Down in Atlanta....

[Waldo]

2 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

In Green Bay, it all looked stupid until Aaron Rodgers had pooped in too many people's seats and was sent of to his reward with the Jets. That whole Jordan Love thing looked stupid at the time. Then by about October we were all like, "Well, would you look at that!"

Cousins is on the later years of his career, is just coming back from a major injury. He's also an excellent QB to have a guy sit behind and study for a couple of years. If Cousins starts to slide or decides to retire or doesn't fully recover from last season's injury, they've got their next guy, studying and easing into the league without being thrown to the wolves (you know, like Bryce).

And what if Kirk Cousins has the fountain of youth, even expands his game and just cements his spot as QB1? Well, there were quite a few guys trained behind Tom Brady that got traded for draft picks along the way.

If it can keep from destroying Cousins' confidence, then this wasn't a really stupid move. As much as we'd like for it to be.

Doubtful Cousins plays the full 4 years of that contract anyways and they had to do it to get him. It was  a year early so that is why I called it dumb, not stupid. Build the team up and give Cousins a year then draft a rookie high to coach up. Cousins' confidence will be fine because he is an old hand, if anything this will most likely piss him off and he has a career year lol. The dumb part was doing it the year they put in that contract with Cousins. All they had to do was wait until next year. That is why I called it dumb. Given the GMs track record at QB I think this doesn't work out anyways. 

Again, it's a QB which is why I said they took their swing but just not impressed with the how. Like the GM didn't tell anyone he was a target at 8 in house? Anyways, if he works out they have a QB now and then in the future. I just thought how they did it was dumb and not really impressed with their pick anyways. 

Edited April 30 by Waldo

[UnluckyforSome]

50 minutes ago, Chaos said:

While I'm down with misery in Atlanta, who should they have drafted?

They've needed a pass rusher for a while now. 

[Jon Snow]

1 hour ago, Waldo said:

Doubtful Cousins plays the full 4 years of that contract anyways and they had to do it to get him. It was  a year early so that is why I called it dumb, not stupid. Build the team up and give Cousins a year then draft a rookie high to coach up. Cousins' confidence will be fine because he is an old hand, if anything this will most likely piss him off and he has a career year lol. The dumb part was doing it the year they put in that contract with Cousins. All they had to do was wait until next year. That is why I called it dumb. Given the GMs track record at QB I think this doesn't work out anyways. 

Again, it's a QB which is why I said they took their swing but just not impressed with the how. Like the GM didn't tell anyone he was a target at 8 in house? Anyways, if he works out they have a QB now and then in the future. I just thought how they did it was dumb and not really impressed with their pick anyways. 

I wonder if the fear of losing a pick next year over tampering had anything to do with this? Whatever the reason it doesn't signal much confidence in Cousins to play out his contract. Talk about being awkward in the qb room. 

[DaveThePanther2008]

19 hours ago, MHS831 said:

Fan base is excited.  A black left-handed QB named Michael. 

Never happened before--I don't think.

 

[Waldo]

1 hour ago, Jon Snow said:

I wonder if the fear of losing a pick next year over tampering had anything to do with this? Whatever the reason it doesn't signal much confidence in Cousins to play out his contract. Talk about being awkward in the qb room. 

I thought his contract was fat to make it happen and no one really thought he would playout at least that 4th year, just a bonus year to make the numbers work while including the guaranteed money that made it happen. It could be his last contract and to me it reads as he has 2 years and then they will see what happens then at a higher then normal cost.

That QB room and the owner/gm meeting room away from cameras too. Just depends on the personality types. Cousins is a old pro with a fat contract and a no trade clause. IT could blow up or be just fine this year. By next year that's when it ramps up. Cousins could get a trade done and find another spot to finish this contract. It's 35 mil dead cap to cut/trade him after year 2 and 12.5 mil dead cap after year 3. If Cousins wanted to play somewhere else then he could give that a try but either way after year 2 the team has options. If the rookie grows and is worth it at year three then even that dead cap would just be a normal QB pay outside the rookie wage scale. Looks like they may get 1 year of rookie pay advantage and then the option year if things go well for them so 3 years lost and 2 left. 

They should have given a heads up to the owner, Cousins tho. They had plenty of time to say what the plan was. Cousins isn't young but it's still a trashy move when he just got there 2 months ago. That was also a rather big move considering the player and their needs. Just dumb way of doing it all IMO but I always get 'it was for a QB and you have to take shots when you see them'.

 

[Jon Snow]

4 minutes ago, Waldo said:

I thought his contract was fat to make it happen and no one really thought he would playout at least that 4th year, just a bonus year to make the numbers work while including the guaranteed money that made it happen. It could be his last contract and to me it reads as he has 2 years and then they will see what happens then at a higher then normal cost.

That QB room and the owner/gm meeting room away from cameras too. Just depends on the personality types. Cousins is a old pro with a fat contract and a no trade clause. IT could blow up or be just fine this year. By next year that's when it ramps up. Cousins could get a trade done and find another spot to finish this contract. It's 35 mil dead cap to cut/trade him after year 2 and 12.5 mil dead cap after year 3. If Cousins wanted to play somewhere else then he could give that a try but either way after year 2 the team has options. If the rookie grows and is worth it at year three then even that dead cap would just be a normal QB pay outside the rookie wage scale. Looks like they may get 1 year of rookie pay advantage and then the option year if things go well for them so 3 years lost and 2 left. 

They should have given a heads up to the owner, Cousins tho. They had plenty of time to say what the plan was. Cousins isn't young but it's still a trashy move when he just got there 2 months ago. That was also a rather big move considering the player and their needs. Just dumb way of doing it all IMO but I always get 'it was for a QB and you have to take shots when you see them'.

