Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. will make the first start of his professional career today following Atlanta’s momentous (but obvious) decision to bench veteran Kirk Cousins in favor of the rookie passer. While Cousins — who had signed a four-year, $180MM deal this offseason to help lead the club on a championship run — was obviously given a long leash, the Falcons believed Penix was ready to take the reins from the jump.
As SI.com’s Albert Breer said during an interview on last week’s TNF Tonight program, Atlanta would have been comfortable starting Penix in Week 1 if necessary (video link). The Washington standout played collegiately for six years, and even when Cousins was at the top of the depth chart, Penix was getting about 10 first-team reps per week while seeing plenty of action with the scout team.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds further context, writing that Penix had the same listening device in his helmet as Cousins during practice and would watch film of what Cousins did and then go through it mentally himself before running the same plays with the club’s young receivers. Rapoport also noted that, each practice, there was a competitive period in which Penix would have the opportunity to run the Falcons’ plays instead of scout-team plays. Those opportunities could be the same first-team reps that Breer referenced, but in any event, Atlanta has long believed that Penix is physically and mentally prepared to assume QB1 duties.
Of course, his arm strength and running ability should also open up the playbook. Breer observes that Cousins hurt his shoulder and elbow during a Week 10 loss to the Saints, and that the veteran signal-caller had not been the same since. Indeed, prior to that New Orleans contest, Cousins was coming off a two-game stretch in which he threw for seven TDs and no interceptions while posting QB ratings of 145.9 and 144.8. But in the next five games, he threw just one touchdown against nine interceptions, and his physical ailments limited the Falcons from a play-calling standpoint.
There will be no such limitation with Penix at the controls, and the expectation is that Cousins will be released in the offseason. Rapoport acknowledges that a release is generally viewed as the most likely outcome, but he does leave open the possibility that the Falcons could retain Cousins as a high-end backup/insurance policy since they are obligated to pay his fully-guaranteed $27.5MM 2025 salary anyway (and since Penix will still be on his affordable rookie deal).
The bigger issue, at least from a financial perspective, would be the $10MM roster bonus for 2026 that locks in if Cousins is still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year in March. Still, a Cousins return remains on the table and is more plausible than a trade. The four-time Pro Bowler has a full no-trade clause, and since he is much more valuable to another team as a free agent who could be had for a veteran minimum deal than a trade candidate, he is not expected to waive the NTC (his situation is similar to Russell Wilson’s, who was able to sign with the Steelers for the veteran minimum following his Broncos release this offseason since Denver was on the hook for his 2024 pay).
Cousins may, however, contemplate retirement. He will turn 37 before the 2025 season begins, and Rapoport says Cousins is expected to take a month or so after the current campaign is over to consider his playing future. He would be walking away from a large sum of money if he were to call it a career, but the master of negotiation has already earned just shy of $300MM from his NFL contracts.
