FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Nine months after he was introduced by the Atlanta Falcons as the franchise quarterback – with a massive contract and huge expectations – Kirk Cousins now must deal with getting benched.
Cousins, 36, was demoted on Tuesday night and replaced him with first-round rookie Michael Penix Jr.
“It’s disappointing,” Cousins told reporters on Wednesday. “But it’s pro football. There’s no entitlement. You’ve got to go out and earn it every single day. If you don’t, you’re always going to be competing and change can happen.”
Never mind that the Falcons brought Cousins to town with a four-year, $180 million contract that guaranteed $100 million.
And it surely didn’t matter that Cousins helped the Falcons (7-7) snap a four-game losing streak on Monday night with a victory at the Las Vegas Raiders. His performance didn’t spare him from losing his job. Instead, it provided Falcons coach Raheem Morris with the impetus to make the switch as Cousins continued displaying the misfires illuminated during the worst stretch of his career.
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In his past five games, Cousins threw nine interceptions, including one on Monday night, and passed for just one touchdown.
Morris, in his first year at the helm, said the turnovers provided the ultimate factor.
“We’ve been digging, as much as we can dig, to make things work, to try to get things going,” Morris said. “Just (on Tuesday) night came to the point when you want to make the decision, make the move. Wanted to play better at quarterback and felt like we’ve got the chance to play better. If we can play better at quarterback, who knows what can happen?”
Cousins didn’t see this move coming – at least not so soon – but acknowledged the issues. Before Monday night, he had the longest streak of his career without throwing for a touchdown (four games). But even worse were the giveaways.
No, Cousins insisted, his problems were not related to health as he tried rebounding from a torn Achilles tendon that wiped out the last half of his 2023 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
“It was more decision-making than anything,” he said.
Cousins admitted that he tried to force too many throws but would not identify one pattern to link his NFL-high 16 interceptions.
“I don’t think it’s confidence,” he said. “You’ve got to make good decisions all the time. If not, you’re going to pay for it.”
Cousins’ woes coincided with the Falcons’ tumble the past few weeks. After nine games, the Falcons were 6-3 with a seemingly firm grip on first place in the NFC South. Now, beginning with the home matchup on Sunday against the New York Giants, they will likely need to win their final three games while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) stumble in order to make the playoffs.
Still, despite his woes, Cousins was defiant.
“I didn’t forget how to play quarterback,” he declared.
“You’re kind of one day at a time right now,” he said. “You kind of always are in this league. In the offseason, that’s when those conversations happen. But we’re not there yet.”
Cousins pledged to fully support Penix, who was drafted eighth overall from the University of Washington. After meeting briefly with Morris to learn of his demotion, Cousins, a 13th-year veteran, called Penix. He felt the gesture was important for the chemistry in the quarterback room and within the team.
“I like to shoot elephants in the room,” he said. “So, I just wanted to shoot one.”
Just not as much as he wanted to keep his job.