Legendary Falcons WR gives inside scoop on Michael Penix Jr.-Kirk Cousins dynamic

The Falcons have arguably the most awkward quarterback room situation heading into the 2025 NFL season, as the team replaced free agent signee Kirk Cousins with rookie Michael Penix Jr. down the stretch of the 2024 season. The move came as Cousins saw his play fall off a cliff midway through the year, which he retroactively blamed on injuries despite denying them at the time.

Meanwhile, Penix Jr. played relatively well after being thrown into a tough situation.

Recently, former Falcons star wide receiver Roddy White broke down how he still thinks Cousins can help out Penix Jr. moving forward and shared some inside scoop from his time at Falcons practice, per Dylan Wilkerson of Vegas Insider.

“I was able to watch and go inside the building and I could see by how he moves and how he is in meetings that Kirk Cousins is helping him out a real lot,” said White. “Penix Jr. has been able to see how Cousins goes through the meetings, and you can see this by the way he started to come in once he got the starting job and started to take control of meetings. He'll have definitely learned this from Cousins.”

White also added that “it'll be helpful for Penix Jr. to bounce any questions off Cousins and learn just like he did last year.”

Strange times in Atlanta

Things were already awkward enough for the Falcons when they drafted Michael Penix Jr. in 2024 just weeks after signing Cousins to a massive contract.

That draft decision ended up being a saving grace for the franchise down the stretch of last season, as Penix moved into the starting role and performed about as well as you could hope for a rookie thrown into the fire of a heated playoff race.

Many expected the Falcons to either trade or waive Cousins this offseason, but his massive contract and lukewarm reputation around the league have made those avenues difficult to pursue. At the present moment, it sure seems that both Cousins and Penix Jr. will be on the roster by the time next season rolls around.

The Falcons are slated to begin their 2025 campaign on September 7 at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.