Find someone who will give you endless shots at redemption like Raheem Morris continues doing with Kirk Cousins.
Say this much: Morris is sticking to his guns. The Atlanta Falcons head coach has made that abundantly clear. Cousins' blatantly visible struggles and the fan base's outcry for rookie backup quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to take over don't matter. He's turning a blind eye to it all -- regardless of what me, you or anybody else thinks.
Per ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Morris has once again emphasized that Cousins' ongoing slump won't alter Atlanta's approach with Penix. The Falcons don't want to insert the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft under center "too early". But if it were up to the Dirty Bird faithful, a changing of the guard would've already happened.
Despite glaring Kirk Cousins struggles, Raheem Morris won't turn to Michael Penix Jr.
"... the ultimate encouragement and backing for my building and my state of the union [is] to go out there and support [Cousins]," Morris stated. "I feel like [he's] going to come out of this thing and he's going to go on a run here ..."
Cousins' woes have come to a head recently as the Falcons lost their stranglehold on the NFC South standings. However, he wasn't particularly thriving even when Atlanta was 6-3 and ostensibly cruising to a divisional crown, excluding two big games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Eight of Cousins' 17 passing touchdowns have come in the pair of showdowns with the Bucs. He completed over 70 percent of his passes in each contest, a feat the 36-year-old has only accomplished once in Atlanta's 11 non-Tampa Bay matchups. Moreover, only one of his NFL-leading 15 interceptions came in the mentioned clashes.
If Cousins and the Falcons could face the Bucs weekly, Penix would be an afterthought. Alas, that isn't the case, plus Atlanta invested premium draft capital in the latter, making the unwavering commitment to the former even more puzzling.
Sorry to burst your bubble, Falcons fans. But Morris believes Cousins has "earned" the right to help turn things around (despite being at the forefront of Atlanta's collapse).