National Football League

As Kirk Cousins rehabs, Falcons rookie Michael Penix Jr. gets preseason spotlight

Published Aug. 6, 2024 10:19 a.m. ET

The compartmentalization of the excitement surrounding Falcons quarterbacks is simple enough: Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the present, and rookie Michael Penix Jr. is, for an as-yet-undetermined time, the quarterback of the future.

Don't let the next three weeks confuse that, as Cousins sits out the preseason schedule while he continues to recover from a torn Achilles tendon suffered last season while he was in Minnesota. That means Penix will get the preseason spotlight, however much he plays, starting with Friday's game in Miami.

The delicate balance between the two, in football's most important position, is a key to Atlanta's new chemistry.

"I'm super-sensitive to all forms of succession planning," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said one week into training camp. "After 60-odd years of business, in any business, that's critical. And at the key position, the quarterback position in the NFL, that's very important."

Despite the potential Penix brings to the position, the sheer investment in Cousins — $180 million over four years, including $100 million guaranteed — means he is Atlanta's 2024 starter. And with Cousins just shy of turning 36, the goal is to keep that status as long as possible.

"Kirk Cousins is our franchise quarterback, is our starting quarterback, and he seems to be doing great from a medical standpoint," Blank said. "His attitude, his leadership, culturally, personally, with our players, with the coaching staff, has been nothing short of outstanding. So we couldn't be happier with that situation.

"But, you know, I know age does kind of creep up. I can speak to myself personally on that a little bit. I know what that means."

Blank is 81, so he might not have the same patience and long-term focus as his football executives. Cousins is the face of the franchise, working with the first team in practice and setting himself up for a healthy return in Week 1, when the Steelers come to Atlanta. If he looks anything like he did last year with the Vikings before the injury, he'll be fine: He threw more touchdowns (18) in eight games than the Falcons totaled (17) in all of 2023.

But it's important that Cousins starts strong, which has not been his history. He is 3-6 all time in Week 1 games, and his career record in September is 11-20-1, easily the worst of any month in his 12-year NFL career. After the Steelers opener, the Falcons follow with the Chiefs and Eagles, both playoff teams last year, then the Saints, who beat Atlanta 48-21 in last year's season finale, then the three-time defending NFC South champion Bucs.

The Falcons have made it clear they see a place for Penix in their future, but ideally, that's not a 2024 transition.

"We hope and pray [Cousins] has got three to four great years in front of him. Maybe beyond that, who knows?" Blank said. "But we also know that … there will be a point that we'll need a transition. We want to make sure we do that smoothly.

"We're doing our advance planning and doing our advance thinking. And so, that's what fans expect of us to do."

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The model Blank referenced for such a QB co-existence is the Packers, who had a fully entrenched starter in Aaron Rodgers but also used a first-round pick in 2020 on Jordan Love. Rodgers won an MVP that first season and Love didn't play a snap. Rodgers won MVP again the next year, and Love made only one start in his first three years. Love took over in Year 4 — that's 2027 in the Falcons' universe — and led the Packers to a playoff win. He just got a $220 million contract that matches the highest annual salary for any player in NFL history.

"We didn't necessarily use the Green Bay model, although what Green Bay did, it was very interesting," Blank said. "When they [drafted] Jordan Love … it was a lot of the same discussion. Aaron was their quarterback and obviously a Hall of Fame player. And so, they made a decision at that time to think about the future and plan for their future.

"Today, you know, you couldn't find a phone number in the zip code of Green Bay where they aren't going to click their heels and jump for joy that they have Jordan Love."

The Falcons don't need Cousins to win the MVP in the next two years to make this two-quarterback gamble a success. They need him to play well enough — and to win enough this season — to keep Penix out of the conversation. Ending the Falcons' six-year playoff drought would be a good start for Cousins. The Vikings didn't go to the playoffs his first year there in 2018, finishing 8-7-1, but the next season they went 10-6 and won a playoff game, and Cousins went to the Pro Bowl.

He didn't have anyone looking over his shoulder in Minnesota, but he will in Atlanta, so there's an urgency for him to play well from the very beginning and win over Falcons fans from the start. Penix gets the first crack in the preseason Friday, but Cousins will get the keys when it counts a month later.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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