Kirk Cousins Didn’t See Atlanta’s QB Pick Coming
Josh Frey
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Every year, there are major surprises during the NFL Draft.
2024 started off with a bit of chalk at the top, but then, the Atlanta Falcons made a shocking move by selecting Michael Penix with the eighth overall pick just a month and a half after signing Kirk Cousins in free agency.
And apparently, Cousins didn’t see the selection coming.
Kirk Cousins Was Surprised by Atlanta’s Michael Penix Selection
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweeted a quote from Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, which read: “Yes, it was a big surprise. We had no idea this was coming. The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. We got no heads up. Kirk got a call from the Falcons when they were on the clock. That was the first we heard. It never came up in any conversation.”
Of course, Cousins has been expected to be the leader of the Falcons after inking a four-year contract worth $180 million and $100 million in guaranteed money.
However, there may be a couple of different factors that led to this decision from Atlanta. Of course, there is the ongoing tampering investigation that resulted in the Falcons landing Cousins in the first place. The league decided not to throw down any punishments in terms of this year’s draft capital, but those ramifications very well could be coming in 2025.
If the Falcons were to lose their first-round pick in 2025, they likely won’t have a chance to grab their successor to Cousins. To be clear, there are no reports that this will happen, but it is precisely the punishment that faced the Miami Dolphins for their tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton in 2023.
On top of that, there is also the matter of Cousins’ Achilles injury that he suffered back in October. It has only been about six months since that injury, so there is at least some chance that he may not be ready to get onto the field for Week 1. Heading into his age-36 season as well, how much quality football does Cousins actually have left in the tank?
That is the rationale for a Penix selection, but it remains a truly stunning pick by the Falcons. Penix is already 24 years old, and if the Falcons are planning on rolling with Cousins for the next two years (at least), Penix will be a 26-year-old player by the time he takes his first snaps in the NFL.
Overall, Penix is a talented player, but this is a very questionable landing spot for him. It could set up for a very strange situation in the Atlanta locker room for the next few years.
Vikings fans can be happy that they landed J.J. McCarthy and don’t have to worry about it.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.