Kirk Cousins made the decision to join his teammates at the Atlanta Falcons’ mandatory minicamp this week. In doing so, the veteran quarterback will avoid up to $100,000 in fines.
Cousins, who lost his starting job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. during the final three games of last season, has made it clear he still sees himself as a starter. Earlier this year, he reportedly met with Falcons owner Arthur Blank to express that desire. However, Atlanta has yet to release or trade him.
That said, it would be easy to assume there might be some tension between the team’s leadership and even Penix. But Falcons head coach Raheem Morris doesn’t see it that way.
“It’s been really boring for me,” Morris said, per Daniel Flick. “It’s been really less dramatic of a situation than I know it has been outside the building,” he added Tuesday, according to Terrin Waack.
Morris credited Cousins’ professionalism and character as reasons for the calm.
“I’m really comfortable with him because of who he is and his character,” Morris said.
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While Cousins’ minicamp appearance is a positive sign for team cohesion, some may still see it as a potential disruption to Penix’s growth as the team’s future starter. Morris dismissed that concern.
“Kirk is not in the business of disrupting Michael Penix,” Morris said, via Tori McElhaney. “Kirk has a great appreciation for the player Michael is. He has a great appreciation for the person that he is. I don’t have worries about those things. That only happens when you have a lack of communication, when there’s a void in the communication, and we just don’t have those things.”
Cousins’ situation took a turn last week when Aaron Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were reportedly considering Cousins as a fallback if Rodgers had chosen to retire. With that door now closed, Cousins’ best shot at a new team might depend on a starting quarterback elsewhere suffering an injury — and even then, he’d need to waive his no-trade clause.
For now, it looks like Cousins is preparing to become the highest-paid backup quarterback in NFL history.