Falcons Choose Buyer’s Remorse Over Kirk Cousins

This spring, the Atlanta Falcons made the bold decision to bring in an old quarterback with a worrisome injury history. What made the decision bold was that a month earlier, they’d signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with a no-trade clause—and $100 million of it guaranteed. (Zing!) Falcons GM Terry Fontenot said in April that the team drafted Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick because “if you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him. And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we’re doing so well at that position.”

Everyone seemed worse off for this draft-day surprise. The Falcons, whose decision to give a big contract to a veteran QB ostensibly meant they expected to compete, had wasted an opportunity to make the team better in 2024. (Right now, the team's defense ranks 29th in ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric and has the lowest sack rate in the NFL.) For that reason, the Penix pick reportedly upset Cousins. ESPN’s Pete Thamel spoke to the quarterback's agent on draft night and said there was “frustration and confusion” in the Cousins camp. “I’m told he’s a bit stunned,” said The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Fontenot’s “great problem” scenario seemed least great for Penix, who is 24 and hardly a developmental prospect. If he sat for four or five years, he’d only become the Falcons' starter on the cusp of 30. 

Before Cousins put on a Falcons helmet, it was clear that at least one of these offseason moves would end up looking dumb. Either the Falcons had wasted a draft pick and were wasting Penix’s time, or they had wasted a ton of money on a veteran even as they planned to take an experienced quarterback in the first round. Eight months later, we have our answer. In his last five games, Cousins has thrown one touchdown and nine interceptions. After Cousins finished with 112 yards on 11-of-17 passing in a dispiriting 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in the Monday Night Football undercard game, head coach Raheem Morris announced Tuesday that Cousins has been benched. Penix, “the starting quarterback moving forward,” will make his first start Sunday afternoon against the New York Giants. 

The NFC South is still winnable for the 7-7 Falcons, complicating Morris’s decision to start a rookie quarterback in the final stretch of the regular season. But leaving Cousins out there poses its own threat to Atlanta’s chances. Two months ago, the Falcons held a three-game lead in the division—and they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—but Cousins’s terrible stretch coincided with a losing streak that put the Falcons a full game back of the Bucs. If the Falcons do make the postseason, they will have done so despite their quarterback. And while teams can make do with old and unathletic guys at QB, there was evidence in Monday night’s game that Cousins could not even manage the simple responsibilities of an immobile quarterback, like stepping up in the pocket or handing off the ball. 

Morris said at his press availability on Wednesday that Cousins handled the news “with class” and is committed to being “the best No. 2” in the NFL. When Cousins was asked about Penix during OTAs in May, he said it was “important that the quarterback room is just working together to help one another succeed.” Since the Falcons would owe Cousins $65 million in dead money if he were released before June 1 of next year, expect him to help Penix succeed in Atlanta for the near future. Penix will need it, as his team has limited resources to build around him: The Falcons lost a fifth-round pick in next year's draft as punishment for tampering to sign Cousins.