"I don't know where I was at in it": Michael Penix Jr. gets honest after being involved in fight with Titans during joint practice 

Michael Penix Jr. showed a different and unknown side of himself on Wednesday as tempers flared in the Atlanta Falcons-Tennessee Titans joint practice. The second-year quarterback was involved in a fight with opposing players after a trash-talking session turned physical.

They went from barking at each other to shoving, which resulted in players from both teams rushing onto the field and piling up while Penix was at the bottom.

The quarterback reflected on the moment afterward, admitting he lost his sense of where he was at one point, but adding that he wasn’t alone.

"I don't know where I was at in it," Penix said, via ESPN. "It was a lot of people. I knew I was down there somewhere. I wasn't the only one, though."

Michael Penix Jr. thanked his teammates for coming to his aid, noting that he appreciated having their support.

"I'm glad they did, because obviously that's not something that we want to be doing in practice," Penix said afterward. "We want to get all reps in, get that good work in. But it went how it went. But to see the team have my back and they were there, make sure they protect me. A lot of guys asked me if I was good, and it was good to know that those guys had my back."

The Falcons and Titans are set to meet Friday at 7 p.m. ET in their respective second preseason games. Both teams lost their preseason openers and are looking to even their records.

Michael Penix Jr. explains why he threw down with Titans players

Michael Penix Jr. opened up about what led him to become physical with his opponents. The 25-year-old quarterback said he didn’t like the trash talk from the other side and added that Titans players didn’t appreciate it when he found the end zone and made it clear he heard what they were saying.

"They probably looked at me as just the quarterback, [that] I wasn't that type of person. But I'm from Tampa. I'm from Dade City. ... There's a respect part about it. We're all playing, we're all competing at a high level, but when disrespect comes in, it's like, 'All right, this ain't football no more.'"

The Atlanta Falcons have high expectations for 2025, and seeing their quarterback and other players show this kind of unity early in camp could energize fans.