When Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles during his contract year at the age of 35 in 2023, it seemed like his next chapter would be a tough one. But no one could have foreseen just how tough it would get after he signed a $180 million deal in the 2024 offseason.
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The Atlanta Falcons jumped at the chance to sign Cousins. However, just a month later, they also jumped at the opportunity to draft Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, a selection that came out of left field. Cousins kept Penix at bay for a time, but after a 0-4 run that saw him throw one touchdown and nine interceptions, he was benched for the rookie.
During his final year in Minnesota with the Vikings, Cousins was one of three subjects featured in the first season of Netflix’s Quarterback series. He was the only one to return for a second straight year in 2024, which meant viewers got to see behind the scenes during what was probably the toughest time of his life. His wife, Julie, explained just how dark things got in the Cousins household when they received the benching news.
“It was like 7:30 at night, and so I said, [head coach] Raheem [Morris] called you. And he knew what that meant and so did I. (Takes deep breath) He was gone for about an hour, and that was a really sad time,” Julia recalled.
“My kids were playing, and I was crying, and I was trying to explain it to them. They’re like, is he not on the team anymore? Um, just a very somber night.”
Julie then revealed that after his conversation with head coach Raheem Morris, in which Cousins was told that he was losing his starting job, Cousins returned home and holed up in the garage. And the first thing he did was call up his successor.
“Then he came back and sat in the garage. When I went out there, he was actually calling Michael [Penix Jr.], which I thought was really cool. It’s like, who does that?”
Kirk Cousins’ wife expounded on her husband’s selfless need to congratulate Penix about something that, at the same time, brought so much pain to him.
“You just drove home from one of the hardest conversations you’ve ever had, and you’re gonna call Michael to say, ‘The job is yours.’ I mean, that brings tears to my eyes. (Long pause) That is the kind of man he is.”
HEARTBREAKING: #Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins wife Julie was extremely emotional talking about her husband being benched for Michael Penix Jr.
💔💔💔
The entire Cousins family took the benching of Kirk extremely hard.
(🎥@netflixsports)
pic.twitter.com/R9e1gECQru— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 14, 2025
Penix is now firmly installed as the Falcons’ starting QB and the future of the franchise. That leaves Kirk as the odd man out. With that massive contract, it’s been impossible to move the veteran, though that doesn’t mean they haven’t tried. We would be surprised if some other team doesn’t relent and give Atlanta a Day 3 pick for Cousins at some point before this season’s trade deadline.
