The Unthinkable Could Happen for Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins might be benched after a win.
The Unthinkable Could Happen for Kirk Cousins
His Atlanta Falcons held on for an ugly win on Monday Night Football, snapping a horrid four-game losing streak, but did so against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, a team in the driver’s seat to earn the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Once again — for about the fifth consecutive game — Cousins played generally ineffectively, and his head coach now appears to be contemplating a quarterback change.
Falcons skipper Raheem Morris was asked Tuesday if Cousins would remain his starter quarterback, and he replied, “We just got back. We still have to go through that process. All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn’t play well enough at the quarterback position.”
For Falcons fans, Morris’ comments were interpreted as a smoking-gun moment. Why? Well, it isn’t that difficult to name a quarterback on a contract worth $100 million guaranteed as the starter while holding a 7-7 record.
Put plainly, Morris had an opportunity to stomp out a quarterback controversy dead in its tracks — and he did not. He did the opposite. He inflamed the controversy.
Cousins leads the NFL in interceptions and fumbles through Week 15 and ranks 19th per EPA+CPOE. His replacement in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, ranks eighth per the same metric.
Last week, NFL insider Jordan Schultz claimed Cousins’ teammates might believe Penix Jr. is the better fit for the offense. “I truly believe the only reason that they haven’t gone to Michael Penix Jr. yet is because of optics. Because, the Falcons gave Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed. I have had players inside that locker room tell me, point blank, Michael Penix Jr. is the best quarterback in this building,” Schultz said on FS1 airwaves late last week.
Atlanta actually has a marvelous offensive setup featuring weaponry like Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Kyle Pitts. There aren’t many excuses on offense to explain the franchise’s 7-7 record after a 6-3 start. Cousins has struggled without many debates from anyone.
“The fact that they still have Kirk Cousins, who has the worst QBR in the red zone… who leads the NFL in picks (15), fumbles 12, and this is a team by the way with really good talent. You ask anybody around this league, and they’ll tell you, they have great weaponry. There’s Bijan, Pitts, London, Mooney, you go down the list. The fact that they are still with Cousins is because of optics,” Schultz added.
Too, the Falcons wanted it this way. They opted to pay Cousins mucho dinero in March and drafted Penix Jr. six weeks later. The draft pick absolutely stunned everyone in the NFL, from rival executives, NFL fans, to Cousins personally.
The fact that players are excited about Penix Jr. — as a superior alternative to Cousins — is just like Atlanta drew it up. The hand-off must occur sometime, and based on the trajectory of the 2024 campaign, Cousins could, in theory, be benched as soon as this week.
Otherwise, his head coach would’ve said something to the effect of: “Why wouldn’t Cousins be the starter? He’s the starter.”
Conversely, he stated, “We didn’t play well enough at the quarterback position.”
The unthinkable — benching a guy with over $65 million dead cap left on his contract — feels in motion.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.