ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Not much more could’ve gone wrong this year for the struggling Atlanta Falcons, but starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s season-ending injury is the cruelest blow yet.
“My heart breaks for him,” backup quarterback Kirk Cousins said of Penix. “He’s someone who has handled adversity so well through his football journey and he has to do it again. I’m confident he has more good football ahead of him -- more good football ahead of him than behind him, for sure.”
Cousins, the team’s $180 million quarterback who lost his job to Penix late last season after failing to meet expectations (3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 14 starts), will make his second start of the season Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. He made a spot start for Penix last month, completing 21 of 31 for 173 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
But, nonetheless, the 25-year-old Penix needs surgery to repair a torn ACL - for the third time! - which will rule him out for the rest of 2025 and likely the start of 2026, prompting a quarterback controversy in Atlanta.
**RELATED:** [**Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to undergo season-ending surgery**](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/11/19/falcons-qb-michael-penix-jr-undergo-season-ending-surgery/)
The Atlanta Falcons training staff tends to quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)(Danny Karnik | AP)
A quarterback controversy that puts Atlanta in the worst of all worst-case scenarios: Their unproven No. 8 pick is out, and they’re back to leaning on an aging, average Cousins to run an offense on life support.
With that being said, it’s likely that the Falcons’ season is lost. They’ve lost five in a row and sit at 3-7. Their season is hanging by a thread. Their identity is missing. Yet Cousins is fighting not only for a miracle postseason push, but for a sense of belonging.
“I’ve never felt safe in this league,” Cousins said. “I’ve never felt like I’ve got it figured out. I’ve never felt like my job has been earned or deserved. You kind of go out there every day with cameras watching you, coaches evaluating you, teammates counting on you ... you just feel like, ‘I have to today play at a level that would suggest I belong here.’
“That’s kind of been my lived experience for 14 years.”
There’s no guarantee Cousins’ job is safe after this week, but all signs point to that being the case.
Easton Stick is the team’s backup, so if anything were to happen to Cousins, Stick would be the proverbial “next man up.” Kyle Trask, a former second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was signed to Atlanta’s practice squad, giving the team another option if things get gradually worse.
“I think it’s an opportunity,” Cousins said. “I’ve got to play at a standard that’s going to give me game two, game three, game four. I don’t think you can say from here it’s seven games; you go earn that with the way you play.
“I don’t think I ever took football for granted. But you certainly appreciate the opportunity you have.”
_Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved._