6 hours Ago By Jarrod Castillo
Michael Strahan gave Kirk Cousins a harsh reality check, especially with the quarterback's standing within the Atlanta Falcons organizations up in the air. After a less-than-stellar outing against the Las Vegas Raiders, in which he completed 11-of-17 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception, head coach Raheem Morris made the move to bench the 36-year-old in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr . In the four games leading up to his benching, Cousins had thrown zero touchdowns with eight interceptions, with four coming against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Because of how badly Cousins' tenure with the Falcons had gone as of late, Strahan gave the star quarterback harsh advice on how to proceed. Kirk Cousins learns date he will be released before by Atlanta Falcons Kirk Cousins landing spots after Falcons benching as surprise option emerges "I think so. I think so.
And Jay [Glazer], I disagree, there is consistency," Strahan said. "Consistency mediocre, basically, unfortunately. That's what Kirk Cousins has been this year.
Howie [Long] alluded to it earlier, whenever you're a great player, in your mind your still that but sometimes your skill level diminishes and it drops and you don't know when it's going to happen. "I think for Kirk Cousins, it happened now. When you have 18 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and the two guys they fielded last year had 17:17 touchdown, interception ratio, but they're not making $180 million.
To see Kirk Cousins make $62.5 million this year. Next year, he's guaranteed $27.
5 million." The former NFL star then gave Cousins a harsh reality check, with Strahan explaining that while his playing time with Atlanta might be over, he could still be an effective member of the organization in another capacity, provided he takes time to understand that that is what is need from him. "Keep him around, let him teach Michael Penix the intricacies of the game as a young player," Strahan continued.
"It's good to have that veteran influence, but I think Kirk may have to just humble himself right now to understand that's his role with the Atlanta Falcons." And while Cousins has been tabbed by Strahan to be a veteran presence to Penix, it appears as if the veteran quarterback already has begun that transition from on-field star to a voice in the locker room. After hearing he would be benched moving forward, Cousins shared he reached out to the rookie to help him excel.
"I just let him know I'd be in his corner and supporting him and trying to help him any way I can," Cousins said at the time. "The quarterback room when I'm playing, it's a working force to help us all, and it's the same now. That doesn't change.
" Morris also has been impressed by Cousins' move , stating: "I brought Kirk in here with full expectation that we could win a championship with Kirk and we'd be able to compete with Kirk. "For whatever reason, whatever happened the last couple of weeks, it just hasn't felt that way. It was time to make a change.
Any time you take a step down or a demotion at work, it's not going to be met with great appreciation and all those things. But Kirk was a professional." With his time as the starting signal caller in Atlanta all but at an end, it remains to be seen what the Falcons will do.
If the organization decides to release him , they will do so before March 17 to avoid awarding a $10 million roster bonus, though there are three teams that could be interested in the veteran. **Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. ** Peacock offers plans starting at $7.
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