Atlanta will receive plenty of attention this summer as both Kirk Cousins and first-round rookie Michael Penix Jr. take part in their first training camp with the team. The latter is slated for backup duties in 2024, but the former faces questions about his rehab from the Achilles tear which ended his Vikings tenure.
Cousins was enjoying a productive campaign until the injury, one which did not hinder his earning power in free agency. The Falcons guaranteed the 35-year-old $100MM in exchange for him starting for the team for the foreseeable future. The Penix selection (eighth overall) surprised Cousins at first, but he has since refocused on his continuing recuperation.
Raheem Morris, the head coach, recently said that the four-time Pro Bowler’s Achilles injury is still not completely recovered. Still, Cousins is participating in Atlanta’s summer exercises as he keeps getting better. His most recent remarks on the subject are more evidence that he will recover fully in time for the regular season to begin.
“I’m good to go,” Cousins said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show (video link). “I’ve told people for a while that if the Super Bowl were today, I’m playing. And that goes back probably – I think when I first got here, I started exercising, and after a week or two of my recuperation, I performed some drills in which I declared, “Hey, if the Super Bowl were today, I’m playing.” They appeared to concur as well.
Cousins still has a lot of time left to finish his recovery, and if he has any setbacks over the summer, the team will definitely proceed cautiously. That doesn’t appear likely to be the case, though, so Penx’s development on the sidelines and Cousins’ performance knowing that he is expected to succeed him in the organization will probably be the most interesting topic for the offseason (and probably beyond).