 

They must really believe in Penix is all I can say.

[Waldo]

16 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

They must really believe in Penix is all I can say.

Someone does and apparently he didn't tell anyone about it before the pick lol

Edited April 30 by Waldo

[Bear Hands]

4 hours ago, Martin said:

To do this with an older rookie is really weird. Love needed to sit for a year or two as he was inexperienced and young. Penix is probably the most ready to start rookie in this class. To stash and sit an older top 10 pick for +2 years… when you are in a win now mode? It also eliminates some of the major benefits you get from a rookie QB, a cheap QB room. 

Exactly this as well. 

Beyond age concerns--by the time they find out if they have something in Penix, they'll need to work on a new contract not long after.  The newer league winning QBs have gotten extensions by year 3 (ie. Burrow). 

So, if Penix somehow lights it up year 3, he could turn around fairly quickly, probably by year 4, and ask for an extension.  ATL has really no buffer time in easing the bucks off the QB room to build a team around him. 

Not to mention, they'll be needing to make decisions on Terrell, London, Pitts, Bijan, a lot of high end investments BEFORE seeing Penix through, and that's IF he works out.   Lindstrom's contract is backloaded too and they can't cut Matthews until after 2026.  

Just a terrible use of resources as it relates to timing & salary allocation, no matter how you look at it.  

You're in win now, so get a talent to win now.  

[Whats That Bear Doing]

5 hours ago, Martin said:

To do this with an older rookie is really weird. Love needed to sit for a year or two as he was inexperienced and young. Penix is probably the most ready to start rookie in this class. To stash and sit an older top 10 pick for +2 years… when you are in a win now mode? It also eliminates some of the major benefits you get from a rookie QB, a cheap QB room. 

Penix being old is the oddest part to me. I could maybe get behind the move if they'd drafted an inexperienced 21-year-old who needed some time to learn. But they drafted a guy who was in college for six years and will be Chris Weinke age by the time he actually sees the field. 

[Panthers Rhule]

I spit coffee out my nose when I saw this the next morning as I wasn't watching. Not because of the player but because of the execution and who did it. They had to know that the odds of their QB being their at 8 was extremely high and yet they still brought in Cousins and paid him a fortune to be there. Apparently, I'm not there so I don't know, he was also told they are win now which to me makes sense as they have a good roster in general. I could understand it if hey hired a much cheaper journeyman to run this season to give Penix a year to grow into the system but Cousins? That makes zero sense to me and I honestly feel sorry for Penix. That is a horrible way to start his NFL career and it's not his fault. The only thing I have against him is that he's now a Falcon. However, at this specific moment, he's my favorite Falcon. Muhahaha

 

[SCO96]

On 4/29/2024 at 7:32 PM, Basbear said:

The main point of drafting a rookie is for them to play on that cheap contract. At min penix will play two years from now, thus washing out the good part of his contract. Only way this works if cousins gets re-injured or busts. He will be 26-27 and need another contract by then

 Everyone talks about how important it is to draft a QB in round 1 and have the "5th year option" I haven't seen it play out the well over the past several years.

The good/great QB' aren't playing the first 5 years under their original deal.  After year 3 or 4 they are getting mammoth extensions.

Having Penix take over in year 3 may actually save the Falcons some money over the next 5 seasons. I doubt they'd give him an extension after his first year as a starter if he took over the starting position after the guaranteed portion of Kurt Cousins new deal ends in 2025.   In terms of playing time, Penix 3 years as a starter would be ending with the 5th year of his rookie deal (assuming his option was picked up). The money Penix would be making in year 5 of a rookie contract would be significantly less than the upper echelon 5 year starters are making now.

 

[tukafan21]

7 minutes ago, SCO96 said:

 Everyone talks about how important it is to draft a QB in round 1 and have the "5th year option" I haven't seen it play out the well over the past several years.

The good/great QB' aren't playing the first 5 years under their original deal.  After year 3 or 4 they are getting mammoth extensions.

Having Penix take over in year 3 may actually save the Falcons some money over the next 5 seasons. I doubt they'd give him an extension after his first year as a starter if he took over the starting position after the guaranteed portion of Kurt Cousins new deal ends in 2025.   In terms of playing time, Penix 3 years as a starter would be ending with the 5th year of his rookie deal (assuming his option was picked up). The money Penix would be making in year 5 of a rookie contract would be significantly less than the upper echelon 5 year starters are making now.

 

Given Penix age and injury history, if he starts in year 3 and kills it, there's no way his agent lets him show up to camp the next year without a new contract.

Because if that happens, it will mean the Falcons dumped Cousins to roll with Penix and they'll know they can't risk then screwing that up.  Penix would have all the leverage in the world and the Falcons would have no choice but to fold and give him the deal.

[SCO96]

26 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

Given Penix age and injury history, if he starts in year 3 and kills it, there's no way his agent lets him show up to camp the next year without a new contract.

Because if that happens, it will mean the Falcons dumped Cousins to roll with Penix and they'll know they can't risk then screwing that up.  Penix would have all the leverage in the world and the Falcons would have no choice but to fold and give him the deal.

I see your point. However, what if Penix doesn’t have a stellar season in his first year as starter? If the Falcon miss the playoffs and his play is only competent at best I think the leverage swings the other way.

[Navy_football]

I really don't see it with Penix. Sure he has a strong arm, but he was just out there chucking the ball deep to a receiving corps that was better than the Panthers last season. Odunze, Polk, McMillan and Bernard is a crazy group in college! I just don't see his play style working in the NFL.