Entering second season, Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. finding his voice as a leader, starting QB

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — As Michael Penix Jr. is entering his first full season as the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback, he is learning what it takes to be a leader in the NFL.

Penix got some experience as a team leader on Tuesday when the Falcons held their first organized team activities.

The Falcons began Phase 3 of the offseason by getting out on the field and doing individual drills and a few noncontact team periods.

“I'm excited,” Penix said after two hours of voluntary outdoor practice. “We get to be out there against the defense and work real football. I can't wait for this season.”

Penix, who was drafted eighth overall by Atlanta in 2024, started the Falcons' final three regular-season games and completed 58 of 100 passes for 737 yards with three touchdown passes and three interceptions in those starts. Kirk Cousins led the Falcons to a 6-3 start last season but lost his job after struggling with interceptions.

Penix described his growth over his first full offseason knowing he is the starting quarterback.

“The one that I want to point (to) is just connecting with the guys,” Penix said. “I feel like I've done a lot better with connecting with everybody around the team. Not just offensive guys but defensive guys as well. Whether that's just around the facility eating lunch or going out and playing golf with some of them. Don't ask about my golf game.”

Second-year Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Penix is “finding his voice” as a leader.

“When you take over that quarterback spot, there's a certain humility about playing the position,” Morris said. ”Then it (comes) a certain confidence about playing the position. Eventually it turns into a little bit of an arrogance about playing the position where it's non-negotiable. We're not there yet. I don't think we will be for a little bit, but I think he's at the mode of where he's starting to get that confidence to be able to figure out how to get to that point."

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who also is in his second year with the Falcons after signing a three-year contract ahead of the 2024 season, said Penix has done a good job of undertaking a leadership role so far.

“I think he's been doing well owning that he's the guy and that he's (going to) be the guy,” Mooney said. “He's doing a good job showing up every day. He's more quiet and can play around a little bit but he's really just a chill guy."

Penix had a recent conversation with former quarterback Matt Ryan, a 2024 Falcons Ring of Honor inductee.

“I spoke to Matt Ryan and had a good conversation with him (about) learning how to be a pro each and every day and how his process went,” Penix said. “I feel like he definitely gave me some good things. Obviously he knows this is my second year coming into it (and) this is my first year starting. He talked to me about his times during that time and how he got to where he ended up.”

Morris said he did not see Cousins around the facility on Tuesday.

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) runs drills during an NFL football training camp practice on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) runs drills during an NFL football training camp practice on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) stretches during an NFL football training camp practice on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) runs drills during an NFL football training camp practice on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he’d even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.

“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump posted on his social media site. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”

He wrote that the upcoming meeting would take place at the White House.

That came mere days after Trump said in the wake of the U.S. operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend that “Colombia is very sick too” and accused Petro of ”making cocaine and selling it to the United States."

In comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump added of Petro, “He’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” Asked whether U.S. intervention was possible, Trump responded, ”Sounds good to me.”

Later Wednesday, addressing thousands of protesters that he had mobilized to rally against U.S. military threats, Petro said he had spoken with Trump for roughly one hour.

“I talked about two things: Venezuela and the issue of drug trafficking,” he told the crowd in downtown Bogotá, where demonstrators had just minutes earlier chanted slogans against the United States at Petro’s behest.

Petro explained to the audience that Colombian politicians allegedly linked to narco-trafficking misled the U.S. president about Petro’s record to turn Trump against him.

“Those (people) are responsible for this crisis — let’s call it diplomatic for now, verbal for now — that has erupted between the U.S. and Colombia,” he said.

Trump now suddenly warming to Petro is especially surprising since Colombia’s president called the U.S. operation in Venezuela an “abhorrent” violation of Latin American sovereignty. He also suggested it was committed by “enslavers” and constituted a “spectacle of death” comparable to Nazi Germany’s 1937 carpet bombing of Guernica, Spain.

Colombia has long been among America’s staunchest Latin American allies, a pillar of Washington’s counternarcotics strategy abroad. For three decades, the U.S. has worked closely with Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off rebel groups and boost economic development in rural areas.

Still, before Trump's conciliatory post, tensions had been rising between the U.S. and Colombia for months.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions in October on Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade. Colombia is considered the epicenter of the world’s cocaine trade.

Trump began his monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro by ordering dozens of lethal strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats launched from Venezuela in the Caribbean. He eventually expanded the operations to also target suspected vessels in the eastern Pacific that came from Colombia.

The U.S. in September added Colombia, the top recipient of American assistance in the region, to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years. The designation led to a slashing of U.S. assistance to the country.

“He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories," Trump said of Petro on Sunday. "He’s not going to be doing it.”

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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Colombian president's name.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro addresses supporters in a rally he called to protest comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a rally he called to protest comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)