarterback said. Neuzil said Matthews “is probably the best player overall.”

Bijan Robinson is not part of the golfing group — “absolutely not, absolutely not,” he said — but is an appreciator of the game through his friendship with Scottie Scheffler, a fellow University of Texas alum and the No. 1 player in the world.

“I’m going to try to get some lessons soon, hopefully in the next couple weeks,” he said. “These guys are becoming really good, so I need to step it up.”

(Photo of Michael Penix Jr.: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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