Michael Penix Jr might’ve grown up in Tampa, but that hasn’t stopped the southpaw’s allegiance from belonging to the Atlanta Falcons. Plenty of his family and friends were fans of the Buccaneers, until the All-American quarterback was drafted No. 8 by the Dirty Birds back in 2024. That saw their fandom immediately shift to an NFC South rival.
On Sunday, Atlanta’s newest QB1 is set to face his hometown team for the first time in his career as the Bucs travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a divisional battle—but there’s been no love lost between Penix and his loved ones in Bucs territory.