Falcons HC discusses possible Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr. awkwardness

First-year Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris spoke with reporters about the potentially awkward situation involving veteran Kirk Cousins and rookie Michael Penix Jr. sharing a quarterback room this spring and summer. 

"I have to manage the expectations from the fans and them wanting you to do something maybe quicker than you want to do it," Morris explained, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "But we really had a plan going into this thing and Kirk’s our quarterback and that’ll play out as it plays out. And we’ve got a guy in the building that we hope can be our potential guy moving on in the future." 

The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed less than two months before they controversially made Penix the eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Cousins publicly has taken the high road regarding the club acquiring his eventual replacement, but the 35-year-old also didn't deny on Tuesday that he may have made a different choice in free agency had he known about Atlanta's draft plans before the night of April 25. 

"Kirk is trying to win a Super Bowl," Morris said during his comments. "Kirk is in full-blown preparation mode to set the Atlanta Falcons up for the best success that they can possibly have. And I think you get no better person to sit behind than a Kirk Cousins type of guy. I just think it’s a great experience for Michael and I think he will learn a lot from watching him move and move in silence with his guys." 

On Wednesday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk became the latest member of the NFL community to mention that Cousins could essentially force a trade from the Falcons as soon as next offseason. Morris seems unbothered about such a scenario this spring. 

"These two people, I feel great about," Morris added about the quarterbacks. "You may not like the initial goal, the initial reaction of what is about to happen. But if you sit down and you go through the process, you talk to enough people, you figure out what the goals are and you get it on the line and let’s go — let’s go to work." 

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as the betting favorites at -130 odds to claim the NFC South division title for the upcoming season. One wonders how quickly Atlanta fans may start chanting Penix's name during games if Cousins looks like a shell of his former self coming off the torn Achilles he suffered this past October.