It doesn’t matter where you look, every single sports show today is leading off with the Falcons’ mind-boggling decision to take Michael Penix Jr. 8th overall despite just handing Kirk Cousins $180 million less than two months ago.
It’s an unprecedented development. No team has ever signed a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback in free agency and then turned around and drafted his successor with a top 10 pick before he’s ever even played a snap. Hopefully, it’s a case of the Falcons brass playing chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers, but as of right now, everyone is rightfully left scratching their heads.
Which is unfortunate for Michael Penix Jr, because he’s undoubtedly a talented prospect that could very well have a bright future in the NFL. It’s not his fault the Falcons went out and paid Kirk Cousins $180 million before drafting him.
From the Falcons perspective, they are hoping to walk a tightrope, where Cousins gives the team the best chance to win over the next couple of seasons before moving off of him and to Penix, who is the club’s future. It is going to be an extraordinarily difficult situation to maneuver, but not everybody is down on the Falcons decision, with one anonymous GM saying of Penix, “He’s gonna be a star.”
Falcons fans can all agree that having Michael Penix in the fold is exciting. Perhaps he is the answer for the next 10-15 years at the quarterback position and a future Hall-of-Famer. That’s impossible to project, but it’s at least a possibility.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that the Falcons just gave Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed. A decision that will not only hinder them from winning a Super Bowl in the immediate future but will also prevent them from maximizing Penix on a rookie contract, which is a cheat code in the NFL, allowing them to allocate those extra funds on the rest of the roster.
There’s a scenario where this works out to perfection for the Falcons, but it’s an incredibly narrow runway with a high probability of explosion.
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