Right now, Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s job was to help others warm up.

Tight end Ross Dwelley stood on the right side of Penix, who threw passes to quarterbacks coach TJ Yates. After securing the pass, Yates turned left and threw the ball to starting signal-caller Kirk Cousins, who threw it directly to Dwelley. The ball eventually returned to Penix.

Above. And over. And over. Again and again.

As kickoff approached in the Falcons’ Dec. 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings, the story had little to do with Penix.

Cousins ​​was just seconds away from playing his first game in Minnesota since leaving the franchise in free agency last spring, an incident that prompted an onslaught of boos when he took the field for the first time.

It was Cousins’ time. Even after his no-touchdown, two-interception performance in Atlanta’s 42-21 loss, it’s still that way. Even with zero touchdowns and eight interceptions in his last four games – all losses – it’s still that way.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said moves like moving Cousins ​​to the bench are always under consideration — but it’s also Morris’ job to lead the organization in a way that promotes stability rather than sudden, short-sighted ones decisions avoided.

Mistakes happen. Some are avoidable — and Morris believes it’s only right to stick with Cousins, who has won two NFC Offensive Player of the Week awards and ranked fourth in the league in total passing yards (3,396) through Week 18 ) and per game (261.2).

“When you run an organization, you have to trust and believe the people who got you where you were,” Morris said. “Kirk came here and he got us to a point where we’re in the playoffs. You have to believe and have the determination to stick with the man you believe in.”

“I just feel like it’s our job and my job to support him as much as possible so he can come out and play better.”

It’s also Morris’ job not to jeopardize the development of the 24-year-old Penix, whom Atlanta drafted No. 8 overall in the spring in hopes of letting him sit and learn behind Cousins.

Penix has played in two games this season – two losses to the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. He completed a 3-for-5 pass for 38 yards.

Morris admitted he doesn’t know if giving Penix an extended plea deal this year would hurt his development. Nobody does that, he said. But Morris knows one thing: He and the Falcons have a plan for Penix.

The plan, Morris said, revolves around how to play and use Penix – but only “when it’s time.” And the Falcons, 6-7 but just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, have no interest in furthering Penix’s development if Cousins ​​has put them in a position to to fight for a spot in the playoffs.

“You can look at different organizations that pulled the trigger too early and sent people out, and it turned out terribly,” Morris said. “I don’t want to be that guy.”

And perhaps for that reason more than anything else, the Falcons wanted to put Penix behind Cousins. Atlanta’s vision from the start was for Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, to help the team snap a six-year playoff drought before handing the reins to Penix at some point over the next few seasons.

None of the Falcons’ decision makers expected this conversation to happen so soon.

But the fact that it happened isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Penix’s growth.

“I told you from the beginning that he was our future,” Morris said. “And for our future, it’s great to go out there and prepare the way he is preparing, to be the solid person that he was throughout the whole process and to have the respect, the confidence and the resources to be around Kirk and to support all these things.” It’s a lesson for him too.

The ecosystem in the Falcons’ quarterbacks room also helps Penix’s cause. In addition to the 13-year veteran in Cousins, Atlanta also has Nate Peterman, who has played in the NFL for eight years and started five games, on its practice squad.

In addition to Yates, the Falcons have assistant quarterbacks coach DJ Williams, who was with the New Orleans Saints during Drew Brees’ last four seasons and now works with Penix more than Yates.

The result, Yates said, was a bevy of healthy conversations in the meeting room — and in between, Penix capitalized on growth opportunities in his practice photos.

“Mike has made really good progress,” Yates said. “One of the best things is that he gets to go against our defense every day on the scout team and he treats all those reps like he’s preparing. He takes those reps seriously, he competes really, really hard against our defense and he does a great job.

“He’s more of a quiet guy who sits back, learns and listens, but through osmosis or watching what Kirk does, he’s become a better and better professional every week just from being in that room.”

And ultimately, that’s the Falcons’ biggest goal for Penix this season: developing into a professional quarterback. Cousins ​​is Atlanta’s Gift. Penix is ​​his future.

Where the Falcons go this season will ultimately depend on how well Cousins ​​plays over the final four weeks. But it seems clear that Atlanta will ride with Cousins ​​until the proverbial wheels fall off, something Morris didn’t foresee.

“It’s the ultimate encouragement and support of our building to go out there and support him,” Morris said. “To say that the bench press isn’t on your mind, you always have to consider these things when you feel like it’s something that’s irreplaceable or irreparable.”

“But I don’t feel that way. I feel like he’s going to come out of this and run here and make us do the things we need to do.”

Cousins’ future may depend on it.