Kirk Cousins is currently in a situation that he never experienced during his six years with the Minnesota Vikings. Due to Cousins's poor play in the last few weeks, the Atlanta Falcons decided to bench him on Tuesday and name rookie Michael Penix Jr. the team's starting quarterback moving forward.
On Wednesday, the former Vikings signal-caller answered some questions from the local Atlanta media, and he shared his reaction to the team's decision to remove him from the starting lineup.
"It's pro football. There's a standard that I have for myself and the team has for me that, unfortunately, I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough. So, it is what it is. You roll with it.
Now, you still get ready, one play away kind of a thing, support , and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs. That's what it's all about. That's my focus."
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins says getting benched by Atlanta Falcons is "disappointing"
After sharing his initial reaction to Atlanta's decision to bench him, Cousins opened up about how the team's choice made him feel on a more personal level.
"It's disappointing, but it's pro football. There's no entitlement. You've gotta go out and earn it every single day, and I think I've said that really since I got here. You've gotta go out and earn it every single day, and if you don't, then you're always going to be competing, and change can happen."
Currently in the middle of his 13th NFL season at the age of 36, the former Minnesota quarterback was also asked if he believes he can still be a starter in the league moving forward. Cousins didn't hold back with his answer.
"I didn't forget how to play quarterback. Certainly, turnovers not what you want, but I didn't forget how to play."
Regardless of how the rest of the 2024 campaign goes, Cousins will soon head into a 2025 offseason that will be full of uncertainty. With Atlanta benching him midway through his first year with the team, it's hard to imagine the two sides wanting to continue the relationship together for another season.
Cousins has done enough during his NFL career to probably be given one last chance from another team that thinks they can get more out of him than the Falcons. But at 36, his time in the league is definitely running out, and unfortunately for him, he's probably not going to get to choose when that door on his career officially closes.