Millions of people were shocked when the Atlanta Falcons announced that they had chosen former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in this month’s NFL Draft. The fact that Penix was selected with one of this year’s top-10 picks didn’t substantially affect the responses. Less than two months had passed since the Falcons signed free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a multi-year, $180 million contract, which was largely responsible for the shockwaves. Many believed Penix wouldn’t need to spend a lot of time on the bench before having a chance to play in the NFL because of his age (he just turned 24 on May 8). However, the Falcons’ rookie quarterback may have to sit on the sidelines for at least two seasons before he gets a real chance to start because Atlanta locked themselves into a deal for Cousins that will be hard to get out of in 2025 without the team taking on a sizable amount of dead-cap space. It should come as no surprise that many have seized the chance to make light of Atlanta ever since they chose to select Penix in the first round after acquiring Cousins. Adam Schefter of ESPN recently got in on the fun, making a joke about X at the Falcons’ expense after the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks won the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery and ended up with the first selection in their league’s draft later this year. All in all, it was quite low-hanging fruit, and Schefter was clearly having fun with it. It’s possible that some Atlanta sports fans giggled a little after reading the NFL insider’s post on X. Regarding the Falcons’ real on-field plans for the upcoming season, they appear to be fully committed to starting Cousins at quarterback. With the addition of him, Atlanta is hoping to maximize the production of some of their most exciting young offensive weapons, including running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, and tight end Michael Pitts. Throughout his tenure as an NFL starting signal-caller, Cousins has consistently been able to post respectable individual stats. Still, his individual numbers have seldom resulted in postseason success for his club. Will Cousins’ experience in Atlanta be different, or may Penix get a chance to play sooner than many people currently think?
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