NFL: Falcons Quarterback Kirk Cousins Felt “Misled” After Michael Penix Jr. Was Drafted

While speaking publicly for the first time about his decision to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency last off-season, quarterback Kirk Cousins said that he felt “a little bit misled” by the team after they selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“My expectation before getting hurt was that we’re gonna play in such a way that I’ll be back with the Vikings for a long time. But once I tore my Achilles, all that was up in the air.” Cousins said on the season two premiere of the Netflix documentary series Quarterback. “I had a tough decision last March whether to stay in Minnesota or go elsewhere.”

Despite tearing his Achilles, Cousins was able to make a full recovery while also being allowed to test the free agent market. Cousins expressed how he wanted to remain in Minnesota, but the Vikings didn’t offer him the type of deal he was looking for.

“I didn’t want to leave Minnesota,” he explained. “There was nothing about anywhere that made me want to leave Minnesota. We wanted to be in Minnesota. But it became clear that we were going to be there year-to-year. That’s what we didn’t want. At that point, we said, ‘We need to look elsewhere. If that’s our only option, then we’ll be back.'”

Kirk Cousins’ full quote on how we felt “misled” by the #Falcons and his mindset as to why he left the #Vikings:pic.twitter.com/D4QWzkiaqu

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In the end, Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons in March of 2024. While the initial expectation was that Cousins would be Atlanta’s long-term quarterback, everything changed when the Dirty Birds drafted Michael Penix Jr.

“Ended up signing with Atlanta and was pretty excited about the chance to get down there and start fresh. And then, you know, was pretty surprised when the NFL Draft happened,” he said. “[I] wasn’t expecting us to take a quarterback so high. At the time, it felt like I had been a little bit misled.”

Cousins admitted that he would have made a different decision regarding his NFL future had he known that the Falcons intended to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Certainly, if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would’ve affected my decision,” he said. “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. It’s all about being able to earn your spot and prove yourself.”

Kirk Cousins struggled last season with the Falcons. In 14 starts, he threw a league-high 16 interceptions compared to just 18 passing touchdowns. That eventually led to Cousins being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., who finished the regular season as the team’s starter.

Joe Burrow. Kirk Cousins. Jared Goff.

Quarterback Season 2 is NOW PLAYING. pic.twitter.com/qWLvwj2hht

— Netflix (@netflix) July 8, 2025

“My Achilles felt fine. I think what was challenging for me was football didn’t feel normal,” he said. “You’re with a new team. You’re with a new system in a new home stadium. There was just so much that was different… You also know that if you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back… So that was something I always was aware of, that in this league, if you give someone else the chance, if you want to get ‘Wally Pipped’ and there’s Lou Gehrig behind you, that can happen at the time.”

Cousins lost the starting job and was never able to get it back during the 2024-25 season. As things currently stand, he is scheduled to be Penix’s backup. While that may be disappointing, Cousins has done his best to handle the situation with grace.