Upon signing Kirk Cousins, the Falcons informed him they were planning to take a quarterback in the later rounds. Just before the team decided to shift course, the high-priced free agency pickup received a rather important phone call.
The Falcons did inform their $45MM-per-year quarterback they were planning to use the No. 8 overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. They did so upon going on the clock. But the longtime Vikings starter is believed to have been stunned by his new team’s decision, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports.
[RELATED: Arthur Blank Played Role In Falcons’ Penix Pick]
As should be expected, Cousins is concerned this pick does not help the Falcons for the 2024 season, according to Russini (subscription required). Viewed at points as a potential late-first-round prospect, Penix did become connected to the Falcons early this week. But the team’s decision to follow up the Cousins contract — which includes a $100MM practical guarantee, one that ties the 35-year-old passer to Atlanta through 2026 — by selecting the recent national championship game starter was easily the most surprising first-round move.
“He got called on the clock, obviously because of the sensitive time with the issues of what you got going on,” Falcons HC Raheem Morris said of the team’s decision to notify Cousins. “It’s never a right time to talk to a quarterback about those things. And reactions are always going to be private when it comes to those things, unless Kirk decides to tell you some of those things that are whatever they may be. But he’s a competitor, just like us all. And you can always expect those things to go just like you kind of think.”
It is not unusual for teams to follow up free agency acquisitions with first-round QB picks, but those moves generally come after a team added a bridge-type passer on the market. Cousins is not that, and an unusual setup is now in place in which Penix learns on the job — potentially for multiple seasons. The Packers are the only team in the fifth-year option era to park a first-round passer for multiple years, but Jordan Love arrived as a No. 26 overall pick. With Penix going eighth, this marks new territory for QB commitment.
Atlanta’s No. 8 draft slot played a key role in the team’s logic here, as Morris said the team views it as unlikely — based largely on Cousins’ status — it will be picking in the top 10 again anytime soon. This is a common refrain among teams, though the Falcons have held a top-10 pick in each of Terry Fontenot‘s four offseasons as GM. Their odds to win the NFC South did improve after Cousins’ arrival, but Penix will probably not move the needle for 2024.
“Kirk Cousins our quarterback. We are very excited about Kirk and this team,” Fontenot said, via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. “We’re very excited about that quarterback room. Kirk is our quarterback. Adding Michael Penix is thinking about the future.”
The Falcons were confident in last season’s Division I-FBS passing leader throughout the pre-draft process, per ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel, who adds the team sent an eight-man contingent — which included Morris, GM Terry Fontenot and OC Zac Robinson — to Seattle to meet with the standout southpaw.
Penix did not take a “30” visit to Atlanta, Russini adds, though the sides had scheduled a meeting in March. While it is less common for a team to make this sort of investment without going through with a visit, that move could have tripped alarms around the league. That said, Penix was highly unlikely to be chosen before the Falcons went on the clock at 8 regardless of his visit schedule.
Coaches were viewed as generally higher than scouts on Penix, with some mechanical issues impacting thet deep-ball maven’s stock. He should have plenty of time to iron those out. Sean Payton said Thursday night he believed the Raiders were targeting Penix, and they had been linked to the Washington prospect. But their plans may well have changed when the Falcons doubled down at the game’s premier position.
Expected to devote the No. 8 choice to defense, the Falcons will be tasked with addressing that side of the ball beginning tonight. Not using No. 8 overall to help a Cousins-led team does create an uphill battle on the roster-building front. Their timeline with Cousins will be fascinating now, as the team will not stand to benefit much from Penix’s rookie contract thanks to the Cousins commitment. The Falcons gave Cousins a no-trade clause, according to OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald, who adds it would cost $35MM for Atlanta to cut ties with the veteran in 2026.
The Packers did not benefit much from Love’s rookie deal, stashing him behind Aaron Rodgers — which created a few headlines during the four-time MVP’s final Green Bay years — for three seasons. That blueprint also involved the Pack trading up for a 21-year-old QB; Penix will turn 24 in May. Green Bay is the only team to execute an extended-runway plan at QB since the 2011 CBA reshaped roster building; it will be interesting to see how the Falcons’ Cousins-Penix effort goes.
