It is hardly a secret that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins desires the Atlanta Falcons to chop or commerce him as quickly as doable now that the membership is shifting ahead with 2024 first-round draft decide Michael Penix Jr. as its starter.
Whereas talking with reporters on Tuesday, Cousins indicated he nonetheless hasn’t totally returned to how he felt earlier than he suffered a torn Achilles in October 2023.
“When the season ended final yr, I began moving into engaged on my physique and having the time to try this,” Cousins defined, as shared by Rick Farlow of the Related Press. “I assumed I used to be significantly better than I used to be. On (a scale) of 1 to 10, I assumed I used to be at an eight, however I used to be actually again at a 3 or 4 and now I am getting again to that six, seven (or) eight. You begin to notice that you simply weren’t as far alongside as you thought. (There was) quite a lot of studying this offseason to get there.”
Cousins recovered from the Achilles setback in time to function Atlanta’s Week 1 starter final September, and he guided the staff to a 6-3 document. Nevertheless, he then seemed “out of gas” and appeared to have a “dead” arm as he dealt with elbow, shoulder and ankle points throughout what turned a four-game dropping streak. The Falcons finally turned to Penix after they ended Week 15 at 7-7, and he remained within the lineup by way of Atlanta’s regular-season finale.
“The Achilles healed nice,” Cousins famous. “What ended up occurring was the ankle was simply very tight. All the pieces was (about constructing) energy, so that is what I centered on. What I noticed this offseason was the energy was there. It was a mobility concern. It’s important to have each, and I actually did not have the mobility. So now it has been (about) mobility.”
Additionally on Tuesday, head coach Raheem Morris strongly suggested the Falcons will maintain onto Cousins as their QB2 if no staff trades for the 36-year-old this summer time. The Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers had been linked with Cousins earlier this offseason however have since crammed their quarterback rooms through different transactions.
Cousins’ feedback on Tuesday probably will not do him any favors concerning a doable commerce contemplating it was already believed that “he must get his entire physique into the throws” at this stage of his profession. Even when a staff loses a starter to an harm this summer time, that membership might move on buying and selling for the model of Cousins that exists coming off his Achilles harm.
