Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins will likely be helping rookie Michael Penix Jr. as much as possible. Cousins recently spoke to reporters and was asked about his responsibility to guide Penix who was selected by the Falcons at No. 8 overall in the draft last month.
“I think it’s so important the quarterback room is just working together to help one another succeed and that’s the way it’s always been, that’s the way it always needs to be no matter what the names are in the room,” Cousins said. “We need to all be working together to help one another be the best we can be.”
Despite Penix being taken at No. 8, Cousins will be the starter this season and next season at least. But that doesn’t mean there will be competition between the two during training camp.
“I think competition is always a part of how this league works, how football works,” Cousins explained. He went on to talk about his time at Michigan State and competing against Nick Foles who went on to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl title.
“We looked at each other like hey one guy’s probably going to play here and one guy isn’t,” Cousins said. “Doesn’t mean they’re not great quarterbacks. You learn pretty quickly as a freshman in college you got to compete. That’s the way it’s kind of always been and always will be.”
Kirk Cousins is not about the ‘hypotheticals’
One of the reasons Cousins left the Minnesota Vikings for the Falcons is that he wanted to join a team where he could finish his career. It was reported that Cousins was surprised to learn the Falcons drafted Penix, which led to one reporter asking him if he would have signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the team had he known they were going to draft a quarterback in the first round.
“I don’t really deal in hypotheticals,” he said. “We could go down that path for a long time in a lot of ways. It just doesn’t do us any good. I’m excited for this opportunity that I have. I think it’s a real privilege to be a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and I’m trying to make good on the opportunity that they’ve given me with the way I work each day and the way we play this fall.”
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