You hate to see it happen, but it seems to happen every so often in training camp. Football is a sport defined by regulated violence. While cardinal rule No. 1 is to never hit the quarterback under any circumstances in practice, injuries happen. We are not even a week into NFL training camp, and we have already seen the New York Jets' season potentially go up in flames with Justin Fields' leg injury.
New York invested heavily into Fields for this year and next. The Jets were able to effectively pry him away from the Pittsburgh Steelers during his NFL free agency. Fields was supposed to be the unquestioned starter on Aaron Glenn's first team in Florham Park. Now, Glenn may be tasked with giving the keys to the car to the ageless Tyrod Taylor. For my money, I would try to make a big trade.
I mentioned this during Wednesday's episode of The Blogging Dirty Podcast that although the Tennessee Titans may not have been the right team to trade Kirk Cousins to in the wake of Will Levis opting to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, a newer and better option may emerge for the Atlanta Falcons. It appears to be the case with the unfortunate injury surrounding Fields in New York.
If I were Terry Fontenot, I would pick up the phone if Darren Mougey decided to give me a call soon.
New York Jets are now the overwhelming favorite to land Kirk Cousins
Look, I know how the game of football works, or at least I think I do... While a trade between the Falcons and Jets could make a ton of sense for both parties, the right kind of deal needs to manifest first. The Jets trading for Cousins would be under the impression he starts for them this season, and that is probably it. I would be hard-pressed to not take a quarterback in the first round next spring.
For the Falcons, they need to recoup draft compensation, as well as free up some of their finances. Cousins makes more than anyone on the team, but the whole point of this season is for him not to play. It is The Michael Penix Jr. Show in Flowery Branch. How he performs in year two out of Washington will determine if the Dirty Birds can end their near-decade-long playoff drought streak.
Of course, Penix has dealt with injuries in his path. While he is immensely talented, he is still largely unproven at the NFL level. He has only three career starts under his belt in an Atlanta uniform. Should anything happen to him or if he plays poorly, is Raheem Morris going to be comfortable with having Easton Stick starting games for him? This is why trading Cousins is not a must-do for the Falcons.
Fields' injury may not be as devastating as initially reported, so Atlanta has to be cautious with this.