Falcons QB Position Settled For Next Five Years -- For Some People
The Atlanta Falcons are feeling awesome now because they believe they're finally settled at quarterback, and it's going to be that way for the next five years. And that is a feeling that's been lacking with this franchise for quite some time.
"Now we feel really good at five years minimum, we are good," Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith said Tuesday. "We don't have to worry about that position."
FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - JULY 28: Kyle Smith, Vice President of player personnel of the Atlanta Falcons speaks prior to a training camp practice on July 28, 2022 at IBM Performance Field in Flowery Branch, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Kyle Smith: Falcons Enjoy QB Security
Those five years give the franchise a sense of security at quarterback. But it comes with caveats. Because that security may be felt by the team, but it's not necessarily spreading to the individuals involved.
So this is about to get interesting.
First, you should know the Falcons are feeling great as an organization because they added Kirk Cousins to be their veteran starter in 2024. He signed a four-year contract worth $180 million in March, so he's definitely getting the football next season.
Then, last week during the first round of the NFL draft, the Falcons doubled down at quarterback by selecting Michael Penix Jr. to be their presumptive backup in 2024, but a star at some point in the next five years.
The dual moves have the Falcons feeling kind of giddy compared to how they were feeling every year going back to 2021, when general manager Terry Fontenot and Smith were hired to fix the franchise.
Apr 26, 2024; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons first round draft pick quarterback Michael Penix Jr talks to the media at a press conference introducing him at the Falcons training complex. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Falcons See QB Fixed For 5 years
"When we first got here, obviously Matt Ryan, tremendous quarterback," Smith said, recounting the quarterback situation then. "And there's a lot of variables that go into when we first got here in terms of cap and cash and where you're at as a team and trying to build.
"But we were always looking aggressively for the heir apparent, the down-the-road. The solution at that position."
Smith admits what everyone saw the last few years was true: The Falcons thought they had answers at quarterback with an aging Ryan or Josh Rosen or Desmond Ridder or Taylor Heinicke.
But all they had was a bad quarterback situation.
"It's an unsettling feeling, sitting there in '21," Smith said. "I’ll never forget sitting there with Terry and being like, ‘OK, well, what’s our future? What’s our plan for the future? How are we going to solidify down the road?’
"It’s not just about this year or next year. It’s about five years, minimum. And always trying to find that option…
"…For the next five years, we feel great about the position. Minimum."
Oct 23, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. (Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USATODAY Sports)
Cousins Has Two Seasons
The problem is the quarterbacks who make the Falcons feel great about the collective situation may not feel great about their individual situations.
Now, this is where you must know that neither Cousins nor Penix Jr. have complained about being with the Falcons. The contrary is actually true.
But neither has been asked specifically about the situation that is ahead.
Cousins is getting $100 million guaranteed and that deal practically guarantees the club will not release him through the 2025 season. So he's got two seasons.
That means Cousins, who came riding in as the proverbial face of the franchise in March, must now understand what he thought was a four-year tenure is actually more like two years in which he must earn the rest.
And Cousins similarly must know that if he doesn't play well at any point the next two years, even if he remains on the team, the Falcons have a replacement at the ready.
The club has staked major draft capital on Penix Jr. So, unlike many other NFL backups, Atlanta's backup can be summoned at any moment because the club's investment has lifted him to that status.
That cannot be comfortable for Cousins.
Aaron Rodgers' situation in Green Bay when they drafted Jordan Love seems similar to the Falcons situation. Courtesy: Getty Images
Not Comparable To Aaron Rodgers
His situation, by the way, is being compared to that of Aaron Rodgers when the Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2020. But it's actually nothing like the Rodgers situation.
Rodgers had won a Super Bowl for the Packers. He was an MVP winner. He could struggle or even go through a rough stretch and no one was going to suggest Love should replace him.
Cousins doesn't enjoy that status in Atlanta. He's been in town for just over a month. And he could easily be out of the lineup at the first sign of trouble and out of town within a couple of years.
This would suggest Penix Jr. has a great situation by comparison. Maybe. He's the backup and backups are always beloved by the fan base and often in the locker room.
Actress Marisa Tomei arrives at the 2010 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on March 7, 2010 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller/WireImage)
Penix Jr. Clock Ticking
But because Penix Jr. is 24 years old next week, his career clock is already pounding like Marisa Tomei's biological clock in My Cousin Vinny.
If Cousins lasts two years, minimum, Penix Jr. will be 26 years old when he first becomes a starter in 2026. Patrick Mahomes had won an MVP award, been selected to four Pro Bowls, been the league's offensive player of the year, and won a Super Bowl by the time he was 26.
Talk about a late start for Penix Jr.
And what if Cousins lasts beyond those first two big contract years? What if he delivers typically good enough stats as to convince coaches to stick with him year after year – as happened in Minnesota for six years?
That will mean Penix Jr. gets the reins of the Falcons' offense for the 2028 season. And that will give him one year – the option season on his contract – to prove he's worth another contract from the Falcons or in free agency.
That's a small margin for error Penix Jr. may be about to experience.
But, all good, because the Falcons feel they've got the quarterback position on lock for the next five years. Even if their individual quarterbacks absolutely cannot.