The Atlanta Falcons hope that they have found their quarterback for the future.
They went with Michael Penix Jr. at the end of last season, and while the sample size was small, the early returns were encouraging.
Notably, that’s why Kirk Cousins seemingly became expendable.
While the Falcons chose to keep him around as a high-end backup or valuable trade chip, he might not be very happy with the situation.
Apparently, he didn’t even let the team know that he was going to skip OTAs.
“I did not see [Kirk Cousins] today. I didn’t go out to practice, but he did not show up in the meeting, so I did not see him today,” Raheem Morris said.
Of course, it’s not unusual to see veteran players skip OTAs, but the fact that he didn’t inform the team of his decision might be intentional.
Cousins is coming off a disappointing season, but he clearly still sees himself as a starter in this league.
He was expected to be on the move at some point, but now, whoever trades for him will most likely have to absorb a big chunk of his steep salary, and that could be a bit of a deal-breaker.
Even so, a team might be an injury or a slow start to the season away from entering desperation mode and breaking the bank to get him.
But if he’s not comfortable there, perhaps he will look to force his way out of Georgia even before the start of the season.
NEXT: Former Player Calls Out Julius Randle After Game 4 Performance