Quarterback controversy was always going to be part of the deal when the Falcons elected to draft Michael Penix Jr. just weeks after handing Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency. The Falcons were able to silence that through the first nine weeks of the season, winning six games and putting themselves in a comfortable position to win the NFC South for the first time since 2016. Unfortunately, the last three games have thrown a wrench in all of that.
The Falcons have lost three straight in embarrassing fashion, in large part due to the struggles of Kirk Cousins, who has not thrown a touchdown since Week 9. He has six interceptions over that stretch, four of which came this past Sunday against the Chargers, a game in which they lost by just four points. It was by far the worst game of Cousins’ Falcons tenure and possibly the worst game of his career. I’m not sure how it could have been much worse, leading to rampant speculation about his future.
In the immediate, it doesn’t appear as if there’ll be a change. Raheem Morris silenced all talk about potentially benching Kirk Cousins in favor of Michael Penix Jr. in Sunday’s postgame press conference.
“We won’t make any excuses for them. That guy has carried us all season, he’s done such a marvelous job. It’s hard to throw that guy under the bus. We’ll bounce back, bring him back and we’ll be ready to go,” Morris said of Kirk Cousins following the Falcons loss to the Chargers.
There are two reasons the Falcons are unlikely to make a change at quarterback anytime soon. Most notably, the team is still tied for first place with an opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cousins might be amid the worst three-game stretch of his career, but it’s hard to argue that Penix gives the team a better chance to win the rest of the way.
The Falcons, primarily Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris, also have to save face. They courted Kirk Cousins to Atlanta, signaling to the entire NFL world that this was a team ready to compete. Turning to Penix with a playoff spot on the line would lead to a lot of backlash, even if Cousins is essentially a sunk cost at this point.
However, that doesn’t mean Kirk Cousins will be around next year. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Falcons could decide to move on after just one season, depending on how the rest of the season shakes out.
The next six games could determine a lot about Cousins’ future. He had shown the ability to get hot, throwing for at least three touchdowns in three of his first nine games with the Falcons before the recent two-game slide. I expect Atlanta to have a defined plan for Cousins that maximizes the passing game coming off the bye. But to your point, the results have been pretty good but not optimal.
Cousins would have a trade market, but I can’t think of a natural fit right now. The Raiders and Giants are in desperate need of a quarterback upgrade, but Cousins would prefer a contender, and neither team qualifies.
That was written prior to Cousins’ dismal outing against the Chargers. At this point, I’m not sure why any competitive team would be seriously interested in trading for the 13-year veteran. He’s not the same guy he was pre-injury, and he’s not getting any younger. The only teams I could see targeting Cousins are desperate ones, and given that he has a full no-trade clause, I don’t see him waiving that to go play for a 3-9 team after just moving his entire family to Atlanta.
It’s quickly becoming a nightmare scenario in Atlanta, one that most saw coming when the Falcons initially signed Kirk Cousins and proceeded to draft Michael Penix Jr. Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot laughed in the faces of doubters, but there’s nothing funny now about the position those two have put the organization.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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