If Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was looking for a vote of confidence from the revamped Atlanta front office, he didn’t get it during new GM Ian Cunningham’s introductory press conference on Tuesday.

When asked if Penix, who is recovering from a torn ACL that prematurely ended his second NFL season in November, will be the team’s starter in 2026, new Falcons president of football operations Matt Ryan — also a former Atlanta quarterback from 2008-2021 — did not give a definitive answer.

“Neither of us are the head coach of the football team, so we can’t answer your question on that,” Ryan said. ” … I think as we start to get into this process and dive deeper into the roster — how it currently stands, where it’s going in the future — I think those are conversations that’ll be a part of it.

“Quarterback’s obviously very important, and we’re excited about Mike and what he’s doing with his rehab. I’ve been up at the facility the last three weeks, and Michael’s been in there attacking that and he’s in a good space right now, so we’re excited about where he is at. But certainly, a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster.”

Penix, who Atlanta selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft months after signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency, took over the starting job late in his rookie season and entered 2025 as the starter.

This past season, he completed 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions in nine starts. The Falcons went 3-6 in games he started compared to a 5-3 record in Cousins’ starts after he replaced Penix following his injury.

Cousins is likely to be released this offseason due to his significant salary, especially after the team restructured his contract in January.

With Penix’s return timeline for the start of the 2026 season uncertain, that could force Atlanta to look for a quarterback either in free agency or April’s draft if it elects to move on from Cousins after two seasons.

–Field Level Media

SAN JOSE, Calif. — When Nick Emmanwori blows out his 22nd birthday candles on Saturday night on the eve of Super Bowl LX, there’s a reasonable chance the celebration will take place in one of the defensive position group meeting rooms in the San Jose Marriott and Convention Center.

From the seat of Seahawks general manager John Schneider and headset of coach Mike Macdonald, Emmanwori has been handing out gifts to Seattle’s defense for nine months and counting.

“My goal is a Gold Jacket,” Emmanwori said. “I want to be one of the greatest ever.”

As determined as Emmanwori is to get there, let’s backpedal to how he became a Seahawk.

With the clock ticking on the final picks of the first round in the 2025 NFL Draft, Seahawks general manager John Schneider was on the phone trying to find a trade partner.

One of the top players on their board, South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, was still there in what Schneider considered a stunning turn of events given their vision of what the 6-foot-3, 220-pound hybrid defensive weapon could do in Macdonald’s defense.

Already the Seahawks had selected Senior Bowl star and North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel with the No. 18 pick.

There was no trade match for the Seahawks as a nearly consummated swap with the Philadelphia Eagles fell through, but Seattle had put in place a deal to move up.

“Everybody was passionate about getting him,” he said.

They’d be in position with the third selection in the second round to hit their home run with Emmanwori with the 35th overall pick. Schneider gleefully parted with picks 52 and 82 to take 35 from the Titans.

“If we would have come out of the draft without him, we would have been disappointed,” Schneider said.

A linebacker background combined with the safety transition at South Carolina was enough for the Seahawks’ scouting staff to be more than enamored with the possibility of pairing Emmanwori with 2023 first-round pick Devon Witherspoon. Then came the Scouting Combine and show-stopping numbers. His workout quickly became the stuff of legend. With borderline linebacker size, Emmanwori became the only safety in at least 23 years at the combine with a 4.38-second 40, a vertical of 40-plus inches (43) and a broad jump of at least 11 feet (11’6).

He didn’t mind telling peers at the Scouting Combine what he could do, even if they didn’t know the depths of his truth.

“I don’t think you’ve ever seen a safety like me,” he said at the 2025 Combine. “Well, there are a lot of dudes that came through this league, but a safety like me hasn’t come through this league for a long time. My size, my speed, my ability.”

As more eyes were opened to Emmanwori’s potential impact on the field with Witherspoon — the fifth pick in the 2023 draft — injuries stunted his push for a starring role early in the season.

Confidence was still off the charts from Schneider, Macdonald and defensive backs coach Karl Scott, the only holdover from Pete Carroll’s coaching staff. Schneider had the long view and context of knowing what a “Legion of Boom” secondary would potentially do for Macdonald, the defensive mastermind who calls Seattle’s defense. Macdonald, though, admits he didn’t fully digest what Emmanwori was capable of on the field.

