Atlanta Falcons

Taking over as the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback isn't the only life milestone Michael Penix Jr. is hitting this season.

Penix proposed to his fiancée Olivia Carter on Christmas Eve, the couple announced on social media.

"I will love you forever. I can't wait to do life with you," Penix wrote in the caption of his Instagram post.

The news comes days after Penix made his first career start following the Falcons' decision to bench veteran QB1 Kirk Cousins.

Penix went 18-of-27 for 202 yards with one interception on Sunday to help lead the Falcons to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants.

The rookie signal-caller is now preparing to make his second career start on Sunday night against Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.

The Falcons could clinch the NFC South with a win if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lose to the Carolina Panthers. On the other hand, a defeat by the Commanders would put the Falcons' playoff hopes at risk.

Penix will look to earn a second win in the most important game of his NFL career so far when the Falcons and Commanders kick off on Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET.

While many believe veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is on the verge of being released by the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, some are wondering if the team would consider trading him instead.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported that the Falcons "have not yet decided what they'll do with Cousins in 2025," but if they want to trade him, "executives around the league believe they would have to consume a chunk of his contract to get anything of substance."

"He would have a market. However, the contract is what will hold it back," an executive told Howe. "The compensation would depend on how much Atlanta would eat or if he would rework the contract."

Cousins has a no-trade clause and is guaranteed to make $27.5 million next season. If he's still on the Atlanta roster by March 17, it would activate his $10 million guarantee for the 2026 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that the Falcons are likely to release him before that date.

Atlanta would be better off if it could acquire assets for Cousins rather than losing him for nothing, but there isn't much motivation for teams to give up anything for him. The offset language in his contract means that the Falcons would have to pay the balance of his 2025 guaranteed money if the 36-year-old is released, so other teams could sign him for the veteran's minimum.

Still, all signs point to Cousins' time in Atlanta coming to an end after just one year. The Falcons will have paid him $90 million for 14 games in which he threw a career-high 16 interceptions.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins immediately warmed to his new role after head coach Raheem Morris named rookie Michael Penix Jr. as the team's starter.

Morris told The MMQB's Albert Breer that Cousins reached out to say he was focused on "being the best backup in the National Football League."

"For those guys to be able to go out there and work together, even through [Cousins's] tough time this week, I thought it was outstanding," Morris said. "All the way up until right before the game praying together."

The Athletic's Josh Kendall captured that brief moment, which ended with Cousins patting Penix on the back as they ran out of the tunnel:

Penix proceeded to go 18-of-27 for 202 yards and one interception in Atlanta's 34-7 win over the New York Giants. While it wasn't a perfect performance, the first-year signal-caller did little to justify going back to Cousins.

That leaves the four-time Pro Bowler in an unenviable position. He's left to finish out the year as the backup, and ESPN's Adam Schefter already reported the Falcons are expected to cut him before March 17, the day he collects a $10 million roster bonus.

But Cousins also probably knows these next few weeks are his time to audition for teams in need of a quarterback this offseason. The Cleveland Browns have quickly emerged as one logical landing spot with Deshaun Watson recovering from an Achilles rupture and no longer looking like a franchise quarterback.

General managers and head coaches around the league are likely to look favorably upon the way Cousins has handled his demotion.

Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his first NFL start for the Atlanta Falcons in their 34-7 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, replacing 36-year-old Kirk Cousins.

After the win, Penix received the highest of praise from head coach Raheem Morris.

"He went out and played almost flawless football and kept the game really clean and kept everything clean for us in order for us to get a win," Morris said, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

The 8-7 Falcons sit in second place in the NFC South, narrowly behind the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hold an 8-6 record. As the Falcons continue to battle for a playoff spot, the pressure was high for former Washington quarterback Penix Jr. to step in and lead his team to victory.