As he should be!
Who *wasn’t* stunned by that pick? It’s wild on a bunch of levels. As Tom Pelissero said about this pick as it pertains to Cousins, “This isn’t a relationship that’s gone south. This is cheating on your wife on the honeymoon.”
I’m not complaining because that joke of a move tossed Rome Odunze right into Chicago and a 3 headed monster.
How could this happen you ask? Oh that’s right, Pace is there now. He’s the VP in charge of stupid QB draft moves. Well played sir!
Worked out fantastic for your team!
The one dude who was on this board last night defending the move is the only one I was who apparently wasn’t stunned.
I’ll always be in the camp of “you run the plays and we’ll run the team”
Collaboration and teamwork wins championships. Petty roster construction does not.
Ordinarily, in the real world, yes; but Cousin got paid to run the team on the field
Who said being stunned or upset means he’s trying to run the team off the field?They presumably brought him in with a sales pitch that involved trying to win immediately and definitely to be their plan at quarterback. Turning around and spending a top ten pick on his replacement before he’s ever played a down for them, and not even mentioning the possibility to his camp until they were on the clock, is bad business. Going out of your way to undercut your most important employee–who you just signed!–without communicating properly is going to tick him off.
A cursory glance at the NCAA QBs might’ve pushed the issue for them because it’s not bountiful
Besides, he has every right to be ticked off ala Rodgers & Favre and has every right to conduct himself as they did
What Cousins knew or didn’t know is kind of a moot point… They signed a veteran QB to a huge “win now” move and then drafted an oft injured QB who will probly be 28 before he becomes the “man”- while they still have holes all over their roster they could have begun to fill with that “win now” pick. What in the world were they thinking?
Yep. People focus more on having two QBs than the bigger issue of not filling existing gaps. That guy on the bench isn’t going to help.
This isn’t even roster construction. It’s talent acquisition. Falcons front office is the worst in the league. When you leave Mike Tannenbaum, who was fired by the worst franchise in the league, speechless…you’ve done something.
Falcons really told the Packers to hold their beer.
Head scratcher for sure.
They could have gone oline, pass rusher, corner, stuff that actually made sense. Or traded back.
Really no reason to take Penix at 8.
If you traded back into the 1st sure we get it. Better QB room. But not at 8
Matt Millen is their GM apparently…
He would have drafted Odunze no doubt
Or defense.
I agree with everyone that it was a flummoxing pick, but cousins has really only cared about the money.
Many articles have been written on how he is one of the best players to maximize his value despite never being good enough to bring in a chip.
He likely turned to his wife and was like that was an easy $100 mil. Let’s complain, but ultimately I will just have to work a couple years at the same mediocre level.
Hate to break it too you but every guy in the NFL from the commissioner to the owners to the coaches to the trainers to the players does it for the money. In a salary cap league every person should maximize their value or it completely defeats the purpose of the cap.
Atlanta paid 180 mil for a 35ish QB, 100mil guaranteed. Has not won a Super Bowl, has maybe 1 playoff victory, coming off an Achilles surgery and now complains about Atlanta drafting a young QB in the first round. Maybe Atlanta is looking 2 years down the road, nothing wrong with that. They have a nice bunch of picks remaining. Green Bay did the same thing with Love, Falcons seen how it worked. Atlanta was seeing that there was no way Penix was going to be there in the later picks, was not sure Raiders were not going to take a QB.
Love was 21 when he was drafted and he was drafted much later. Isn’t the point of signing a high priced veteran QB to not have to reach for a QB in the draft?
People also hated the fact that the team traded up and took Love rather than a receiver, and so far based on early returns those people are wrong and the Packers have their QB of the future much in the same way the people who hated the Rodgers pick were wrong. Maybe the armchair GMs arent as right as they think they are.
Heck, I still wonder if the Packers could have squeezed one more ring out of Rodgers if they had taken Higgins or Pittman there. The problem with this sort of move on a process level is that the QB has to be REALLY good when he finally starts to justify the move, because you’re punting on any contribution from the first round pick the first couple of years AND you’re not using most of the rookie contract for the QB. In Love’s case, the rookie deal was even cheaper and the used pick was much lower. In this case? They could have taken Odunze or traded down or taken literally any defensive player, and now they’ll presumably get little out of a top ten pick when they just made a huge win-now move earlier in the offseason. I also think eight is just a full-blown reach for Penix.
