There were many comparisons from the Atlanta Falcons that this was a situation similar to the Green Bay Packers. Drafting Jordan Love while they still had Aaron Rodgers under contract and were believed to be an NFC contender. Rodgers would follow this up by winning back-to-back MVPs and finding a new landing spot a year later in New York.
A comparison that no longer fits the Falcons considering how things have ended with Cousins. The quarterback will head to the bench with three years left on his deal. The next two cannot be escaped without paying an incredible dead cap hit. The comparison that should be made for Atlanta is no longer Green Bay but Denver.
Kirk Cousins is headed to the bench after signing $180-million dollar four-year deal this past offseason
The Broncos were in a similar spot desperate for a quarterback and overspent for Russell Wilson. Trading a wealth of picks and players to the Seahawks in exchange for the veteran quarterback. It took one season for the Broncos to regret the deal and search for a way out. In stepped Sean Payton and Bo Nix to fix the problem and breathe life back into the offense.
Even as Russell Wilson leads a playoff Steelers team the Broncos are the team paying the bulk of his salary. This is the situation the Falcons could find themselves in a year or two down the road after switching to Michael Penix Jr.
If the rookie quarterback is anything close to capable there isn't going back to Kirk Cousins. The contract doesn't matter based on what we've seen from the quarterback down the stretch of the season. The Falcons paid Cousins an insane amount of money for a 14-game season where the veteran would cost his team three key games.
With that said, it is easy to feel for Cousins who has consistently been underrated in the league. The veteran wanted the fit to work but things simply have fallen apart and the Falcons are left with no choice. If Penix is anything close to capable this is now the rookie's team. Kirk Cousins will either look for a new landing spot or become a historically paid backup quarterback.