FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Kirk Cousins was signed to a massive four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason because he was perceived to be the missing piece at quarterback for a team that was otherwise ready for a return to the playoffs.
Cousins lost his starting job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. because Falcons first-year head coach Raheem Morris concluded the veteran’s turnovers were the biggest barrier to the team’s playoff hopes. That conclusion was difficult for the 13th-year pro to hear from his coach during an unscheduled meeting Tuesday night.
“It’s pro football, and it was a standard that I have for myself and the team has for me,” the 36-year-old Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t playing up to that standard consistently enough.”
Penix, who played three seasons at Indiana and two at Washington as he concluded his collegiate career by leading the Huskies to a national runner-up finish, is known for being unflappable.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to have to say anything for Mike to be calm,” offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said Wednesday. “I mean, he is about as cool as they come.”
Even so, Penix acknowledged he will feel different Sunday when he takes the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Falcons (7-7) will host the New York Giants (2-12). Penix has appeared in only two regular-season games and is 3-of-5 passing for 38 yards.
“I was basically thinking about just leading up to it, running out of the tunnel,” Penix said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m going to be nervous running out of the tunnel, but it’s going to be different when I get out on the field. … Flip the switch, I’m going to be ready.”
The Falcons went 1-4 the past five games, a stretch in which Cousins threw one touchdown pass with nine interceptions. And after holding the lead in the NFC South standings at 6-3, the Falcons now need help from the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) to win the division. Atlanta holds the tiebreaker advantage if it finishes tied with Tampa Bay, but a wild-card path to the playoffs is unlikely.
Cousins said he will support Penix, but he had a quick answer when asked if he believed he can still start in the NFL.
“I didn’t forget how to play quarterback,” said Cousins, who spent the past six seasons in Minnesota after six years in Washington. “Certainly turnovers were not what you want, but I didn’t forget how to play.”
Cousins, whose final season with the Vikings last fall ended after eight games due to an Achilles tendon tear, insisted his turnovers were not related to health or confidence. He said he just needs to make better decisions.
The starting job, though, belongs to Penix indefinitely.
“I don’t think anything’s ever permanent in the National Football League,” Morris said Wednesday. “But, you know, right now, Mike Penix is our quarterback and we’re going to back him and give him the utmost support he needs as we did Kirk when he was our starter.”
Penix said he was shopping with his girlfriend on Tuesday night when he received a call from Morris.
“They told me I was going to be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season,” Penix said. “… I’m super blessed to be on this team with this opportunity.”
If Cousins doesn’t start another game for Atlanta, it would be a costly 14-game stint because he signed a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
Morris said Falcons owner Arthur Blank was “extremely supportive,” but the coach acknowledged the decision to bench Cousins has financial ramifications. Morris said those factors were outweighed by the drive for the team’s first playoff appearance since 2017.
“Obviously it definitely has some financial implications for us and how you go about your process,” Morris said. “And that’s definitely one of the deals where we’re always going to make football decisions in order to win the football game. And that’s always going to be first and foremost.”
The Falcons have a short week of practice after Monday night’s 15-9 road win against the Las Vegas Raiders to snap a four-game losing streak. Cousins threw for 112 yards with his first touchdown pass in five games, although he also threw his NFL-worst 16th interception.
Morris hopes Penix, the No. 8 pick of this year’s draft, can be the difference-making player in the close division race.
“We want to play better at quarterback,” Morris said. “And we felt like we’ve got a chance to play a little bit better. And if we can go out there and play better at quarterback, who knows what can happen?”
Morris said Cousins was disappointed but was “an absolute professional” when told of the decision.
“He definitely expressed to me he’s going to be the best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League,” Morris said.
Falcons place Koo on injured reserve
The Falcons placed kicker Younghoe Koo on injured reserve Wednesday and signed kicker Riley Patterson from the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons also released kicker Tanner Brown from their practice squad.
Koo battled a right hip injury earlier in the season, but the Falcons did not say if that is why the 30-year-old was headed to IR, which means he must miss the remainder of the regular season. Morris did say Tuesday that Koo “kind of hurt himself a little bit” during Monday’s game against the Raiders.
Patterson, who was not drafted after a standout college career at Memphis, has made 59 of 67 field-goal attempts during his time in the NFL spent with a half-dozen teams: the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders and New York Jets.
The Falcons previously signed Patterson to the practice squad for their Dec. 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers when Koo’s status was not certain before pregame warmups. Patterson was inactive for the game after being called up to the active roster.
Giants going back to Lock
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — After sitting out a game with an injury to his left heel, Drew Lock is expected to return to starting at quarterback Sunday when the Giants visit the Falcons.
New York coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday that Lock has recovered and will start when the Giants try to snap a nine-game losing streak that is tied for the worst in franchise history.
Tommy DeVito started against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday but sustained a concussion late in the first half of the 35-14 loss. He remains in the protocol while dealing with the head injury, but Daboll believes DeVito could be ready to be the backup against the Falcons.
New York has been going back and forth at quarterback since benching and then releasing former starter Daniel Jones coming off the team’s open date in mid-November.
“It’s definitely different,” Lock said Wednesday after practice. “But at the same time, Tommy was upset when he got his bell rung, he didn’t get to play. I went in there, the heel thing happened, and then he goes back in. We’ve just had some unfortunate things happen, and we just keep rolling with the punches.”
DeVito started against Tampa Bay on Nov. 24 but injured his right forearm late in the 30-7 loss. Lock started and lost against the Dallas Cowboys four days later on Thanksgiving, and in a 14-11 loss to New Orleans the following game, he hurt his heel and left elbow but finished.
DeVito returned last weekend. Recently signed Tim Boyle took a kneel-down snap at the end of the first half after DeVito’s injury exit and played the second half.
Lock said he wasn’t ready to play against the Ravens, and he was designated the No. 3 quarterback for the game. The plan was to use him only in an emergency. When DeVito was hurt, that reality loomed.
“I was trying to not do too much just in case I had to go in,” Lock said. “Then Tommy goes down, I’m like, ‘OK, I might actually have to go in.’ You’ve got to start picking up and getting loose and ready to go and see if this heel is going to let me go.”
Daboll said his approach in recent weeks has been to get all his quarterbacks ready.
“The three of those guys work hard,” he said. “Try to take in the game plan, go out there and practice so they all got to be ready.”