Falcons QB Kirk Cousins ​​accepts the bench but says, “I haven’t forgotten how to play quarterback.”

“I brought Kirk here with the full expectation that we could win a championship with Kirk and compete with Kirk,” Morris said Wednesday. “For whatever reason, whatever happened in the last few weeks, it just didn’t feel that way. It was time to make a change.”

“Anytime you resign or get demoted at work, it’s not going to be met with great appreciation and all those things,” Morris said Wednesday. “But Kirk was a professional, he’s a professional, he’s a man, he’s a great person, he’s a great father, he’s a great football player, he did a lot of great things for us this year. He handled it with class. “That’s him.” an absolute professional. … But of course there is also a certain disappointment when you lose your job.”

To his credit, Cousins ​​received recognition from Morris, who admitted, “We need to play better at the position… and that’s why we decided to do that last night.” Cousins ​​even called Penix on Tuesday night, to talk about the change, telling reporters: “I like shooting elephants in the room.”

There’s no telling exactly what this means for Cousins’ future in Atlanta. A number of different roster scenarios could result in the Falcons parting ways with Cousins, which would result in a number of maximum penalties in the short and/or long term. They could also keep him as a high-priced backup while Penix — widely considered the most pro-ready quarterback in the 2024 draft class — takes over the starting job, although such a decision seems unlikely.

Atlanta will try to sort that out later using the evidence they will gather in the Falcons’ final three games of the 2024 regular season. If Penix is ​​successful, Atlanta could end up in the playoffs and have its answer for the future. However, this is certainly not guaranteed at this point.

The most important thing is the immediate results. After a season of watching Cousins ​​from the sidelines, Morris believes Penix will succeed.

“We were looking,” Morris said when asked why he made the change now. “We dug as much as we could to get things going and try to get things going. It wasn’t until last night that it came to the point, we just wanted to make the decision to make the change. We wanted to play a little better at quarterback, and we felt like we had a chance to play a little better, who knows what could happen, you know?

“I don’t think anything in the National Football League will ever last, but right now Michael Penix is ​​our quarterback and we will support him and give him all the support he needs, just like we did with Kirk when he was our starter.” “

If Penix makes good on his coach’s trust, an era will begin that most only expected in a year or two. It will also give those who supported the selection of Penix a huge victory over the numerous people who criticized the Falcons for signing the Washington product less than two months after handing him a $180 million contract cousins ​​​​had adopted.

Cousins, on the other hand, has to pick up the pieces — and the dollars the Falcons paid him — while finding a new place to play football. As he said on Wednesday, yes, he didn’t play well enough to keep his job. However, that doesn’t mean his career is over.

“I haven’t forgotten how to play quarterback,” Cousins ​​said. “Certainly the ball losses weren’t what you wanted, but I didn’t forget how to play.”