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The Atlanta Falcons are making a change at quarterback.
The Falcons, who are 7-7 and still in postseason contention, announced Tuesday that they are benching veteran Kirk Cousins and inserting rookie first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. as the starter in Week 16. The 36-year-old Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million deal with $100 million guaranteed in the offseason, has thrown nine interceptions and only one touchdown over the last five games and leads the NFL with 16 interceptions.
“After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said in a statement. “This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.”
The Falcons were hoping they found their starter for the present before turning things over to Penix in the future, but Cousins was benched after only 14 starts.
Cousins and the Falcons have been struggling offensively. In a 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, Cousins completed 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the Falcons recorded just 261 yards of total offense.
After the game, Morris was blunt about Cousins’ play.
“He’s got to play better. We have to find a way to get him to play better. We have to play better at the quarterback position,” Morris said Monday night.
Cousins has thrown for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions so far this season. Cousins’ nine interceptions, 0.1 TD-INT ratio and 63.8 passer rating all rank in the bottom three among 32 qualified passers over the last five games.
Penix, selected No. 8 overall out of Washington in the 2024 NFL draft, will make his first career start on Sunday against the Giants.
During the draft, the Falcons made headlines with the surprising choice to draft a quarterback that high in the first round after giving Cousins his contract. The Falcons defended the move, saying it made them feel solid about their quarterbacks for the “next five years minimum.” At the time, they said they felt confident in Cousins and certainly had a backup plan if plan A didn’t work out. While the team is likely disappointed Cousins wasn’t the star they hoped he would be, they at least had a solid backup to lean on when things got bad and things got bad earlier than expected.
Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury last season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings and said earlier this year that he feels good. Whether he is still feeling the impact of the injury, the team isn’t the right fit or it’s his age, Cousins has looked immobile and has made poor decisions in an Atlanta uniform.
After the Giants game, the Falcons will play the Washington Commanders on the road before hosting the Carolina Panthers for the season finale. With Penix at the helm, the Falcons may have a better chance of extending their season.
Penix has yet to start a game and only made brief appearances in two matchups, going 3-of-8 for 38 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions with one sack.
Moving on from a player with that level of contract is certainly not an easy decision. Not only do the Falcons have the remainder of the season and their postseason aspirations to think about, but their plans going forward must be considered as Cousins is taking up a lot of money moving forward. If the Falcons cut Cousins ahead of the start of the league year, they would have $65 million in dead money. If they trade him, the $27.5 million base salary guarantee would go to the team acquiring him and the Falcons would be responsible for the $37.5 million of proration, per ESPN.
