Kirk Cousins Breaks Silence on Injuries and Role with Atlanta Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- To move forward, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is relying on his past.

When Cousins was a rookie in 2012 with the now-Washington Commanders, coach Mike Shanahan offered life advice: Tough times don't last. Tough people do.

Five months removed from a season that flipped his career on its head, Cousins is stepping back into the ring for his latest bout with adversity -- and he's doing it with Shanahan's voice in the back of his head.

"It's not just physically tough. It's mentally tough, emotionally tough," Cousins told reporters Tuesday. "You've got to be resilient. Life's going to have some curveballs, and (you) just have to keep moving. I think the key is you don't pout or stop. Just keep looking forward."

After not attending either of the two OTA sessions open to the media, Cousins participated in the Falcons' mandatory minicamp Tuesday, throwing passes into nets and hitting uncovered receivers.

It was the first time he threw -- and spoke -- to reporters since the end of the 2024 season. Over the five months in between, he publicly said he was more injured than believed during the tumultuous five-game stretch that led to his benching; he expressed a desire to Atlanta's front office to play somewhere he can start; and he was the subject of never-ending offseason trade speculation.

Cousins acknowledged he had conversations with the team during the spring, but the timeline has shifted, and he's focused on moving forward.

So, Cousins's ideal scenario? Not only being, but winning, in Atlanta.

"I think right now, it's about the situation I'm in and being the best I can," Cousins said. "And hopefully in February, we as an organization are holding up the Lombardi trophy. How we do that is more important as a team -- do that some way, somehow."

For Cousins, that means being the Falcons' backup quarterback to Michael Penix Jr., a job he worked for the final three weeks last season. Cousins hasn't been a full-time backup since 2014, but with no seats open outside of Atlanta, he doesn't have much of a choice.

"Obviously, you would love to play, but I’m not going to dwell on things that aren’t reality," Cousins said. "That’s not the situation I'm in. So, it’s better spent to be focused on the situation I’m in and control what you can control. I think that’s the right mindset to have."

Apart from his future-based chats with Falcons management, Cousins spent his spring reflecting and rehabbing -- two intertwined activities used to explain his staggering decline in the second half last year.

Through his examination, Cousins reached the conclusion he wasn't fully healthy last season. In October 2023, he tore his Achilles, and he spent much of the summer of 2024 focused on building strength. Subsequently, Cousins said strength wasn't an issue -- but mobility was. His ankle felt tight.

Now a year further in his Achilles recovery, Cousins has found -- and opened -- more doors in his rehabilitation than he initially believed.

"I think when the season ended last year, as I started working on my body and having the time to do that, felt like I thought I was much better than I was," Cousins said. "And I think you learned that as you make improvements. You feel like, 'Oh, I thought I was already back, and I'm still making a lot of improvements here.'

"So, from one to 10, I thought I was at an eight, and I was really back at a three or four. Now, I'm getting back to that six, seven and eight."

Cousins's issues compounded in 2024. He took a hit in a Week 10 loss to the New Orleans Saints that injured his shoulder and elbow, and he landed on the injury report the following week. Cousins said it was clerical, and he didn't receive a game designation in Week 11, but he said in the offseason he battled it the rest of the way.

But over his final five starts -- beginning with the loss in New Orleans -- Cousins completed only 62.7% of his attempts for 236 yards per game while tossing one touchdown and nine interceptions.

At the time, both Cousins and the Falcons struggled explaining the semantics behind his on-field woes. Now, Cousins believes the injury was a factor, but he acknowledged it's far from the only reason.

"I don't think it's a simple cut and dry answer," Cousins said about the injury affecting his play. "I think when you look at the way the season was going and then that hit, and kind of where things went after that, it feels like it was an inflection point.

"But I can't sit here -- if we were to watch the tape together, I can't sit here and blame every mistake I made on that. So, it's somewhere in the middle."

Cousins said there have been several points in his football career, be it high school, college or professionally, where he didn't feel fully healthy but decided to play. There have been times, he said, where he's played well and been happy he stuck it out.

The 36-year-old Cousins thought his most recent case would be a similar example. He had sprained his elbow, shoulder and ankle before, and he felt similar pain last year. But he realized this spring there was more to his 2024 injuries than he thought in the moment -- perhaps because they all contributed in different ways.

"I think the combination of the three, maybe, was the part I didn't quite understand," Cousins said. "How it all works together into one. Again, a lot of learning took place, and now we move forward with what we learned and hopefully that makes you a better player."

The Falcons' doctors have given him the resources necessary to improve, Cousins said, and he's ready to not only be a veteran voice for Penix this fall, but insurance for Atlanta if needed.

"Depth is important at every position," Cousins said. "Certainly, I’ll being doing all I can to stay ready. I think the organization would like to not need me, but I’ll do the best I can to stay ready."

It's an entirely different world for Cousins, who one summer ago was focused on building relationships and improving rapport with his receivers and is now relegated to being the NFL's most expensive backup.

Jarring as it may be, it remains the reality -- the injury-ravaged, money-draining reality. And with as different as Cousins's life is now, 12 months removed from an optimism-filled OTAs, it's fair to wonder where he'll be one year forward.

His mind, however, isn't there yet. And when it gets there, he hopes it's with a trophy in hand.

"I think there's a lot of things you learn, and unfortunately, can't go back, and we gotta look forward and move forward. And I think that's what perspective we got to have now is moving forward and it's about how we as a team and as a quarterback room can be the best we can be in 2025."