He completed 18-of-27 passes for 202 yards and one interception, which was not his fault after tight end Kyle Pitts bobbled the ball near the end zone, leading to an interception by Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott. Atlanta was able convert for 22 first downs, 10 coming of off passes from Penix Jr.

The change at the quarterback position came after Cousins recorded nine interceptions over his last five games with just one touchdown pass, leading the Falcons to a 1-4 record during that stretch, including a four-game losing streak that significantly damaged their playoff chances.

Cousins also leads the league in interceptions with 16 total, and his 12 fumbles are tied for the most in the NFL with Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield. The struggles prompted Morris to announce the quarterback change last Tuesday following the Falcons' 15-9 Monday Night Football loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Despite the respect Penix Jr. has for his veteran quarterback, he knows that he belongs on the field and was eager to seize his opportunity.

"I know that I'm here for a reason," Penix said, per Raimondi. "I worked extremely hard to get to this position and I just had to go out there and execute and we executed to get a win today."

The Michael Penix Jr. era has arrived in Atlanta.

The Falcons rookie quarterback made his first start on Sunday, leading Atlanta to a dominant 34-7 win over the New York Giants after Kirk Cousins' benching earlier this week.

The No. 8 overall pick had a decent outing in his first start, throwing for 202 passing yards on 18-of-27 passing. He had one interception, but it was hardly his fault as he found Kyle Pitts for what would have been a first down, but Pitts bobbled the ball and gave it away to the Giants' defense.

The Falcons didn't need Penix to shine in his first start as the defense stepped up in a big way, accounting for two touchdowns on the day. Jessie Bates III had a 55-yard pick-six and Matthew Judon had a 27-yard touchdown off of an interception. Running back Bijan Robinson also had two touchdowns on the ground.

After the win, fans were excited by Penix's promising first start.

NFL fans were surprised when Atlanta decided to draft Penix so early after giving Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract this offseason, but that decision could end up paying off if he continues to develop well over the next few years.

The Falcons have a decision to make about whether or not to cut Cousins, but for now, fans have something to look forward to with Penix under center.

The Atlanta Falcons are committed to Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Penix is going to remain atop the depth chart barring an injury.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced on Tuesday that Penix was replacing Kirk Cousins as the starter "going forward."

Even though that seemed to signal Penix was locked in to the starting job for the rest of the season, Morris did leave some wiggle room during his Wednesday press conference.

"I don't think anything is ever permanent in the National Football League, but right now Michael Penix is our quarterback," Morris said. "We're gonna back him and give him the utmost support that he needs."

While it's not uncommon for coaches to avoid speaking in absolute terms because things can flip in a hurry in the NFL, it wouldn't make sense for the Falcons to make this change to a rookie without being fully committed to him.

It would be especially odd if they had such a short leash on him with just three games remaining in the regular season. Another wrinkle in the situation is ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that Cousins is expected to be released before his $10 million roster bonus kicks in on March 17.

The roster bonus is for the 2026 season, but kicks in on the fifth day of the 2025 league year and is also injury guaranteed, so if Cousins were to suffer a major injury before the end of this season, he would be owed that money no matter what.

The Falcons could still make the playoffs since they are only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South and hold the tiebreaker by winning both head-to-head meetings, but the top priority right now has to be seeing what Penix can do as they think about 2025.

Penix, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft, will make his first career start on Sunday against the New York Giants. He is 3-of-5 for 38 yards in two games playing mop-up duty in the fourth quarter this season.

After being benched earlier this week, Kirk Cousins' stint with the Atlanta Falcons will barely last 12 months.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cousins and the Falcons moving in different directions is "inevitable" with a release expected to be finalized before he is owed a $10 million roster bonus on March 17.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced on Tuesday that rookie Michael Penix Jr. would be the starter "moving forward."

Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons on March 13, the first day of the 2024 league year. The deal included $100 million in guaranteed money.

Atlanta's hope was that Cousins would provide stability at the quarterback position after the previous two years with Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder didn't produce positive results.

