Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. Poise, Maturity Impacting Kirk Cousins: Report

The Atlanta Falcons have displayed patience with a potential Kirk Cousins trade this offseason. By doing that, the Falcons have avoided giving up leverage in potential trade negotiations.

The reward could be tremendous. If the Cleveland Browns or Pittsburgh Steelers leave the NFL Draft in three weeks without a quarterback, or another team suffers a quarterback injury during the summer, Cousins could suddenly have a lot of trade value.

But according to NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, the Falcons are confident about holding onto Cousins into the spring and potentially the summer for another reason -- Michael Penix's poise and maturity.

Wolfe told NFL insider Ian Rapoport on NFL Network on Thursday that Penix is potentially having an impact on Cousins' trade timetable.

"[The Falcons] think they found their franchise quarterback here, and they want to build from him. [Raheem Morris] also thinks that [Michael Penix's] maturity is why they're comfortable leaving the Kirk Cousins situation in a bit of limbo, as it is right now," Wolfe said. "They don't think Michael Penix will be disturbed if they show [up] into OTAs in a couple weeks, and Kirk Cousins is still on the roster.

"When Morris talked about that situation, he said, 'We don't expect Kirk Cousins to show up for OTAs, so OTAs will be focused on Michael Penix, and at some point, whether that's prior to the draft, during the draft, after the draft, we're open for that trade opportunity for Kirk Cousins, if it makes sense.'"

Wolfe added that the team that continues to come up in potential Cousins trade talks is the Browns. But Wolfe concluded the Falcons are clearly focused on Penix.

"For the Falcons, regardless of how the Kirk Cousins situation goes out, they're all in on developing their quarterback, Michael Penix, who they think can be a star."

Wolfe interchangably used "said" and "thinks" while describing how the Falcons view Penix's possible impact on a Cousins trade. For me, that makes it difficult to decipher if Morris or others in the Atlanta organization specifically told Wolfe everything in this report or if Wolfe is interpreting some of what was said.

But that's nitpicking from my writer's perspective. The clear implication for the average Falcons fan is the team's confidence that Penix will be unfazed if Cousins is his backup this summer or even during the season.

Now, this could all be a bluff. Morris and the Falcons may have very well told Wolfe this but only as yet another tactic to try and raise Cousins' trade value.

No matter how mature and poised Penix is, the best situation for him is to not look over his shoulder this season and see Cousins.

By all accounts, Cousins helped Penix as his backup quarterback last season, but it's rather clear that's not a role Cousins wants in 2025. Penix needs a signal caller behind him that can help mentor him.

But the NFL doesn't often present ideal situations. Penix will have to deal with a less than ideal scenario during his first full season as a starter as long as Cousins remains on the roster.