Kirk Cousins is slumping badly and the Atlanta Falcons’ season is slipping away fast. But there won’t be a quarterback change yet.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris told the media on Monday that Cousins remains his quarterback.
“Kirk’s our quarterback,” Morris said, via Aaron Ladd of Atlanta News First. “Kirk is the guy that’s going to lead us.”
That’s not a big surprise. But it probably is disappointing to some Falcons fans who wanted to see if rookie Michael Penix Jr. could turn things around.
Cousins has no touchdowns and eight interceptions in his last four games, and he threw two more in Atlanta’s loss Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings. The Falcons looked like a cinch to win the NFC South at 6-3, but have lost four in a row and are now a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) for first place.
Cousins started the season slowly, then turned things around for a while before having one of the worst stretches of his career. He’s 36 years old coming off an Achilles injury, and it has shown lately.
The issue for Atlanta might be Cousins’ contract. He signed a four-year, $180 million deal in the offseason. Benching him for Penix, the surprise eighth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, would signal the start of a new era. But it would be hard to cut Cousins next offseason, because doing so would trigger a $65 million dead cap hit, according to Over the Cap.
The Falcons opened up speculation about a quarterback change if Cousins struggled when they drafted Penix. The plan was for Penix to sit and learn, but he’s an interesting option on the bench as the Falcons are on a losing streak with Cousins playing poorly.
There will be no change this week, Morris said. The Falcons play the Las Vegas Raiders next week and that’s a chance for Cousins and the team to turn things around. If they don’t, Morris can expect the same question about a quarterback change next week.