It was certainly a risky bet because Cousins was coming off a torn Achilles suffered in Week 8 of the 2023 season. He looked limited at the start of this season before a really good five-game stretch in the middle of the year.

Cousins threw for 1,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and completed 72.2 percent of his attempts from Weeks 5-9. His five games since then have been awful with 1,180 yards, one touchdown, nine interceptions and a 62.7 completion percentage.

The Falcons went from seeming like a virtual playoff lock with a 6-3 record and a three-game lead in the NFC South plus the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They proceeded to lose four straight games before an ugly 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.

There's still a chance the Falcons win the division, but they will need the Bucs to lose at least one of their final three games for that to happen.

Releasing Cousins will cost the Falcons $65 million in dead money, though they can spread that across two seasons by designating him as a post-June 1 cut to ease the burden.

It will be interesting to see what happens next for Cousins. He did show enough over a multi-week stretch this season to suggest he's still capable of being a good starting option, but the way things fell off a cliff with no obvious warning sign complicates matters.

Cousins, who will turn 37 on Aug. 19, might have to accept a backup job or at least go into a situation where he has to compete to be a starter in 2025.

There's no hard feelings between Atlanta Falcons veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and rookie signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. after the team benched the former player for the latter on Tuesday.

In fact, Penix told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that he looks up to Cousins, who he says can "do no wrong," per ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in March before adding Penix with the No. 8 overall draft pick one month later. So it's been an interesting situation to say the least, but it's clear the two get along well. In addition, Penix noted what he's learned from Cousins during their time in Atlanta.

Cousins spoke with reporters earlier in the day, noting his chat with Penix after the switch (h/t Reggie Chatman of 11Alive News).

Cousins also said Penix was "great" and that he's "ready to get to work and play well." When asked about how he'll support Penix, the 13-year veteran said the change-up doesn't alter the quarterback room's preparations so much because they're always working together throughout the week anyway.

This is a monumental moment for Penix, who takes over a 7-7 Falcons team sitting one game behind the 8-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first in the NFC South with three matchups to go.

Penix was asked about the moment he found out he'd be the starter (h/t Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Penix added that he was getting a hot dog, but the hunger pangs went away when he heard he'd be QB1, per Mary Alex Anders of Fox 5 Sports.

Penix and the Falcons will kick off against the New York Giants at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins opened up publicly about his benching for the first time on Wednesday.

"It's pro football," he told reporters. "There's a standard I have for myself and the team has for me, and unfortunately I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough."

He also said his decision-making was the problem and not any physical limitations from his Achilles injury he suffered last season while on the Minnesota Vikings. What's more, the veteran said he reached out to Michael Penix Jr. and offered his support as the rookie prepares to take over the starting role for the stretch run.

With the Falcons still in the middle of the NFC playoff race heading into the final three games of the regular season, head coach Raheem Morris released a statement Tuesday announcing the quarterback change.

"After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward," Morris said. "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."

Atlanta's quarterback situation has been under the spotlight since the offseason when it made the decision to both sign Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract despite the significant injury he suffered last season at 35 years old and draft Penix with the No. 8 overall pick.

While Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowler, it felt like just a matter of time before Penix would eventually take over.

After all, teams don't use the No. 8 overall pick on signal-callers just for them to sit behind a veteran over the course of an entire four-year deal, even if that contract is for $180 million. Still, it seemed like Cousins would remain the quarterback through at least the first year of that deal when the team got off to a 6-3 start.

However, things have changed of late.

Atlanta snapped a four-game losing streak with an ugly 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday. Cousins threw for just 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception, continuing a poor stretch of play that has seen him throw one touchdown to nine interceptions in the last five games.

One of those contests was a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in which he threw four interceptions.

The recent struggles mean the benching comes as anything but a surprise, especially with the Falcons still just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. They also have the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series against Tampa Bay, so there is still a golden opportunity to make a move.

It will be up to Penix to make it.