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The Atlanta Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick just weeks after signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract. A year later, Cousins is finally sharing his side of the experience from last offseason.
In the season premiere of season 2 for Netflix’s Quarterback, Cousins shared that he felt “a little bit misled” by the Falcons organization. He signed with Atlanta instead of returning to the Minnesota Vikings, believing he would be their franchise quarterback. That didn’t happen.
“I wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback. At the time, it felt like I’d been a little bit misled — or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are gonna be drafting a quarterback high.”
Kirk Cousins on the Atlanta Falcons using a first-round pick on Michael Penix Jr
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Coming off a ruptured Achilles suffered during the 2023 NFL season, Cousins chose between the Falcons and Vikings in NFL free agency. Ultimately, with Minnesota intending to use a first-round pick on a quarterback to develop behind Cousins, he chose Atlanta.
Just weeks after he made that decision and moved his family to Atlanta, the Falcons took Penix Jr., and two picks later, the Vikings selected J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick. With hindsight, Cousins admits he might have just stayed in Minnesota.
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The veteran quarterback also shed light on the arm injury he played through this past season, which impacted his performance. In Cousins’ view, sitting out would have opened the door for Penix Jr. to play, and that was not something he wanted to happen
“You also know that if you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back. I remember reading Drew Brees’ book back in 2010 when he first wrote it, how he made the point that he tried to never let his backup see the field — even if it was somebody who was really no threat. He just felt like you should never do that. Doug Flutie taught him that.”
Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins on playing through an arm injury instead of sitting out
The 36-year-old quarterback also shared the difficulties of learning a new system last year, which made him uncomfortable at times during the adjustment period and led to mistakes.
He’s now stuck in Atlanta, with no other team deciding this offseason to trade for him to be their starting quarterback in 2025. If a starter goes down or struggles, though, Cousins will be...
