Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Kirk Cousins Open Up About Feeling ‘Misled’ by the Falcons’ Decision To Draft Michael Penix Jr.

Kirk Cousins gets real on Michael Penix Jr. signing in Atlanta

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The NFL community and the Atlanta Falcons fan base, in particular, were shell-shocked by the franchise’s decision to use their eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft on quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Why this decision made no sense for many was because the Falcons had just signed veteran signal caller Kirk Cousins in free agency to a huge 4-year deal worth $180 million. With Cousins in Atlanta for the foreseeable future, the Falcons were expected to use their first-round pick on another position of need.

Nevertheless, Atlanta made its decision and put Penix in as the backup, allowing him time to get familiar with the NFL’s system. It also provided him an avenue to learn from one of the most consistent quarterbacks over the past decade or so. But, at the same time, there was a state of unrest in the Cousins’ camp.

Joe Burrow. Kirk Cousins. Jared Goff.

Quarterback Season 2 is NOW PLAYING. pic.twitter.com/qWLvwj2hht
— Netflix (@netflix) July 8, 2025

Cousins Unsure About His Decision To Sign With Atlanta

The aftermath of the Falcons’ selecting a quarterback so high up in the draft led to uneasiness for Cousins, who wasn’t expecting this move. On the recently released season 2 of ‘Quarterback’ docuseries on Netflix, the former Vikings signal caller shared his thoughts on how he felt ‘misled’ with the Falcons’ thought process.

“Wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback so high. At the time, it felt like I had been a little bit misled. Or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it would have affected my decision.”

Cousins also went on to add that he didn’t have any particular reason to leave the Vikings, as he and his family were happy in Minnesota.

“I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there if both teams are going to be drafting a quarterback high.”

#Falcons QB Kirk Cousins revealed on Netflix’s “Quarterback” that he felt misled by the organization when they drafted Michael Penix Jr. last year:

“Certainly, if I had that information around free agency, it would’ve affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota,… pic.twitter.com/ymKWXWFViH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 8, 2025

How Did Cousins 2024 Season Pan Out?

Despite selecting Penix in the first round, the Falcons stuck with Cousins as their starter for the season. In 14 games as the starter, the veteran signal caller went 7-7 with 3,508 passing yards, including 18 touchdowns. But it was his league-leading 16 interceptions that were a major area of concern.

Atlanta decided to bench Cousins for the final three games of the 2024 season and handed the keys of the offense to their rookie quarterback. What was unknown at the time was that Cousins had actually banged up his elbow pretty badly in a week 10 game against the Saints.

He even appeared on the injury report for week 11, but Cousins didn’t want to miss out on any games with the fear of not getting his starting role back.

“With the information I had at the time, I made the best decision. But you also know that if you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back.”

Heading into the 2025 season, Penix is officially the starting quarterback for the Falcons, and Cousins has been demoted to the backup role. But with three more years on his contract, there is nowhere to go, and unless Penix gets injured or things just go horribly wrong, it looks like Cousins will remain as a backup for the foreseeable future.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!