Most of the best receivers in the league aren’t even first rounders. Hill was a fifth rounder. Adams was a second rounder. Diggs was a fifth rounder. All of those other Houston receivers went in rounds other than the first. Cupp was a third rounder. Nacua was a fifth rounder. Not to mention all of the great receivers the Steelers produced for 15 years. It’s not even an isolated incident. Lower round QB success stories are an outlier on the other hand.
Many of the best receivers in football were first round picks and many QBs taken in the first round flop.
Love was better in 2024 than a healthy Rodgers would have been. 2024 will be a disaster for the Jets. Aaron had lost a step and that was before the injury.
Cuban… The Packers were a 13 win team the year before drafting Love and a 13 win team the year after. They were a much better stocked team as a whole, than the Falcons. A team in their position has to use a top 10 pick on a plug and play starter.
Rondon…the packers team you say won 13 games the year before Love was drafted got annihilated in the championship game while Jimmy G attempted a whopping 8 passes. Im pretty sure at the very least they could’ve used some help on the defensive side or as i said more help for Rodgers before drafting his replacement.
My comment was directed toward the holes the Falcons have to fill. They are miles away from where the Packers were talent-wise, when they drafted Love. The Falcons won’t even get to a “championship game” at this point.
That still makes no sense. If you lose the championship game, especially in the fashion they did, you dont start preparing for the future, you draft to bring yourself up a level or put you over the edge.
“The holes the Falcons have to fill” logic would tell you a team that was trailing 34-7 after 3 quarters had their own holes to fill
So according to your logic, Cousins, the guy with the 5 year deal, should just shut up and take the money right? Not only didn’t the GM think that discussing the pick afterwards was a good step towards team unity, apparently the owner who is on the hook for at least $100 million wasn’t consulted either when they were on the board….and he was in the room, standing right next to the GM…..disfunctional operating is being kind here…..and until or if Penix takes over, do Falcons fans just put up with their inability to succeed because the QB is just taking the money until replaced?
@desertdawg: Hedging the Cousins move is not a bad move on its face. However, signing Cousins was a win-now move. So they should have stuck to that plan and made a selection at #8 that helps them win now. Every single defensive player was still on the board. Rome Odunze was still on the board (pair him with London, Pitts, and Bijan, and the Falcons could have had a potentially amazing offense). Only two OL were off the board (Fashanu could have been the pick).
Spending such a high pick on a QB, irrespective of Penix’s own question marks, makes no sense for a win-now team unless they’re really unsure about Cousins, which would beg the question of why they blew so much money on him.
Baffling move in or out of context.
The Bears didn’t need another receiver at 9 after trading for two the last two years, but they took one and are getting no pushback. Their line still looks subpar on paper though.
However, the team who took a QB that they scouted as a franchise QB is a pick earlier? Some of you need to turn off the pundits because they’re making you sound as dumb as they are. none of those players at other positions like OL where Atlanta has very good tackles, DL where the top couple of guys were not franchise changers, or CB where the class overall was weak made sense. From all accounts, they loved Penix. It was repeatedly said that’s who they would have drafted there had they not signed Cousins, so it made all the sense in the world to go with him with him being there.
While Odunze might be very good, they needed help at edge and center. Had they traded back, they could’ve gotten both, while still landing a pretty good receiver.
Off topic but anyone who uses the app on an iPhone curious if you get an issues I get. Only happens in the football section but when I get to the comments part as I scroll the screen vibrates the text for a second or two. It doesn’t happen every post but when it does it lasts until I refresh. Anyone notice this ?
Testing seems it only happens when scrolling down
Yep happen too often, a conspiracy by Apple against American Football fans.
iPhone app user here, and I do not get the same. I do have multiple times when my keyboard covers the comment box while I’m typing or the comment posts a duplicate.
