Getty The Seahawks have yet to meet with Michael Penix Jr.
Michael Penix Jr. had a surprising response when asked at the NFL Combine if he has spoken to the Seattle Seahawks.
The University of Washington quarterback — he led the Huskies to a National Championship game appearance after a perfect regular season with a 13-0 record — revealed that he hasn’t spoken to the Seahawks at the NFL Combine.
“I actually didn’t talk to the Seahawks,” revealed Penix at the Combine on Friday, March 1. “I don’t know why that is. Maybe they know me, hope so,” Penix smiled. “But I’m super excited for him [Grubb]. He and Coach [Scott] Huff, the things they were able to do at the University of Washington, it was special. To see them get success at the next level, I’m super excited to see it.”
Why Seahawks Could Draft Michael Penix Jr.
The 23-year-old quarterback has been linked to the Seahawks by some leading into the draft not only because of his close proximity because of his collegiate background, but because Seattle has a need at quarterback entering the draft.
While the Seahawks are committing to Geno Smith as the starting quarterback for another season, he’ll turn 34 years old in 2024 and it’s clear he has a ceiling. Penix addressed the possibility of landing with Seattle as Smith’s teammate with an energetic response, saying “that’d be cool.”
“He’s a great guy that works extremely hard,” Penix said of possibly backing up Smith. “I could tell that everybody on that team gravitates around him and trusts him as their leader, so that’d be cool.”
Penix is a bit of an enigma as some have pegged him as a late first-round pick or early second-round pick while others have him slotted as a pick later than Day 2. However, it’s clear Penix is not in the first tier of quarterbacks who will be selected within the first few picks such as Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
Tim Weaver of Seahawks Wire actually has the Seahawks projected as trading down in the first round to get a second-round pick from the New York Giants to select Penix at No. 39.
Why There’s Concern Over Michael Penix Jr.
Much of the concern surrounding Penix has to do with his injury history. He’ll turn 24 years old in May and played six seasons in college because of his injuries. He suffered two torn ACL’s while at the University of Indiana.
Despite those concerns, Penix said he passed all of his medical exams at the Combine.
“They’re good, I got it all out of the way [Thursday],” Penix said.
He also clarified that he wasn’t asked to do any extra testing beyond the standard ones.
“No [extra], I just did all of the things that they wanted to see,” said Penix.
Penix was a prolific passer at the University of Washington. He not only led the NCAA in passing yards during his final season in 2023 (4,903), he won the Maxwell award and was named a First-team All-American.
The prolific quarterback dismissed his previous injury history, citing his healthy season at Washington in 2023 as a reason not to worry.
“If they are [worried about my injury history], I can’t control it at this point,” Penix said. “That was another reason I came back [to Washington] for the 2023 season, was to have another fully healthy season, just show I’m ready to compete and ready to do it at the next level. At this point I can’t control the questions about the injuries.”
If the Seahawks don’t see a quarterback they like with the No. 16 pick, they could trade down and land Penix later in the draft.