The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in the offseason presumably to lead and teach rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. But after a poor showing in a Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, some, including Keyshawn Johnson, are skeptical that Cousins will be the Falcons' starter for very long.
Despite Cousins inking a four-year, $180 million contract that effectively guarantees the 36-year-old quarterback $100 million, Johnson believes the Falcons will replace the highly-paid veteran with Penix, who the team surprisingly selected eighth overall in the draft, if Cousins can't do much better than he did vs. Pittsburgh.
“I know they gave him the money, but as soon as Penix gets completely healthy — he’s not hurt, but in the end, he’s got to get his training camp body to the regular season — they’re going to give him until mid-season,” Johnson said of the quarterback situation on the “All Facts No Brakes” podcast. “If they’re still doing the same things that they just did the other day, watch that dude be underneath that center. Even though they gave Kirk Cousins that money, they’re going to eat that.”
Could Michael Penix replace Kirk Cousins as the Falcons' starting quarterback?
It would certainly be something if the Atlanta Falcons decide to “eat” the $100+ million they paid Kirk Cousins not even six months ago. But crazier things — albeit not many — have happened, though, like the Denver Broncos deciding to cut Russell Wilson loose and absorb $85 million in dead cap over the next two seasons in the process.
But it's still unlikely, especially because it should not be the expectation that the Cousins that we all saw in Week 1 will be the Cousins that we'll see all season long. Against the Steelers, Cousins completed 16 of his 26 passes for 155 yards. He threw one touchdown and a pair of interceptions in an 18-10 home loss to open the season on Sunday.
However, the Steelers are expected to have one of the best defenses in the NFL this season, and the Falcons play in possibly the weakest division in the league, which should give Atlanta fans hope that Cousins, if he is remotely the same type of player he proved to be with the Minnesota Vikings, will be able to lead the team back to the playoffs.
That being said, there are legitimate concerns about Cousins considering he tore his Achilles tendon less than 11 months ago. While not as career-altering as it would be for a running back, for example, the injury is known to be a tough one to recover from. And at 36, it's fair to wonder if an injury like that will only accelerate Cousins' decline as he ages.
If that proves to be the case this season, Falcons fans may get their first real look at Michael Penix Jr., who dealt with his own fair share of injuries during his six-season college football career. Penix suffered a torn ACL in 2018 and re-tore the same ACL two years later. He also had two separate season-ending shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2021.
Fortunately for him, he managed to stay healthy in his two seasons at Washington and became one of the best passers in the entire country in that time. He threw for a combined 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns over those two seasons, during which he led the Huskies to a 25-3 record and the national championship game earlier this year.
Despite being the Falcons' rookie backup quarterback, Penix largely sat throughout the preseason; he completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards against the Miami Dolphins in his only NFL appearance to date.
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