Falcons’ Kirk Cousins Gets Brutally Honest On Michael Penix Jr.

When Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, he had some expectations. Like him being the starting quarterback for the next few years, for example.

Well, that took a weird turn late last month, when the Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick of the NFL Draft.

Atlanta apparently did it without contacting Cousins and only informed him when the pick was made. Cousins was taken back by the whole situation, which one can understand.

This led many to wonder if Cousins would ultimately have a beef with the Falcons, as one of the main reasons he left the Minnesota Vikings was because they told him they intended to draft his replacement.

That’s exactly what Atlanta did.

But during a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Cousins insisted that everything is fine between him and the Falcons’ organization.

“We’re trying to win the Super Bowl and it’s hard enough,” Cousins said. “So let’s all be on the same page and let’s go try to win the Super Bowl.”

The thing is, the Falcons and Cousins weren’t exactly on the same page when they chose to take Penix. Still, Cousins is taking a mature approach.

“You’re reminded again that there are things you control, and there are a lot of things you don’t control,” Cousins said.

Atlanta was expected to take either one of the top edge rushers in the draft class or another weapon for Cousins. Wide receiver Rome Odunze, for example, was available at No. 8, and considering that Drake London is the only truly impressive wide out the Falcons have, Odunze would have been a good choice.

But Cousins understands that this is a business.

“This wasn’t like a foreign concept. This is the NFL. Anything can happen,” Cousins said.

Cousins, who turns 36 later this summer, spent the last six years of his career with the Vikings, making three trips to the Pro Bowl along the way. He probably would have made a fourth this past season, but a torn Achilles eight games into the year thwarted that possibility.

We’ll see how Kirk Cousins recovers from the Achilles injury and whether or not he can take the Falcons to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.