Within the spring of 2024, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins did not deny that he might not have left the Minnesota Vikings to signal with the Atlanta Falcons in free company had he recognized that Atlanta would choose signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth total decide of final yr’s draft.
In feedback shared throughout an episode of the Netflix sequence “Quarterback,” which premiered Tuesday, Cousins admitted that he felt “a little bit bit misled” after the Falcons drafted Penix.
“Definitely, if I had the data round free company, it definitely would’ve affected my determination,” Cousins defined, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “I had no cause to go away Minnesota with how a lot we beloved it there if each groups are going to be drafting a quarterback excessive. However I’ve additionally realized in 12 years on this league that you simply’re not entitled to something. It is all about having the ability to earn your spot and show your self.”
Cousins signed a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M assured to hitch the Falcons in March 2024. In the meantime, the Vikings made quarterback J.J. McCarthy the tenth decide of final yr’s draft however then went 14-3 with Sam Darnold as their QB1.
As for Cousins, he guided the 2024 Falcons to a 6-3 report earlier than he appeared to have a “lifeless” arm throughout 5 straight video games, 4 of which Atlanta misplaced. It is now recognized that he handled ankle, shoulder and elbow points earlier than the Falcons named Penix their starter forward of Week 16.
“The knowledge I had on the time, I made the perfect determination,” Cousins mentioned about making an attempt to play by way of harm setbacks. “You additionally know that in case you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or extra to let it heal, it’s possible you’ll by no means get your job again. …In order that was one thing I at all times was conscious of, that on this league, in case you give another person the prospect, if you wish to get ‘Wally Pipped’ and there is Lou Gehrig behind you, that may occur on the time.”
Penix will enter coaching camp as Atlanta’s full-time starter after groups selected to not commerce for Cousins earlier than they crammed their quarterback rooms through different strikes. Some thought the Pittsburgh Steelers might attain out to the Falcons about Cousins’ availability, however Pittsburgh as an alternative signed future Corridor of Famer Aaron Rodgers in June.
It is now thought Cousins might start the upcoming season as Penix’s main backup if the 36-year-old remains to be with the Falcons when coaching camp practices get underway later this month.
“It hurts to enter work, however you bought to be an grownup,” Cousins mentioned about his scenario. “You have to be a grown man and deal with it with maturity. I really feel sorry for myself and it is laborious to do, however that is what you bought to do. And in order that’s type of the place my focus went.”
There isn’t any indication any workforce is keen to surrender property as a way to land Cousins, so he might quietly discover himself hoping that Penix struggles when Atlanta opens the marketing campaign with a matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 7.
