Could Kirk Cousins' absences help Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. grow as leader?

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was reportedly not spotted at the Atlanta Falcons' opening day of organized team activities on Tuesday after he lost his starting job to 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. this past December.

Later in the day, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris discussed how Penix has grown after he spent the majority of his rookie season as Cousins' backup. 

"He's finding his voice," Morris said about Penix, as shared by Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated. "When you take over that quarterback spot, there's a certain amount of humility about playing the position, and it becomes a certain confidence about playing the position, eventually turns into a little bit of almost an arrogance about playing the position, where it becomes a non-negotiable. And we're not there yet. I don't think we will be for a little bit. But I think he's at the mode of where he's starting to get the confidence to be able to figure out how to get to that moment."

It's hardly a secret that Cousins wants to receive an opportunity to start for a different club, but Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has repeatedly insisted he won't release the 36-year-old. Fontenot reportedly wants a team to pay "a significant portion of" Cousins' salary, but other franchises went in different directions regarding their quarterback rooms over the past two months.  

The Pittsburgh Steelers could use an upgrade at the position, but are expected to sign free-agent Aaron Rodgers at some point before training-camp practices get underway in July. 

Falcons insider Josh Kendall of The Athletic previously suggested that Atlanta should want to get "Cousins out of the building one way or another" before the season gets underway to prevent potential locker-room issues from arising. 

While Armando Salguero of OutKick mentioned on Tuesday that Cousins has been a "good soldier" serving as a mentor for Penix, the second-year pro revealed on Tuesday that he recently spoke with Falcons icon and one-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Matt Ryan about establishing himself as an NFL QB1. 

"I spoke to Matt Ryan and had a good conversation with him (about) learning how to be a pro each and every day and how his process went," Penix explained, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "I feel like he definitely gave me some good things. Obviously, he knows this is my second year coming into it (and) this is my first year starting. He talked to me about his times during that time and how he got to where he ended up."

Penix replaced Cousins in the lineup after Week 15 of this past season and, thus, has just three starts on his career resume. Nevertheless, one would think there's only so much more Penix could learn from an unhappy Cousins over the next handful of months. 

Perhaps Cousins staying away from the Falcons through the end of the voluntary portion of the offseason program would prove to be a positive for Penix and for an Atlanta team that needs its young starting quarterback to emerge as its offensive CEO by September.