INDIANAPOLIS — Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris touched down in Indianapolis this week for the NFL Combine.
Besides addressing the team’s needs in the NFL Draft, the biggest question mark for the Falcons is Kirk Cousins’ future with the franchise.
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Fontenot spoke to the media on Tuesday and made it clear that Cousins will be the backup behind Michael Penix Jr. moving forward.
“Nothing has changed with Kirk at this point. Our stance is the same as it was at the end of the season with Kirk,” Fontenot said.
Morris echoed his general manager.
“Michael Penix is our quarterback and Michael Penix will continue to be our quarterback. When we stood here last year, talked about looking for that guy and we believe we found him. And I got so much confidence in Michael Penix leading us into the future and I believe our whole building does. I believe that our fan base does. I believe that our owner does. We are really excited about that young man,” Morris said.
Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein will be LIVE from the NFL Combine all week, on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m.
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The Falcons signed Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million deal last March and drafted Penix Jr. weeks later with the No. 8 overall pick.
The season started off well for Cousins before it took a nose dive and Atlanta made the move to bench him in favor of Penix Jr. Cousins revealed during Super Bowl week that he was essentially hurt from Week 10 and the rest of the season.
Fontenot confirmed that Cousins was on the injury report for the game against the Denver Broncos, but he wasn’t aware of issues after that.
“That’s a question for Kirk, any specific things about that. But as far as we stand, he was on the injury report that week leading into that game, wasn’t on the injury report any time outside of that,” he said.
The Falcons will owe Cousins a $10 million roster bonus if he is on the roster on March 17. To avoid the bonus, the team would have to cut or trade cousins.
Fontenot was asked repeatedly if he has had any conversations with Cousins and his reps.
“We’ll keep all those conversations private.”
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