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The Falcons left plenty of people scratching their heads thanks to the borderline inexplicable approach they harnessed during the 2024 NFL Draft, and Kirk Cousins has addressed the rumored fallout of the team’s decision to use its first-round pick to scoop up another quarterback in the form of Michael Penix Jr.
The Atlanta Falcons knew something needed to change after finishing with a 7-10 record for the third consecutive year while missing the playoffs for the sixth season in a row.
The team opted to fire Arthur Smith at the end of the campaign before hiring Raheem Morris as its new head coach, and they kicked off free agency with a bang by signing Kirk Cousins to take over as the starting quarterback after failing to find an adequate replacement for Matt Ryan in the two years following the departure of the former franchise QB.
When you consider Cousins inked a four-year contract worth upwards of $180 million, it was safe to assume the Falcons weren’t going to use the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to pick someone at the same position. However, they ultimately threw conventional wisdom and common sense to the wind by using it to select former Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
That decision reportedly came as a huge surprise to Cousins, as part of the reason the 35-year-old veteran decided to sign with the Falcons instead of the Vikings was to avoid a potential quarterback battle he assumed would unfold after Minnesota made it clear they were planning on using the 10th overall pick to select a quarterback (they ultimately landed J.J. McCarthy).
Now, The Athletic reports Cousins has officially chimed in and essentially opted to go the “It Is What It Is” route while discussing the development, saying:
“They called me and said, ‘We’re going to take a quarterback here,’ and I’m like, ‘OK.’ It was pretty straightforward. Really if you know my story, this is more the norm of the journey.”
He added Penix has been “great” since they’ve started to work together while noting “There’s always going to be competition in this league, and you have to go out and earn it. I’m going to control what I can control, and I understand there’s a lot you can’t control.”
If you’re reading between the lines here, it’s pretty clear Cousins isn’t exactly over the moon about Atlanta’s decision to draft Penix, but at the same time, he’s been around long enough to know there’s no upside to dwelling on it.