Cousins leads the NFL with 16 interceptions after 15 weeks.
For that and other reasons, the Falcons benched Cousins in favour of rookie first-round choice Michael Penix.
“It’s professional football.” There is a standard that I set for myself and that the team sets for me, and I was not regularly meeting that standard. “So it is what it is,” Cousins told reporters on December 18. “You roll with it, and now you still get ready; one-play-away kind of a thing, and support Mike, and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three [games] to get in the playoffs, and that’s what it’s all about so that’s that’s my focus.”
This is a sharp contrast to the joyful feeling that emanated from Atlanta when Cousins first arrived.
Cousins explained why he called Penix after the judgment, using an analogy.
Cousins expressed a desire to shoot an elephant in the room.
Notably, Cousins replaced Robert Griffin III as Washington’s primary quarterback, and he led the league in completion % in his first full season.
Furthermore, Cousins’ career with the Vikings was cut short in part because the team planned to pick his replacement and refused to meet his entire salary expectations. After Cousins missed most of the 2023 season with a torn Achilles, the Vikings maintained their position.
Penix is a rookie, thus the shift is much more noticeable.
Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, signed a four-year, $180 million contract with $90 million fully guaranteed in free agency during the 2024 offseason.
If the Falcons release Cousins this season, they will take the second-largest single dead cap hit in NFL history. He spoke with a sense of where things had gone wrong for him thus far.
“It probably ultimately was the turnovers, and that’s such a key thing in winning and losing in the NFL,” Cousins said of head coach Raheem Morris’ rationale. “That probably involves more decision-making than anything else. This would have nothing to do with my physical limits. So I wouldn’t suggest [that poor performance, particularly turnovers, is health-related].
Cousins is on track (and may be a lock) for his fewest passing yards since 2019.
He will also have his lowest touchdown rate since 2013, two seasons before he became a full-time starter for the Washington Commanders.
Kirk Cousins Discusses Future With Falcons After benching, Cousins suggested that he needed less confidence to force throws. However, the conclusion did not surprise him. When Morris phoned him outside of their customary time slot, he knew the choice was close.
“In my years in the league, I’ve never had high expectations or been surprised. “I believe that anything is possible in the league,” Cousins remarked. “I was aware that we might be discussing the plan for this week. But, again, I never set expectations in this league. So many things can happen or change, so you simply try to keep an open mind.
However, he had no idea what this meant for him in the future.
“You’re kind of one day at a time right now, and you kind of always are in this league,” Cousins told reporters. “Conversations happen throughout the offseason. But we aren’t there yet.
The Vikings are paying Cousins $28.5 million this season because of vacant years on his prior contract. If the Falcons cut, they would face a $65 million dead cap charge, according to SB Nation’s Matt Warren on December 9.
It would only trail Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson’s (Denver Broncos) $85 million hit.
It would also exceed Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones’ (New York Giants) $47.1 million charge. However, there is still hope for Cousins in Atlanta.
Kirk Cousins Receives Good News After Leaving Vikings, Losing Falcons QB1. In Week 16, Cousins will serve as the Falcons’ backup quarterback, marking his first appearance in this role since 2014. With his decade-long starting streak on the line, Morris’ comments about the decision bolstered Cousins’ long-term prospects.
Cousins’ odds of returning as the Falcons’ starting quarterback this season are slim, but not nil.
Penix’s current team, however, is the Falcons.
“I don’t think anything’s ever permanent in the National Football League,” Morris told reporters on December 18. “But right now, Michael Penix is our quarterback. And we’re going to back him up and give him all the support he needs, just as we did with Kirk when he was our starter.”
Play
It wouldn’t make sense for the Falcons to have such a tight leash on their future quarterback. Penix has been doing that since the draft.
Cousins may play again this season, whether due to injury, proximity to Penix, or other factors.
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