After six pretty successful years with the Minnesota Vikings, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins hit NFL free agency this year and seemed prepared to leave the team, with the Atlanta Falcons being his most likely destination.
Even though Cousins was coming off a season in which an Achilles injury ended his year, the Falcons were convinced that Cousins was the right man for the job under center in Atlanta and were willing to pay him $100 million guaranteed to prove it.
Although the Falcons made a significant investment in Cousins to be their starting quarterback for the next four years, the team made a strange move in the 2024 NFL Draft by drafting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. out of the University of Washington with the No. 8 overall pick.
The Falcons’ decision to select Penix with such a high pick didn’t sit well with Cousins, who knew the Vikings were going to pick a young quarterback as well and used that as one of the reasons to leave Minnesota.
However, it seems as though Cousins has gotten over the fact that Penix was drafted and talked about how the team told him they were picking a quarterback in the first round, via Maria Martin of 11Alive News.
“They called me and told me, ‘Hey, we’re gonna take a quarterback here,’ and I said okay,” Cousins said. “It was pretty straightforward.”
Kirk Cousins talks about draft night
“They called me and told me hey we’re gonna take a quarterback here and I said okay. It was pretty straight forward.” #Falcons pic.twitter.com/o1urwRHz1R— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) May 14, 2024
The selection of Penix still doesn’t make much sense, considering he’s already 24 years old, and if Cousins plays out his contract without a problem, the rookie won’t get under center until he’s 28, not to mention all the injury issues he brings to the table.
With the team seemingly ready to right the ship, it seemed as though they’d use the pick on a defensive player, but now it has created quite a stir in Atlanta, which likely won’t be going away anytime soon.
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