Kirk Cousins Finally Addresses Falcons Drafting QB Michael Penix Jr

The 2024 NFL Draft was chock full of quarterbacks drafted in the first round, and everyone was attempting to guess which teams were going to make a move to select their potential franchise quarterback of the future. One team that no one expected to draft a quarterback high in the first round was the Atlanta Falcons.

Read more: Kirk Cousins Reportedly ‘Stunned’ Atlanta Falcons Took QB Michael Penix Jr. in First Round of 2024 NFL Draft

The Falcons had already signed one of the biggest free agents in the NFL, as they secured former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins signed a four-year deal worth $180 million with $100 million guaranteed earlier in the offseason.

With Cousins now in place, the Falcons could have selected a much-needed rusher like Alabama’s Dallas Turner, but they instead shook up the entire draft by taking Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The move left many analysts — including Newsweek — scratching their heads, as the team had just signed Cousins to a large deal to be their starter for the foreseeable future.

Many began to question what the plan was from Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot. The decision to draft Penix Jr. also seemed to indicate the team might be attempting to move on from Cousins sooner rather than later. After the drama has now settled, the man himself has finally reacted to the shocking turn of events.

Cousins spoke to reporters on Tuesday and stated, “It was pretty straight forward. I was at an event at the stadium and was just driving back. They called me and said ‘Hey, we’re gonna take a quarterback here at the pick.’ And I said, ‘OK.'”

Cousins compared the situation to the one in 2007 when he was playing in college for the Michigan State Spartans and then-head coach Mark Dantonio told Cousins they were going to get Nick Foles, and both of them would have to compete for the starting job.

The same might be happening with Cousins and Penix Jr. come training camp and preseason. Oddly enough, everyone believed that if any quarterback was going to be the fourth off the board, it would have been Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. The Falcons had other plans and took the Washington prospect instead.

What makes this situation very odd is that the reason Cousins left the Vikings is because the team had a similar conversation with him. They informed their longtime quarterback that their plans in the draft were to select a quarterback, which they did by trading up to No. 10 overall to take the aforementioned McCarthy.

Cousins is once again taking the high road and showing why he is one of the most beloved players in the NFL. He has every right to be upset after the Falcons placed him in the same situation he was attempting to escape, but elected not to be.

The good news is that Cousins has a wealth of experience compared to Penix Jr., and his younger counterpart will need to play lights out to become the new starter. Cousins might not be the starter for long, but he is unlikely to be placed on the bench in the 2024 season.