Will the Falcons offer more than a healthy helping of Kirk Cousins every Sunday supper in 2024? Or, will Atlanta complement that menu with appetizers and desserts cooked up by Michael Penix?
It’s an intriguing question posed by Charles Robinson on Thursday’s Yahoo! Sports Inside Coverage podcast. Robinson visited Falcons camp prior to their first preseason game and came away believing the team planned to give Penix a decent amount of preseason reps and enter the season counting exclusively on Cousins. Instead, as head coach Raheem Morris confirmed Tuesday, Penix will finish his rookie preseason having played just 24 snaps in one game.
Robinson explained why he thought that raised a curious flag.
“You only protect the things you intend to meaningfully use in a regular season,” Robinson said. “There’s a reason why guys will play all three preseason games, because they’re on the bubble or you don’t expect contributions. I don’t know that the Falcons aren’t looking at Michael Penix and going, ‘Maybe at some point this season, he could contribute in some way, shape or form. Maybe that doesn’t mean benching Kirk Cousins, but certainly I would expect if they get far out ahead in games, or way far behind in fourth quarters, maybe Penix sees the field a little bit more than I thought.”
Co-host Frank Schwab wasn’t surprised, pointing out that the Rams under Sean McVay, for whom Morris worked the last three seasons, typically have adopted a similar preseason approach. And, looking at the bigger picture, it’s just part of a peculiar series of Falcons moves since the spring.
“I just think it’s an odd situation,” said co-host Frank Schwab. “It’s been an odd situation since they drafted him and they’re going to treat it oddly.”
Cousins, who signed a four-year free-agent contract in March, appears fully recovered from an Achilles’ injury that ended his 2023 season. Six weeks after they signed Cousins, the Falcons selected Penix No. 8 overall in the first round of the 2024 draft.