The Atlanta Falcons made one of the biggest splashes in NFL free agency back in March, signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year, $180 million deal.

The contract features $100 million in guaranteed money, so it seemed like the Falcons were going all in on Cousins for the next several seasons.

Then they drafted Michael Penix Jr.

Apparently, Cousins was “a bit stunned,” according to his agent. You can understand why. He joined Atlanta with the hope that the team would be pushing for a deep playoff run, so he probably thought the Falcons would either try to shore up their defense or add another weapon (like wide receiver Rome Odunze) for him with the eighth overall pick.

Instead, Atlanta decided to roll with a quarterback, and a 24-year-old quarterback, at that. That means that if Cousins plays out all four years of his deal, Penix would be 28 years old by the time he gets a chance to start.

Seems kind of odd.

Well, Cousins may have a legitimate axe to grand with the Falcons’ organization, because according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, one of the main reasons why he left the Minnesota Vikings was because they told him they were trying to draft his replacement.

The Vikings ended up taking J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick of the draft, so that’s exactly what they did. The difference is, they were transparent about their whole strategy.

Atlanta, on the other hand, went ahead and picked Penix with out Cousins’ prior knowledge, which almost surely isn’t sitting well with the veteran signal-caller.

Breer adds that he thinks Cousins and the Falcons will be able to get past this. He notes that new head coach Raheem Morris is great at maintaining and curating relationships, and Cousins is an adult. A very mature and classy one, at that.

However, Breer qualifies his statement by saying that the Atlanta-Cousins situation may become an interesting one to monitor if the team hits some bumps early in the season.

You can say that again.

Cousins is going to be 36 years old by the time the 2024 campaign starts, and he is coming off of a torn Achilles. So, there is a potential universe in which the four-time Pro Bowler is not 100 percent.

Let’s say Cousins is a bit unsteady over the first half of the season. Do the Falcons consider making a change to Penix that early? Or will they give Cousins a chance to possibly shake the rust off?

Atlanta claims to know what its doing. Both Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot have remained steadfast in saying that the club’s choice to select Penix was the right decision, stating the Falcons are playing the long game and don’t want to go through another post-Matt Ryan type of period.

But they may have damaged their relationship with Kirk Cousins—and broke some trust—in the process.

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