The Atlanta Falcons spent a good chunk of time as the NFL's laughing stock, as they were roasted for drafting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft right after signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract to be the starting quarterback.
Despite the fact that Penix is 24 years old and coming off multiple knee injuries, the Falcons were seemingly willing to let him marinate on the bench while Cousins tried to help them win the NFC South. One game out of first place, Raheem Morris is already moving on to a new era of Atlanta football.
Penix has officially replaced Cousins as the starting quarterback, as his first start will come in Week 16 against the New York Giants. Many are retroactively declaring the pick a win for Terry Fontenot, as he seems to have landed the team's next franchise quarterback.
However, Penix's play will not erase the fact that Fontenot made a critical error in the 2024 offseason. If Penix struggles in the next few years, he will have made two mistakes so costly that he will likely not be employed as Falcons general manager much longer.
Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. pick still not a home run after Kirk Cousins benching
The moment the Falcons made that pick, one of two realities (minimum) would come to fruition. In option No. 1, the Penix pick was a waste, because Cousins would have played out the full length of his contract and handed the starting job over to someone who was 28 years old and in need of a new contract.
Option No. 2 is the Cousins contract becoming a waste, because the Falcons would give $180 million to a player they had no intention of keeping for the length of the contract. The Falcons will now be burdened with a huge dead cap hit because of Cousins, who hasn't looked the same since his Achilles injury. That's not ideal for building a team around a young quarterback.
On top of all of this, Penix still has to be good. The left-handed quarterback came into the league with concerns about his accuracy and ability to make plays out of the pocket. Fontenot and the front office have to be biting their nails ahead of Penix's debut against New York.
The only way Fontenot can save his job is watching Penix turn into the Falcons' next great quarterback. If he plays like Cousins did in the last few weeks, Atlanta's situation could go from bad to worse.