Kirk Cousins may have been just as shocked as the viewing audience Thursday night when the Falcons called Michael Penix Jr.’s name with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The move was the biggest surprise of the night after Atlanta had just signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal — $100 million of which is fully guaranteed — last month.
Making it even more bizarre were reports that Cousins wasn’t made aware ahead of time that the Falcons would be taking another quarterback in the draft.
The newly signed veteran QB was only given some notice when a call was made to him when the team was on the clock.
Both ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Cousins was “a bit stunned.” by the decision.
“There’s inherent frustration and confusion from Cousins’ camp, as they didn’t use that pick to help the team in 2024. They instead drafted his eventual replacement before he’s put on a Falcons helmet,” Thamel posted on X.
He added: “Cousins understands the business of football and is ready to move forward. But there was understandable surprise.”
A similar sentiment was reported on NFL Network’s draft coverage by Daniel Jeremiah, who said he had also reached out to Cousin’s agent following the selection.
“I just reached out to his agent, Mike McCartney, he was not given a heads up. Kirk Cousins was not given really a heads up on this whole thing,” Jeremiah said.
The decision raises plenty of questions for Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot to have to answer.
A short clip from inside the Falcons’ war room from the moments right after the pick was made showed him speaking with team owner Arthur Blank.
Penix threw for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading Washington to the national title game, but has dealt with plenty of injury issues over his college career.
Getting to play behind Cousins won’t be the worst thing in the world, but at 24 years old, Penix is on the older side for a rookie QB, which raises the question of how long can he be behind Cousins on the depth chart.
Fontenot had discussed the importance of the quarterback position earlier in the week and used Green Bay as an example when they had Aaron Rodgers and then drafted Jordan Love.
“If we see a player that we believe can be a franchise QB at any point… Then you have to bring that player in,” he told reporters.
