4 Questions the Atlanta Falcons created by drafting Michael Penix Jr.

2. Taylor Heinicke was kept because?

This is much less extreme than the Kirk Cousins move but the reasoning is the same here. Cutting Heinicke at the start of the offseason would have saved the team around $7 million. That is more than enough to go out and add a veteran player that will have an impact on the season.

Atlanta opted to re-work the deal and keep the veteran as the backup behind Kirk Cousins. Without the context of taking Michael Penix Jr. 8th overall this move can easily be justified. Now, however, it appears far more questionable with concerns obviously spending so much at the quarterback position when you only plan to use Cousins.

Was this the plan all along? It is hard to explain either way you look at it. Keeping Heinicke made a level of sense when the thought was bringing in a project quarterback behind two veterans. Perhaps this is how Atlanta views Penix.

If that is the case, spending your 8th overall pick on a position that has two players ahead of him is a choice. Heinicke should have been cut and that money utilized for positions that would have an impact if this was Atlanta's plan.