Atlanta Falcons ‘self-sabotage’ relationship with Kirk Cousins | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

PFT examines how Kirk Cousins’ injury history and massive contract could factor into his future with the Falcons after their decision to draft Michael Penix Jr at No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. #NBCSports #NFL #atlantafalcons
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Atlanta Falcons ‘self-sabotage’ relationship with Kirk Cousins | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC
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you mentioned the Achilles yeah and back
when Kirk
Cousins had his introductory press
conference and he did the whole verbal
diarrhea with all the different
tampering and and there is one take on
the tampering thing that I’ll mention in
a second as it relates to this but he
talked about passing a physical and he
said he passed a physical for everything
but the Achilles and it makes me think
about the Jimmy Garoppolo angle from
last year and yeah with Garoppolo they
had to stop everything and redo the
contract and move money around because
they made no commitment to him
whatsoever until he was able to pass a
physical after they realized his foot
should have had surgery when he injured
it in December of
2022 I really want to get my eyes on the
Kirk Cousins contract because he said
something about physical and achilles
and I doubt that they have a way that
they can get out of this thing if he has
an issue but if they do man that that
introduces something else to this as
well because we’ve seen this in the past
where physicals are passed and physicals
are flunked possibly influenced by
issues other than the sound medical
advice of the person conducting the
physical but hey remember he was
standing in front of the mound last time
we saw him throwing out the first pitch
for the Braves standing in front of the
mound why we don’t want to don’t want to
get up on the mound and screw up his
Achilles like yeah we don’t know where
that thing stands no I know that was the
initial thought right that was my that
was the first tweet I put out about it
on Thursday night my first thought was
oh man you know they got to look at them
they’ve been working out a little bit
and they realize like he might not be
ready for the start of the season so
they need somebody else that was my
initial thought but they’re they’re
adamant no with that right now I mean
again we don’t know where that real the
truth really is but I I don’t know
anything along those lines at this
moment
but you make a great point if he’s got
to take days off during camp and it
gives penx an opportunity to get out
there yeah and and launch some bombs
right with or without the sound effects
that that is just they didn’t think this
through they thought it was too simple
they thought it was too clean they
thought it was too easy and they’re
learning the hard way it’s far more
complicated and Pete makes a good point
they should have learned all this did
when even even though it turned out Matt
Ryan was done based upon what we saw the
year he went to Indianapolis in
2022 the relationship with Ryan was fine
they had worked out and I remember this
vividly they had worked out a
restructure of his contract because he
had a Skyhigh cap number the re the
restructuring was leaked it was reported
but they didn’t file it because they
decided they wanted to get in on the
DeShaun Watson sweep Stakes they didn’t
come close because the Browns used the
5year fully guaranteed contract but it
poisoned the relationship with Matt Ryan
just merely exploring Deshawn Watson was
enough to prompt a divorce with Matt
Ryan now maybe they’re Next Level
Geniuses and they knew when it was time
to move on and everything worked out
fine and well has it really worked out
fine with Desmond Ritter and Taylor
hinei no so I think they got lucky that
Ryan was expiring that same year as it
relates to not his life but his football
career but they they they they already
screwed up a relationship with a
starting quarterback once and they
mentioned Ryan when they were talking
about longevity and succession they
already screwed it up once and now they
screwed it up again before it even
begins before we even know who they will
be playing week one they have screwed up
the relationship with Kirk Cousins they
put a cloud over that and they bring in
the new guy who should be excited about
his arrival in the NFL and now he’s the
guy who who what what role does he play
in this story is he the villain is he
the good guy is he the hero is he the
goat what is he and that shouldn’t be
how anybody’s career starts especially
when you’re a top quarterback and a top
10 pick no I yeah agreed it it’s it’s
odd like you said you know all he can do
is go in there and go Michael penck Jr
is going to go in and go wait I’ve dealt
with diversity before I don’t care I
believe in myself and he’s going to go
he’s going to thrive a little bit you
know I it’s a little bit like again that
Alpha mentality of like you know when
you oh oh he’s he’s limping a little bit
let me show you how quick my feet are oh
he’s just throwing this let me Smash
this one in there and show him who’s the
boss throwing this football I mean he’s
going to relish like H he’s going to
relish they’re giving him a 100 million
over two years and I’m going to beat his
ass every day in practice here and yes
so he might be the villain that’s
probably part of his attitude to a
degree but it’s going to be villain
where the team’s going to love him and
that’s going to be the problem because
they’re going to love him and they’re
going to love his talent and he throws a
spiral every throw and he’s one of the
guys right and it’s going to be hard to
not have him take over as one of the
leaders of the football team I think
it’s going to be very natural for him to
do that there in Atlanta
well cousins already had that Dad joke
on X about somebody saying to him at the
cafeteria he gives off Dad energy who
are the players going to gravitate to
exactly dad or you know the one of the
other kids that this makes it harder
this makes it harder for cousins to lead
it makes it harder for cousins to thrive
I feel bad for the guy I hard to feel
bad for somebody who won $100 million in
football Powerball but they sold him a
bill of goods they either affirmatively
lied to him or they concealed the truth
and if he would have known back to what
we said earlier if he would have known
back in March he would have stayed in
Minnesota def there’s no way there’s no
way he takes that job if he knows
crystal ball look into the future April
29 I wake up on a Monday I go in for
phase two of the offseason
program and we got Hot Shot young top 10
quarterback instead of getting somebody
who’s going to help me win and I I I
wonder
Chris which way he’s going to go is this
red hot poker for cousins or does he