Cousins has a no trade clause. LOL
Green Bay looks to be on the verge of having 3 starting qb’s over 40 years. Rodgers and Love both sat, there may be something to grooming the successor over throwing them into the fire.
I don’t understand why Cousins should be shocked. He’ll be 36 years old when the season kicks off. The Vikings should have actually got an heir in place behind Cousins a year or two ago. The Falcons are essentially taking a page from the Packers playbook and if Jordan Love benefitted from a couple of years of mentoring behind an established starter, why does everyone assume Penix won’t benefit as well? This would not be a great draft move if Atlanta was on the verge of being a top competitor but they’re a couple of seasons away from that so this strategy could work. Unlike most people…I don’t hate the selection.
Lemon I get why teams don’t do that anymore. Teams don’t want to waste 2 years of a QB’s contract having him sit and watch for 2 years. Resetting the QB clock with the 5th year option, You don’t want to start that until you have to. Plus you don’t want the team split choosing sides. It’s why Fields is gone after all.
If a young QB is showing improvement while being mentored I wouldn’t call that a waste. The alternative approach of just tossing the rookie QB to the wolves with no support almost always results in disaster. Teams like Washington and Carolina have adopted the revolving door approach at the QB position but are they getting any closer to being contenders?
I half expected Minnesota to offer 11 and 23 to Atlanta for Cousins.
Lol. Best comment of the day.
He’ll be 28 at the end of the Cousins contract… just makes zero sense. Worst pick by far based on the teams needs.
He could move into the starting role at 26 (two years from now) and still have 10 good years left.
Rip Korey Cunningham (28) you got to play in a league that’s many don’t my thoughts are with ur family and friends
Some player evaluators believe that Penix has flaws in his mechanics therefore allowing him to sit for awhile to adjust those and learn the pro game which is not bad business.
I like Cousins yet his seemingly short term contracts might be worrisome to management as it allows Kirk to ask for top shelf yearly averages, that keep climbing, while his commitment is minimalistic to a degree.
Don’t think the falcons did their homework on cousins. Vikes drafted mond in the 3rd and Kirk was pissy and said he doesn’t get paid to develop qb’s. Kyle sloter said he doesn’t like backups that threaten his future and that’s why vikes kept washed up backups behind him. Kirk is all business decisions and always playing for his next contract so this will bring out the worst in him
The Packers did this several times – Love – late 1st, Aaron Rodgers late 1st, Aaron Brooks 4th, Mark Brunnell 3rd. Brooks and Brunnell ended up getting traded when it was clear they weren’t needed to take over for Favre.
Doing this with a top 10 is risky.
Terry Fontenot should have been fired last night
The pitch hitter would be Ryan Pace and that’s an even worse option.
Cousins is getting paid and he’s not in jeapordy of losing a job he hasn’t even started yet, so he needs to settle down and get a grip. He’s 35 on a 4 year contract that he will probably see 2-3 years of before they hand off the role to the kid. The way Atlanta most likely sees is the team will do much better going forward, enough to be in the 20+ range of pick selection in the upcoming years and acquiring a QB without having to trade down is unlikely. The string of QBs expected to perform in year one hasn’t always been successful and for most, a year or two on the sidelines to get acclimated to the increased speed of the game is probably beneficial as opposed to knocking down their confidence because they didn’t have weapons or an offensive line – just as the Jets have done with their two recent QB picks.
It’s not the ideal pick for today, but they can find value in some of those positions in later rounds. You won’t find the talent at the QB position there unless you get lucky like the 49’ers did. Meantime, Cousins would probably do himself a favor by putting his ego aside and tutoring the kid while he’s still starting and eventually take partial credit in the kids success as other teams may sign him into his 40’s as a BU collecting free millions for carry a clipboard and teaching others.
So it won’t be cruise control for Cousins? Competition spawns winners…
I feel as if I’m in the minority, but I like the move for Atlanta. For me, Penix is the 3rd best QB in this draft. He probably instantly becomes the best backup QB in the league while getting some time to sit and learn the offense.
They also can’t just assume Cousins is going to be the player he was. He will be 36, coming off a major injury. I know that raises the question: why pay him? And I honestly don’t know. But I don’t think paying Cousins locks you into a position where you can’t plan for a scenario where he may not be the answer under center.
