Falcons QB Kirk Cousins explained during an episode of Quarterback that he was “pretty surprised” when the Falcons drafted QB Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 draft and may not have signed with the team had he known it would happen.
“I wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback,” Cousins said, via Pro Football Talk. “At the time, it felt like I’d been a little bit misled — or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are gonna be drafting a quarterback high.”
As a free agent, Cousins opted to sign with the Falcons instead of re-signing with the Vikings, as Minnesota preferred to go “year to year” while Atlanta seemed to want to make a long-term commitment to the veteran.
The Falcons have named Penix the starter for this upcoming season, and Cousins now finds himself in the backup role. He still views himself as a starting-caliber quarterback. Still, no trade materialized this offseason, and at this point, there’s not a clear starting opportunity for Cousins unless someone gets hurt.
That’s led to Cousins reaching a level of acceptance about his situation and reporting to mandatory minicamp.
“Obviously, you would love to play, but I’m not going to dwell on things that aren’t reality,” Cousins said, via Josh Kendall. “That’s not the situation I am in, so it’s better to be focused on the situation I’m in and control what you can control. I think that’s the right mindset to have.”
This confirms something that’s seemed increasingly likely for months — that Cousins is going to be a $27.5 million backup for the Falcons this upcoming season.
Cousins, 36, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons.
Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.
He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons this offseason. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
In 2024, Cousins appeared in 14 games for the Falcons and completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
We’ll have more on Cousins as the news becomes available.
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