say here’s my bank account information
just make sure the checks show
up I won’t see you on Tuesdays I was
thinking about working on Tuesdays nah
you can work with penx on Tuesdays work
with your your your new toy on Tuesdays
I’m going to Brent tanos on Tuesdays I
really wonder like I I hear is he going
to is he is he going to
say you know what if you’re not all in
I’m not all in if you’re not going to
use the eighth overall pick on a guy
that’s going to help this team get
better now I’m not going to turn my life
upside down I’m not going to give my
life over to trying to win a Super Bowl
when the you had a top 10 pick where you
could get an elite Blue Chip red star
player to come in here and help us win
now and you don’t do it I Chang my life
for you I come to Atlanta for you I I
rescue you from quarterback purgatory
and you don’t use the eighth overall
pick on a guy that’s going to help me
win and help you win and help us win
I’ll see you Wednesday I’ll see you
Monday for film review I’ll see you
Wednesday for practice I know and don’t
worry about my tablet you don’t need to
download the game plan I’ll look at it
when I show up for work it it’ll be
interesting or it goes the other way
where they’re like hey uh you know pennx
has been here on Tuesdays and he’s here
all day and then maybe he gets in there
I don’t know I don’t know you’re right I
mean think but think I mean you know
know I’m with you what’s the human
reaction to this yeah like gez what’s
the human reaction to this if this is
what you think of
me here’s what I think of you yeah right
if this is what you’re going to do to me
here’s what I’m going to do to you I’m
not going to be the guy who shows up
early and stays late I’m not going to be
the guy who gives up my day off I’m not
going to be the guy who stay who just
who who neglects my family for all the
football season to try to chase this
dream that you’re not helping me to
you’re you’re tying a hand behind my
back you’re not helping me you’re
hindering me not only are you not
getting a guy that will help us win you
are making my life harder by having this
eighth overall pick rookie that the fans
are holding up the signs and I got guys
in the locker room who I get a weird
vibe from them now cuz they look at look
at that bomb he threw out on the
practice field you’re introducing a
bunch of factors that that are a
detriment to I I mean I really if I I
know we’re going to get emails oh it’s
the first Monday after the draft and you
spent 45 minutes talk about
this this is the biggest Story by far
coming out of the draft everything was
feeling great with the Falcons up and
coming rise up etc etc and they to
Barrow one of your lines although I
haven’t heard you say this specifically
they have self-sabotaged themselves yeah
yeah they have to a degree now you know
I mean again they they they’re paying
him $50 million this year all we’ve seen
from him is be professional and work and
do all that we’ve all been bothered by
him not working on Tuesday right as the
as the guy who’s been the highest paid
guy in an organization right for the
last few years and he doesn’t work on
Tuesday yeah that bothers people there’s
no doubt it would bother a lot of
coaches in football if that was the case
you know I don’t know if that would have
changed this year or what this is going
to do to the that Dynamic I don’t I
don’t know you’re right about that but I
mean I know one of the first things Kirk
Cousins said and what he said over and
over was the big thing in Atlanta and
why he was there was yes it’s backed by
you know his wife’s Hometown and he’s
got family there and all of that and
everything there great but I want to win
a Super Bowl I want to win a Super Bowl
and now with this current situation
you’re kind of like um you got one year
you got one year to do it and if you
don’t win it I don’t know if you’re
going to get a second you know you got
two at the most that’s all you got two
and that just is got to be a a big time
buzz kill for cousins and the cousins
family and you know he’s got a no trade
clause but a trade after this year a
trade after next year becomes a
possibility he would wave the no trade
clause to get out of that situation and
go somewhere else and we see all the
quarterback movement now every year
because just like teams that have a bad
season they look for new coaches teams
that have a bad season look for new
quarterbacks I don’t know I don’t know
what the cap charge would be after one
year it would be fairly significant they
a $50 million signing bonus that spread
out over five years it’d be 36 million
in dead money I think to trade him next
year but you know we’ve we’ve been
talking about bigger cap hits than that
I mean as the cap goes up and up these
big cap hits don’t mean as much relative
to what they used to mean 6 million when
you still have Michael pennx with two
years left on his on his slotted rookie
deal before you can even give him a
second contract that wouldn’t be that
bad one last point I promised this
earlier I want to pay this off I’ve
gotten a bunch of emails from viewers I
haven’t written about it yet and I don’t
think I mentioned this on Friday but one
of the theories out there is the Falcons
did what they did now because they’re
going to get whacked next year for
tampering with cousins right so they
aren’t going to have a first round pick
if they decide next year’s time to
activate the succession plan I think
that they didn’t think that far ahead
just based upon the absence of any
strategic thought from what they did I
really don’t think it’s next level well
you know what we’re going to lose our
first round pick next year because we
really did we really did blatantly
tamper with cousins they’re going to
take our first round pick next year so
we better draft our quarterback this
year I don’t think that they were
thinking of that it might end up
coincidentally working way but I don’t
think they were thinking yeah no I I I I
don’t seem to get that sense I I feel
like we would have heard that a little
bit throughout the league somebody there
uh and and yeah it just it sounds like
that’s still at the early stages of even
being known what’s going to actually
happen with the whole tampering thing
there so yeah I I don’t I don’t buy
that all right well uh it will continue
to be a thing we don’t pick the stories
the stories pick us and this is one that
no one saw coming no one expected no one
planned for it and it it really does
introduce a bunch of different issues
and questions that we’ll be delving into
as we hear more about how Michael penx
is doing how Kurt Cousins is feeling how
their season gets started how cousins
looks in the pre-season how pennx looks
etc etc it’s going to be the gift that
keeps on giving or the nightmare that
never ends if you’re a Falcons fan hi
it’s Mike Florio thanks for watching PFT
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