Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris continues to insist he’s sticking with starting quarterback Kirk Cousins despite numerous calls from outsiders for Morris to give rookie Michael Penix Jr. a look amid Cousins’ recent struggles.
On Thursday, Morris touched upon why he won’t play Penix “too early” even though Atlanta has fallen to second place in the NFC South standings beneath the 7-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I told you right from the beginning, he’s our future,” Morris said about Penix, as shared by Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “… And to be able to have the respect, to be able to have the confidence, to be able to have the wherewithal to support Kirk and all this stuff, too, it’s a great learning lesson for him as well. So, when you go through all that process, you can look at different organizations [that have] pulled the trigger and put guys out there too early and it’s gone terrible, and I don’t want to be that guy.”
The Falcons were 6-3 before Cousins entered a slump that included the 36-year-old tossing eight interceptions and zero touchdown passes over four consecutive defeats. Earlier this week, Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports directly said that “Cousins has regressed from a dependable, high-efficiency pocket passer with limited upside to an immobile quarterback whose weak arm and poor decision-making have become clear liabilities.”
Morris doesn’t agree with such assessments as the Falcons prepare to play at the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders this coming Monday night.
“So, to say benching doesn’t cross your mind, you’ve always got to consider those things if you feel like it’s something that’s … irreparable or whatever the case may be,” Morris added. “But I don’t feel that way. I feel like [Cousins is] going to come out of this thing and he’s going to go on a run here and get us to do the things that we need to do.”
As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as four-point favorites over a Raiders team that could make a head-coaching change next month. Logic suggests Morris will have to at least consider putting Penix in the lineup if Cousins produces a dud at Allegiant Stadium in front of a prime-time television audience.