Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. found out he'd replace Kirk Cousins at Costco

The Atlanta Falcons are in a tight race over the final three weeks of the regular season. Atlanta is 7-7 heading into Week 16 and is just one game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South division race. Winning the division is the only way that the Falcons can make the playoffs in a stacked NFC. The Falcons recently made a huge move at quarterback to try and get over the hump.

Atlanta decided to bench Kirk Cousins for first-round rookie Michael Penix Jr. The rookie quarterback shared a hilarious story about where he was when he received the news.

“I was shopping with my girlfriend—we was at Costco,” Penix Jr. said via Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I got the call, they told me I was gonna be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. As you can imagine, it was some nerves and excitement, but just super blessed to be in this position.”

Penix Jr. is just like the rest of us. He was apparently in line to get a famous $1.50 Costco hot dog when he received the call.

“When I got the call (that I would start), I wasn't hungry no more,” Penix Jr. concluded.

The Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was bound to see the field eventually during his rookie season after being drafted so highly.

Kirk Cousins responds to Falcons benching him for Michael Penix Jr.

Of course, this is bad news for Kirk Cousins. The veteran quarterback gave a classy answer when asked about his situation this week.

“It's pro football, and there's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that unfortunately, I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough,” Cousins said via ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

Now Cousins will transition into becoming the best mentor and backup he can be for Penix Jr. and the Falcons.

“And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready — ‘one play away' kind of a thing — and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that's what it's all about,” the Cousins concluded.

It will be interesting to see if the Falcons explore trading Cousins during the offseason. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves.