The Falcons are now giving some insight into their surprise decision in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Atlanta already signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract this offseason, but added Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick on Thursday night.
Although Cousins was reportedly blindsided by the decision, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot gave some reasons as to what factored into the choice to bring in the highly touted left-handed quarterback. .
Essentially, the plan was to draft what Atlanta considered the best player at the time, according to Falcons executives.
However, he reiterated that Cousins will continue to be the starter this season.
“If you can add a player of this caliber, with the intangibles and the tools, he’s a winner. I’m very, very excited. I can’t pass up that opportunity,” Fontenot said in a press conference. he told reporters. “Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We’re excited about Kirk and we’re excited about our team. Michael Penix is talking about the future. The draft is… It’s about looking to the future and looking at the big picture.
“But we’re very excited about that quarterback room. Again, Kirk is our quarterback, but we’re thinking about the future with the addition of Michael Penix.”
Fontenot said the team expects to win a lot of games with Cousins, who left the Vikings to join the AFC South team, and the team knows the draft pick won’t “please everyone.” He added that there is.
The Falcons feel it would be a no-brainer to add a key playmaker like Penix, and even if he has to sit out for a few seasons, it would be a good idea for the team to add a quarterback of his caliber. I thought it wouldn’t be a hindrance.
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“If you believe in your quarterback, you have to take him,” Fontenot told reporters. “And if he sits out four or five years, that’s going to be a big problem, because we’re doing very well at that position. So if a guy that I believe in is in that position It’s as simple as if you find him, you have to take him.”
According to multiple reports, Cousins was given little notice of the assignment, with The Athletic’s Deanna Russini reporting that the veteran was “a little surprised.”
The Michigan State product, who spent the past six years in Minnesota, has $100 million guaranteed in his contract with the Falcons.
Raheem Morris, the team’s new head coach after Arthur Smith was fired, said he doesn’t want to delve into his interactions with Cousins.
“It’s never the right time to talk to a quarterback about something like that,” Morris said Thursday night.
Atlanta now has a four-time Pro Bowler in addition to the 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up.
