Kirk Cousins on future as an NFL starter after Falcons benching: ‘I didn’t forget how to play quarterback’

Kirk Cousins is done as the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback, benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. ahead of the team’s Week 16 matchup with the New York Giants. That doesn’t mean Cousins is done as a starter in the NFL, with the veteran suggesting Wednesday he’s confident in his future.

“I didn’t forget how to play quarterback,” Cousins told reporters when asked if he believes he can become a starter again. “Certainly the turnovers were not what you want. But I didn’t forget how to play.”

That said, the former Minnesota Vikings captain said he understands why he was demoted.

“It’s pro football,” Cousins said. “There’s a standard that I have for myself and the team has for me … [and] unfortunately I wasn’t playing up to that standard consistently enough. It is what it is. You roll with it, and you still get ready. … The story’s still being written.”

Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the team in March, downplayed the suggestion that complications from his 2023 Achilles tear played a role in his mercurial season.

“It probably ultimately was the turnovers,” he said. “That’s such a key thing in winning and losing in the NFL. … [And] that’s probably more decision-making than anything. That wouldn’t have anything to do with any physical limitations. So I wouldn’t say so. … There was a lot of production [early]; we were 6-3 nine games in … and so I don’t think there were any real limitations from that standpoint.”

Cousins, who added that he spoke with Penix shortly after he learned of his demotion, said he’s “never really been surprised” by these kinds of moves in the NFL, where “anything can happen.” He’s also understandably unsure where his future lies, despite his confidence in a return to a top job.

“You’re kind of one day at a time right now, and you kind of always are in this league,” he said. “And then, in the offseason, that’s when conversations happen, but we’re not there yet.”