Falcons owner Arthur Blank clears up Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix saga

We all knew that the Atlanta Falcons would address the quarterback position this offseason. What we didn't know was how aggressively and heavily they would address it.

Typically, teams subscribe to John Madden's "If you got two quarterbacks, you have none" theory, but not the Dirty Birds. After signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million deal, they used their top ten pick on Michael Penix Jr. intending to make him the post-Cousins franchise QB.

We were all left in the dark somewhat on how things went down. Did the organization warn Cousins before the draft? Was the team always planning on taking Penix at pick eight? Well, we finally have some clarity thanks to owner Arthur Blank.

Arthur Blank clears up the Falcons quarterback decisions this offseason

Arthur Blank ultimately holds the keys to everything within the Atlanta Falcons franchise. He has the power to do just about anything with the team. Fortunately, he errs on the side of allowing his employees to do their jobs.

Proof of that came in the 2024 NFL Draft when Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot decided to double-dip at the QB position with Blank sitting right next to them.

At no point did the Michael Penix selection seem like an Arthur Blank move, and his recent comments certainly hint at that.

Here is a great summary of what the owner said in his first comments about the 2024 NFL Draft:

Three things are clear from his comments: first, while Kirk Cousins might not have expected his team to take a QB in the first round, he did expect one somewhere in the draft (he has seconded that), two, Michael Penix Jr. wasn't necessarily the target to start draft night, and three, he is not happy about how the post-Matt Ryan era was handled.

Point three is the most interesting one. While general manager Terry Fontenot is still employed, it is clear he is not happy with how things were handled in 2022 and 2023. Reading between the lines, I think there is a little animosity toward Arthur Smith who seemingly had more roster control than we thought.

The good news is that the franchise has learned from its mistakes. No one wants a repeat of the last two years and Michael Penix will hopefully keep that from happening.