The Atlanta Falcons approached this past offseason with aspirations for contention.
Look no further than their investment in Kirk Cousins. Atlanta, despite having a strong cast of talented playmakers, had been stuck in mediocrity for years. So last March, GM Terry Fontenot made the decision to sign the former Vikings quarterback to a hefty 4-year $180 million deal, despite the fact that he was coming off a torn Achilles.
Atlanta wouldn’t have made such a move if they didn’t believe they were a quarterback away from overtaking the Bucs for NFC South supremacy, while at the same time, capable of potentially competing within the NFC playoff picture.
Despite the fact that Cousins was coming off a torn Achilles injury suffered last season, Cousins was considered to be one of the more reliable quarterbacks in the league – certainly the most of any that were available on the open market.
Although Atlanta’s season got off to a fine start with their new quarterback at the helm, especially in games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, things began to fall apart even quicker than they came together.
Over the past month, Cousins and the Falcons have been in a tailspin. And Cousins’ erratic performance during that stretch, which included 1 TD pass to go with 8 interceptions, saw Atlanta lose control of the NFC South Division.
After the Falcons were only able to muster up 15 points in a narrow victory over the inept Raiders in Week 15, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris made the announcement that he would be moving Cousins to the bench in favor of rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Later in the week, just a few days after that decision was made, it was reported that the Falcons have plans to take it a step further and outright cut Cousins at some point prior to March 17th when his $10 million roster bonus is due.
Atlanta surely feels more justified now in making the decision to use their first-round draft pick on Penix, the talented passer out of Washington, back in April. That said, the sting of regret must be weighing heavily on the team as they have made the decision to give up on their prized free agent acquisition — and all the guaranteed money he is owed — so early into his tenure.
