Late last month, the Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL landscape by announcing that they would select quarterback Michael Penix Jr. from the University of Washington with the eighth overall choice in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Some were perplexed by the decision because the Falcons had recently signed quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Minnesota Vikings to a multi-year contract worth well north of $100 million earlier in the offseason, making it unclear what Terry Fontenot and company envisioned for the future of the quarterback position in Atlanta with the selection of Penix.
Of course, many people were curious what Kirk Cousins thought about the move, and the star provided some answers during a recent news conference, when he discussed his early opinions of Michael Penix Jr. in the short time they’ve known each other.
“Mike has been fantastic. There will always be competition in this league, and you must go out and earn it. “I’m going to control what I can manage, and I understand there’s a lot you can’t control,” Cousins told Josh Kendall of The Athletic on X, the social networking platform that was previously known as Twitter.
Head coach Raheem Morris also remarked about Cousins, expressing confidence that he will be “the guy” for the Falcons moving forward.
“We’re extremely thrilled about where he’s at, his improvement (physically) and mental capacity to hold the offense, and what he’s able to do for the guys,” Morris told Kendall.
A confusing decision
By signing Cousins and then picking Penix, the Falcons effectively insured that their plans would fail in some way. If Cousins performs well and stays healthy, Penix will be 27 years old by the time he gets his first chance to play in Atlanta, which is far from an optimum age for a rookie in the current NFL.
If the Cousins experiment fails and Penix enters the lineup earlier than expected, the franchise will have wasted more than $100 million.
In any case, the Falcons effectively played themselves, according to critics who have pointed out the decision’s logical flaws.
Many people have questioned how Cousins is doing after tearing his Achilles tendon.
“Today, I felt the best I could. Take each day as it comes. Everything is going in the correct direction,” Cousins told Terrin Waack of the Falcons on X.
This, combined with Morris’ statements regarding Cousins’ health, should offer Falcons supporters some hope that the high-profile free agency acquisition will pay off, even if it comes at the expense of the guy on whom they recently invested a prized draft pick.
In any case, the Falcons now have just a few months until the season begins in September. They will learn about their whole agenda on Wednesday evening.