With Michael Penix’s injury, Falcons turning to Kirk Cousins as starter

Enter the $40 million man.

Kirk Cousins, the starter-turned-backup quarterback, is the Falcons’ quarterback moving forward, after the team announced Monday that Michael Penix Jr. is going on injured reserve

Penix will miss at least the next four games, the team announced, as they work to determine the severity of the injury.

The Falcons (3-7) have dropped five consecutive games, including Sunday’s overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. After harboring high aspirations this season, the Falcons have struggled, not playing consistently at a high level, with the playoffs an unlikely outcome for the eighth straight season.

Cousins entered in the third quarter Sunday and finished the game, 6-of-14 for 48 yards.

There’s no script for taking over as the signal-caller, especially at a critical point in the season, but as a veteran, Cousins is ready for the challenge.

“There’s no normal,” Cousins said Sunday. “I think you just go back to work and understand the job you’ve got to do. Understand how close you are. It’s a game of inches, and we felt that (against Carolina). It takes a whole team effort to find a way to win. We’ve just got to find those inches.”

Cousins believes the locker room is fine.

“It’s been a positive atmosphere in the sense that guys are working hard,” Cousins said. “Guys love football. Guys love each other. I think that’s a credit or a reflection of the quality of the locker room and the character.”

The Falcons have dropped their past two games after the offense got a lead late and the defense couldn’t close out the game.

“There hasn’t been a dip of any kind,” Cousins said of the morale. “I think that speaks volumes about the group we have. And it’s also, I think, why there would be belief that we can get back going in the right direction, because I think it is a group with a lot of character.”

Cousins came to the Falcons before last season, signing a four-year deal worth $180 million, with a cap hit of $40 million this season and $100 million guaranteed.

The Falcons’ original plan was for Cousins to start for a couple of seasons and have Penix take over in 2027.

Cousins started off hot last season.

He beat the Eagles in the Game 2 of the season with a late fourth-quarter drive. The Eagles would regroup and go on to win the Super Bowl. He beat Tampa Bay twice and passed for franchise-record 509 yards in a win Oct. 3, 2024. But he suffered a shoulder injury in a loss to the Saints on Nov. 10 and his play deteriorated.

He wasn’t the same after that game, as the Falcons’ record went from 6-3 to 7-7 before the team turned to Penix.

After getting benched, Cousins stated that he didn’t forget how to play football. During the week of the Super Bowl, he acknowledged that he was injured in the game against the Saints.

Cousins, 37, is a four-time Pro Bowler from his days with Washington and Minnesota.

Cousins was more upset with the team’s front office than he let on in interviews with the media before the 2024 season.

He dodged the question when asked if he would have picked another team had he known the Falcons were going to select a quarterback in the top 10. At the time, he said he didn’t deal in hypotheticals.

But with the cameras from Netflix’s “Quarterback” documentary following him around, he expressed regret over his decision to sign with the Falcons. He picked the Falcons over the Vikings because his former team wanted to go year to year, while the Falcons made a four-year commitment.

“I wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback,” Cousins said in the documentary. “At the time, it felt like I’d been a little bit misled — or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are going to be drafting a quarterback high. But I’ve also learned in 12 years in this league that you’re not entitled to anything.”

Cousins was informed the team was drafting Penix with the eighth-overall pick via a call from offensive coordinator Zac Robinson when the team was on the clock.

The Vikings went on to draft former Michigan standout J.J. McCarthy with the 10th-overall pick.

Cousins admitted on the “Quarterback” show that he didn’t want to rest his arm and give Penix a chance to start. His play went downhill as the interceptions started to mount.

There were not viable trade partners for Cousins, and the Falcons declared him their backup quarterback and picked up his $10 million bonus in March.

Cousins reportedly attended a portion of the offseason program and did attend the mandatory minicamp.