Falcons
- Falcons S Jessie Bates on new QB Kirk Cousins: “His presence alone just being there is next level. The coaches can’t be on the field too much but when you have a guy like Coach Kirk Cousins he can go out there and run a whole script. That presence is something that’s priceless.” (Josh Kendall)
- Atlanta G Chris Lindstrom also had great words regarding Cousins: “It’s been phenomenal. It feels like he’s been here for years. You hear stories about how great a professional he is, but then when you watch the way the guy works, it’s been remarkable. You couldn’t ask for anything more.” (Kendall)
- Falcons assistant GM Kyle Smith said the following on their plan at quarterback: “Now we feel really good for five years minimum that we don’t have to worry about that position.” (Kendall)
Michael Penix Jr
The NFL world is still buzzing days later about the Falcons’ decision to draft QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick despite signing veteran QB Kirk Cousins to $100 million guaranteed last month. Team decision-makers explained the move in the days after the first round, and it boiled down to not wanting to get caught with their pants down like when things ended between Atlanta and Matt Ryan.
“You want to put yourself in position to get a guy when you’ve got a guy,” Falcons HC Raheem Morris said via the Athletic’s Josh Kendall.
“If you had told me when we were sitting there in January wondering who was going to be our quarterback … that we were going to have Kirk Cousins for right now and Michael Penix for the future, I would have told you it was a pipe dream,” Falcons GM Terry Fontenot added. “This is exciting. We are very excited. It’s the most important position in pro sports, and to feel this good about right now, we couldn’t be more excited.”
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Cousins, who was only informed of the pick minutes before the Falcons turned in the card and was as shocked as everyone else.
“Obviously, it put a little damper on the mood (Thursday) night, but that’s the nature of our beast, the nature of our business, the competitive stuff,” Morris said. “But I’m fired up about my quarterbacks, all of them.”
Morris later said the plan is for Cousins to still be the starter this year and for Penix to wait in the wings until it’s his time to start.
“Kirk does not have to look over his shoulder every time he throws a bad pass, that is not the case,” Morris said.
He wasn’t as clear about how the team envisioned the transition playing out, only saying Cousins was the quarterback for the “short term.”
“I wish we all could play forever, but we can’t,” Morris said. “If things are going right, things are going right and we’ll be happy in Atlanta. We’ll move forward to Kirk and see what happens, but we have five years before we have to make those decisions…
“Nothing would make me feel better than watching Kirk Cousins play the next four years. That means there are some good things going on.”
Panthers
During the draft, the Panthers made another transactional decision by picking up the fifth-year option for CB Jaycee Horn. Carolina GM Dan Morgan discussed why he feels Horn earned it despite the struggles with injuries early in his career.
“You see Jaycee around here — the work he’s putting in, the dedication, just being here every single day, busting his ass,” Morgan said, via Anthony Rizzuti of the Panthers Wire. “He deserved it. I think, obviously, he’s had some tough stretches with injuries. But it’s not due to a lack of work or a lack of commitment from Jaycee. So we’re excited about him, we’re excited about his future and just really excited for him.”
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