Plus, I think we need to see what they do with the rest of their picks before grading anything.
You don’t pay $100 million for two seasons of play from a bridge QB. It’s not the drafting of Penix that is the problem. Amateur hour in Atlanta.
The Bears gave Mike Glennon $40MM to be a bridge QB and were rewarded with a single win. If Cousins only manages 3 wins while in Atlanta he would still be a better deal…lol.
The issue, imho, is not taking a player that will help over the next 2-3 years.
Same team that valued Chris Miller over Brett Favre.
Hiring Bill Belichick in any capacity would’ve avoided this move.
Yeah. Belichick thought he could win without a QB. He tried to play without one the last two years,and it got him fired.
Why isn’t the talking point from when ATL signed Cousins suddenly not relevant anymore … that 35+ year old Achilles?
Sure, the LAST thing you’d want to do is start Penix too soon but you also do not want Taylor Heinicke as your only rostered QB … just ask the Jets how Zach worked out filling in for Rodgers.
I know it sounds elitist but facts are facts: you’re a well/over paid QB on the back 9 of your career (at best); and you want the franchise to ride your shoulders for the duration of your contract … when you haven’t led any prior team to The Promise Land yet?
bruh…
Exactly. People acting like he’s Tom Brady.
Typical comment coming from an overrated QB. One who can’t win the big one. Most older QBs get all bent out of shape when a team drafts a younger guy. Shades of Ben Roethlisberger here in pittsburgh when they drafted mason rudolph. Seems the older guys think they will never give up to old age. Not saying that I agree with the pick. But Ole kirk should realize thst he’s coming off a major injury. And he should know penix will sit for a year or two. Chill out overrated kirk.
The issue is the Falcons informed him they were planning to take a quarterback in the later rounds, not in the top 10. If they go into it saying, hey Kirk if MHJ or Nabers isn’t there (because it obviously didn’t matter that Rome, Bowers, or every defensive player was there) then we plan on selecting one of Maye/Penix/Daniels if they’re available. Say you plan on drafting later in the future drafts with him there now, so that would be the last time they can take a QB that high without mortgaging the future or whatever spin you want to put on it. But if you’re GUARANTEED to pay the guy $100M you might as well include him on what your plans are. Not telling him until you’re on the clock is bad business. He is old, he is coming off an injury, he was probably told that they were going to either give him another weapon or sure up the defense so he didn’t have to score 30+ each game like he did in MIN. Instead they draft his replacement with an 8TH OVERALL PICK, so that guy can sit the bench and not help him at all, before he has even taken a snap for them. I can see why they made the pick (don’t love or hate it) with the things that I just mentioned, but at least tell him that is a possibility before he basically sees it on TV the same time we all did. It is just the common sense thing to do with someone you just invested that much money in who also happens to be the most important part of the offense as most the QBs nowadays are.
“The Falcons did inform their $45MM-per-year quarterback they were planning to use the No. 8 overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. They did so upon going on the clock.”
I love how you set that up.
To be fair didn’t Washington draft both cousins and rg3 in the same draft. Cousins should already know how this works. He’s been in exactly penix’s situation to an extent.
Sounds lil whiney, like “your not breaking up w/me ?” Need more than 1 QB on roster doark.
Grow a pair.
“How many words do I need to say to pretend I’m on board with this pick, even if what I say makes zero sense?” -Raheem Morris
Cousins took their money. He can’t complain now about the dolts in Atlanta’s front office.
I’m not going to lie; I’m still at a loss regarding this pick? Realistically, Cousins is the QB for the next three years & with a no trade clause, he will be almost impossible to move on from. Why use the high level pick on a player that doesn’t improve the current team situation is baffling? They could have traded back & still gotten Penix. I don’t get it.
The Falcons are not a serious sports franchise.
I feel like someone hit the wrong button.
Instead of admitting it, just act cool . Like they meant it all along.
Falcons GM: “Rome Odunze, Rome Odunze….wait! Ooops. I meant to hit B! Well I guess we are getting a QB”
Nice how they pick a third or fourth round qb with the 8th pick. Someone needs to be fired over this pick!