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For NFL teams, quarterback succession plans can be one of the toughest procedures to pull off smoothly. Just ask the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta surprised people around the league at the 2024 NFL Draft when it selected former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick one month after signing veteran QB Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal. The scrutinized decision was later defended by team management as a safeguard move to avoid quarterback purgatory.
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The plan appeared to be that the 24-year-old Penix would study under Cousins before eventually taking over as QB1 down the road. But eight months later, with Cousins in year one of his contract and the team’s first playoff appearance in seven years still in reach, the Falcons already seem ready to move on. After Cousins underwhelmed on Monday night, the latest in a string of subpar performances, Atlanta announced it would bench the veteran in favor of Penix, who will make his first career start against the New York Giants this Sunday.
“You’re seeing the consequence of when carefully thought through plans go awry,” former NFL super-agent Leigh Steinberg said in a phone interview. “That must have been an excoriating decision for the coach and front office.”
The yank has suddenly destabilized the team’s quarterback situation while creating a potential costly transition for the Falcons, who are on the hook to pay Cousins $27.5 million next season guaranteed regardless of whether the 14 starts he’s made this season are it for him with the franchise. In the event the Falcons cut or trade him, his dead cap hit would still likely dent their roster-building flexibility through 2026.
“If you won’t play your franchise quarterback with heavily guaranteed money in a critical circumstance because you believe you have a better chance to win with (Penix), it’s like a hand grenade thrown in the middle of this well-thought out plan,” said Steinberg, who has…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/cousins-benching-calls-attention-qb-140000532.html
Author : Sportico
Publish date : 2024-12-21 14:00:00
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