His thought process to start training camp was to test Emmanwori while giving him time to absorb the pass-fail processes of daily workouts, linking him closely with Scott and safeties coach Jeff Howard to develop a mental processing and details-driven toolbox to pair with his natural athletic gifts.

And you know what? The 21-year-old was even better than the Seahawks thought he could be as a rookie.

By September, after missing three games with an ankle injury, Emmanwori was proving he had the intelligence to meet the demands of being cross-trained at multiple positions. He went to meetings and film sessions with multiple position coaches. Then regurgitated the Xs and Os like a 7-year-old taking an alphabet test.

Again, the player is not surprised.

His goals-driven approach and “be great” mindset are a literal application of training as the youngest of five boys in his home. Emmanwori’s parents are educators — his father teaches engineering and thermodynamics at South Carolina State — and allowed him to escape South Carolina and college football only with a solemn vow to earn his degree.

Macdonald shared openly he “never really had a player like him” and it was necessary to “make it up as we go” in the “Nickel Emmanwori” set with three safeties — Julian Love, Witherspoon and Emmanwori — on the field at the same time.

In 768 regular-season snaps, Emmanwori lined up in seven different positions. He played in 14 regular-season games and tallied 81 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defended and an interception.

When Patriots quarterback Drake Maye began watching film of the Seahawks, he quickly discerned there’s a “Where’s Waldo?” element to reading Seattle intentions in pass coverage. On that resume tape: Emmanwori all but erased 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey as a receiver. He ran stride for stride with Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in coverage on the same series he aligned at defensive tackle. Macdonald had him spy quarterbacks, blitz every gap on the line and play 20 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Then he asked Macdonald, what’s next?

“He can do everything,” Witherspoon said. “He’s smooth. He can run 4.3. He’s big. He can literally do everything.”

Emmanwori might sound confident or cocky, but teammates and coaches have a different perspective.

“I think he has approached us with a lot of humility and approached us, coaches and teammates, for advice,” Love said. “He always carries a chip on his shoulders. He is making plays.”

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media

Two teams headed in opposite directions in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings will meet for the first time in Berkeley, Calif., when Georgia Tech and Cal duel on Wednesday night.

The Golden Bears (16-6, 4-5 ACC) enter the contest riding the momentum of two of their biggest wins in the last decade – an 84-78 home triumph over then-No. 14 North Carolina in their most recent home contest and an 86-85 road victory at Miami (Fla.) on Saturday.

Having won three of its last four, Cal suddenly finds itself being discussed nationally as an NCAA Tournament bubble team as it pursues its first Big Dance visit since 2016.

The focus must be on Georgia Tech, Cal coach Mark Madsen insisted in the wake of the dramatic win at Miami last weekend.

“We’re hoping for a nice, long postseason opportunity,” he assured reporters. “But we have to focus on the present right now. Our message is … focus everything on recovery, on preparation, on film, on exerting every ounce of energy on practice and the games.

“Exert yourself on the process of what we’re trying to do. If we do those things, we’re very hopeful.”

The Golden Bears will get their first opportunity to exact a measure of revenge against Georgia Tech (11-11, 2-7), which pulled out a 90-88 overtime thriller at home when the clubs dueled for the first time as ACC foes last February.

It could prove to be a tall task for the Bears, who were down to their fourth big man – seldom-used DK Dut – due to injuries and foul trouble for a key stretch of the Miami game. The South Sudan native, who had played a total of 26 minutes previously, had a difference-making tip-in and two blocks to help stall the Hurricanes.

The key to a repeat success over Cal, Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire indicated this week, will be to get the type of production from big man Baye Ndongo that he had in a 26-point, 13-rebound performance against Cal in last year’s meeting.

After having been held to a total of 25 points in his previous three games, Ndongo came to life with a 27-point explosion in a 91-75 home loss to North Carolina last Saturday, which was the Yellow Jackets’ sixth defeat in their last seven outings.

It could have been a bigger game for the 2025 All-ACC selection if not for a general inability to get the ball inside which resulted in just 12 shot attempts for the dominant big man.

“We just have to be better in our decision-making,” Stoudamire said. ” … You can’t have live-ball turnovers. That’s a killer. It’s like a pick-six in football. You know what I mean? It’s draining.”

-Field Level Media