QB Penix hears from Cousins, Vick after landing with Falcons as NFL draft first-round surprise pick

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Michael Penix Jr., the biggest surprise of the NFL draft's first round, received a congratulatory call from Kirk Cousins on Thursday night even as Cousins' agent was second-guessing the Atlanta Falcons adding depth to their quarterback spot.

Penix described the chat with Cousins as “a very good conversation,” but would not say what was discussed.

Penix may have been more excited by Friday's text message from another left-handed Falcons quarterback named Michael. In his first news conference in Atlanta after he was the No. 8 overall draft pick by the Falcons, Penix beamed when talking about his text from Michael Vick.

“I definitely watched him,” said Penix of Vick, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft who played with the Falcons through 2006 before his career was interrupted by dog-fighting charges and a prison term.

“He was my favorite quarterback,” Penix said. “I had the Vick cleats and all as a kid. ... I’m glad I’m old enough to have been able to see that era.”

Penix watched the draft at his Florida home. A large group of family members, including his parents, accompanied Penix on Friday's flight to the Falcons' practice facility.

Penix cautioned Falcons fans to not expect him to share the dynamic Vick's speed as a runner.

“I’m not going to say me and his games are the same,” Penix said. “He did a lot of creating. I feel like we both throw the ball very well. ... I think people see him create plays and forget he had a cannon. He flicked the ball like it was effortless.”

Clearly, Penix's powerful left arm was the primary reason the Falcons, who had been expected to target an edge rusher in the first round, chose the Washington quarterback one month after signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.

Penix, who will be 24 as a rookie, led FBS schools with 4,903 passing yards and was third with 36 touchdown passes in 2023. He won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player as No. 2 Washington fell to top-ranked Michigan 34-13 in the College Football Playoff championship game.

Penix began his college career at Indiana, where he tore his right ACL in 2018 and 2020 and had shoulder injuries in both 2019 and 2021.

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot stressed Cousins, entering his age-36 season, is the starter while Penix is the future.

The strategy was a surprise to many, including Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, who said Cousins was blindsided by the draft pick.

McCartney did not return messages from The Associated Press on Friday.

Fontenot said the team “did everything we could do to get Kirk Cousins” and felt it was also important to add Penix as the long-term answer at quarterback.

“We’re going to build a sustained winner, and we’re going to win for a long time,” Fontenot said Thursday night. “That’s the most important position in football. That’s who we’re thinking about.”

Coach Raheem Morris said the decision to draft Penix was not influenced by Cousins' season-ending Achilles tendon injury with Minnesota last season. Cousins worked on the field on Tuesday in the Falcons offseason program and is expected to be ready for the season.

“At some point, you’ve got to find a way to have that succession plan in place,” Morris said following the first round. “It just so happened it posed itself tonight.”

Added Morris of having the No. 8 pick: "We don’t want to be in this position again."

Penix said he's comfortable working behind Cousins, but will be prepared when asked to play.

“I know I’m going to put in a ton of work to make sure whenever I do step on that field it’s not going to be a beat missed,” he said.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Atlanta Falcons fans cheer during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., takes his seat before speaking at a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., holds a Falcons jersey during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons first round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., speaks during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police arrested about 125 activists as they broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration camp at the University of Amsterdam early Tuesday, as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread into Europe.

Police in the Dutch capital said in a statement on the social media platform X that their action was “necessary to restore order” after protests turned violent. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Video from the scene aired by national broadcaster NOS showed police using a mechanical digger to push down barricades and officers wielding batons and shields moving in to end the demonstration, beating some of the protesters and pulling down tents.

Protesters formed barricades from wooden pallets and bicycles, NOS reported.

Scores of demonstrators occupied a small island at the university on Monday, urging Amsterdam universities to break academic ties with Israel because of its offensive in Gaza in the aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel.

There have also been demonstrations in recent days at campuses in France and the United Kingdom.

Photos from the Amsterdam campus Tuesday morning showed tents, banners and food along with piles of cobblestones that had been pulled up from the street.

Before police moved in, scuffles broke out Monday night between two rival groups of activists.

Police said in a statement that they cleared the makeshift camp after the protesters refused repeated orders to leave.

“The protest in this form created a very unsafe situation, partly due to the barricades that prevented emergency services from entering the site. In the event of a disaster, the activists themselves could possibly become stuck on the site,” police said.

They said the campus was calm Tuesday morning, but that officers remained present in the area.

Calls to the university went unanswered early Tuesday and the university did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

In Finland, dozens of protesters from the Students for Palestine solidarity group set up an encampment outside the main building at the University of Helsinki. Demonstrators said they would stay at the site in central Helsinki until the university, which is Finland’s largest academic institution, cuts academic ties with Israeli universities.

In Denmark, students set up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Copenhagen. About 45 tents were erected on the lawn outside the campus of the Faculty of Social Sciences, known as CSS. The faculty sits in an old municipal hospital in the heart of the Danish capital.

The university's administration said students can protest on campus but called on them to respect the rules on its grounds. "Seek dialogue, not conflict and make room for perspectives other than your own,” the administrators said in a statement posted on X.

It said the administration "cannot and must not express an opinion on behalf of university employees and students about political matters, including about the ongoing conflict” in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

On their Facebook page, members of the activist group Students Against the Occupation said their attempts to talk to the administration over the past two years about withdrawing the school's investments in companies with ties to activities in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have been in vain.

"We can no longer be satisfied with cautious dialogue that does not lead to concrete action,” the group said.

In Paris, student groups called for gatherings in solidarity with Palestinians later Tuesday.

On Friday, French police peacefully removed dozens of students from a building at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, after they had gathered in support of Palestinians.

On Tuesday, students at the prestigious institution, which counts French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and President Emmanuel Macron among its alumni, were seen entering the campus unobstructed to take exams as police stood at the entrances.

Protests took place last week at some other universities across the country, including in Lille and Lyon. The Prime Minister’s Office said police had been requested to remove students from 23 sites on French campuses.

Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.

In this image taken from video Police arrests some 125 activists as they broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration camp at the University of Amsterdam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread into Europe. (AP Photo InterVision)

In this image taken from video Police arrests some 125 activists as they broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration camp at the University of Amsterdam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread into Europe. (AP Photo InterVision)

In this image taken from video Police arrests some 125 activists as they broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration camp at the University of Amsterdam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread into Europe. (AP Photo InterVision)