Dec 10, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell (left) and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah react during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
The Kirk Cousins experiment in Atlanta is over, or at least that franchise slammed the pause button.
After 14 games, Cousins is out in Atlanta, demoted this week in favor of rookie passer Michael Penix Jr.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Tuesday, “Michael Penix Jr. has been named the Falcons’ starting quarterback moving forward.”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris issued a statement on the switch from Cousins to Penix Jr.: “After review, we have made the decision Michael Penix Jr. will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward. This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.”
If Atlanta does not return to Cousins as QB1 and cut ties with him before June 1st, 2025, Cousins’ contract will feature a $65,000,000 dead cap hit. Trading Cousins before June 1st would entail a dead cap hit of $37,500,000.
In Penix Jr., Atlanta will showcase a relatively game-ready commodity at QB1. The man is 24, about three years older than some rookie signal-callers. In fact, Penix Jr. will turn 25 in less than five months. Penix Jr. will also get an “easy” opponent in his first start, as the New York Giants are in total disarray.
In Week 13, the Vikings spanked Cousins and the Falcons, and two weeks later, the Cousins era with his new team effectively ended. Ten months ago, Vikings fans vociferously debated re-signing Cousins while drafting a rookie quarterback — they did the latter when Minnesota selected Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy — or letting Cousins walk to the highest bidder.
Minnesota’s front office, led by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, refused to re-up with Cousins, who was on the brink of turning 36 and recovering from a torn Achilles.
Cousins showed flashes of his old form in the season’s first two months, but he later faceplanted, paving the way for Penix Jr. to take the reins. The ex-Viking leads the NFL in interceptions and fumbles and very visibly looks like a shell of himself. Too, Atlanta didn’t go full tilt structuring an offense around Cousins, instead using bizarre Pistol formations when Cousins’ modus operandi is play-action passing. A weird ordeal.
In theory, the Vikings could’ve re-signed Cousins for two years and $90 million or so and let it ride for a couple more years. Adofo-Mensah said no thanks, and 10 months later, Cousins has been benched — with the Vikings sitting pretty at 12-2 and their replacement quarterback, Sam Darnold, nibbling at MVP consideration.
Cousins still has a cult-like following in some corners of the Twin Cities, but even those folks acknowledged this week that allowing the man to depart Minnesota was a wise business decision.
The Vikings can clinch homefield advantage throughout the postseason if they win their next three games (at Seattle, vs. Green Bay, at Detroit).
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.