Jump to content

What are the Falcons doing with Cousins and Michael Pennix Jr.?


DigInBoys

Recommended Posts

13 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Yeah so with projected inflation you'd come out ahead being able to June 1 him.

I think the cap is going to be over $300M in 2026 and beyond. So honestly, it won't be that big of a deal to eat that $25M then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, MikeT14 said:

Sure... but they didn't. They did it for a 24 year old who is maybe the most ready to play now. 

A Day 1 impact pass rusher might have gone a long way to boost that defense. They're in a weaker division. Start with possible home field and you never know. 

 

Yeah, but very few first round picks are day 1 impact pass rushers. And they basically just followed their board. They went BPA on their board. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Wouldn't it be the same or a bigger hit if they can't June 1 cut him?

 

37 minutes ago, Jakuvious said:

It would be the same. They could have him wait to submit the paperwork until after June 1st, and it'd amount to the same thing as a June 1st trade/cut. Jason Kelce hasn't technically retired yet for this reason for Philly.

But yeah, retirement saves them nothing in terms of dead money. Would be the same as cutting him.

He’s also got a 2026 roster bonus that kicks in on the 5th day of the 2025 league year, I’m pretty sure they’d be on the hook for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, scar988 said:

I think the cap is going to be over $300M in 2026 and beyond. So honestly, it won't be that big of a deal to eat that $25M then.

$25M (assuming Atlanta has $0 in dead cap beyond Kirk) would be 6th in dead cap right now. Like I said, dead money’s a reality to the NFL especially on QB contracts, but paying someone 8.3% of cap (assuming $300M is the number) to not play for you, isn’t a good plan. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Soko said:

$25M (assuming Atlanta has $0 in dead cap beyond Kirk) would be 6th in dead cap right now. Like I said, dead money’s a reality to the NFL especially on QB contracts, but paying someone 8.3% of cap (assuming $300M is the number) to not play for you, isn’t a good plan. 

Meh, maybe not. But it's the likelihood at this point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Soko said:

 

He’s also got a 2026 roster bonus that kicks in on the 5th day of the 2025 league year, I’m pretty sure they’d be on the hook for that.

So practically if he wanted to retire they'd restructure that to a 2027 roster bonus or something like that.

But seems doubtful either way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, scar988 said:

Yeah, but very few first round picks are day 1 impact pass rushers. And they basically just followed their board. They went BPA on their board. 

Maybe not a high mark, but very few is selling it short too. Aidan, Kayvon, Jaelen Phillips, Chase had some good first year productions as high picks. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MikeT14 said:

Maybe not a high mark, but very few is selling it short too. Aidan, Kayvon, Jaelen Phillips, Chase had some good first year productions as high picks. 

None of the pass rushers in this draft had that kind of first year ceiling. All of them had some projection and project-ness to them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Cousins, retired, the team would be entitled to recover the portion of his signing bonus covered by the seasons he isn't playing. So he won't retire without assurances they won't come after the money. Remember when the Lions tried to claw back money from Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson?

More importantly, why would he retire at all? He probably believes, correctly, that Penix isn't likely to beat him out on merit. If they just make Penix the starter, he can collect 45 mil as the backup. I think he has a no-trade clause so they can't move him unless he wants to go somewhere. So they'll probably have to cut him at some point and hurt their team. Or admit taking Penix there was a mistake and keep him behind Cousins for as long as the latter is healthy. 

Either way, the Falcons botched it, from undermining the guy they just gave a big contract to, to the player evaluation if they really think Penix is the 3rd best overall prospect in this draft class, to not maximizing value by trading down. 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

If Cousins, retired, the team would be entitled to recover the portion of his signing bonus covered by the seasons he isn't playing. So he won't retire without assurances they won't come after the money. Remember when the Lions tried to claw back money from Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson?

More importantly, why would he retire at all? He probably believes, correctly, that Penix isn't likely to beat him out on merit. If they just make Penix the starter, he can collect 45 mil as the backup. I think he has a no-trade clause so they can't move him unless he wants to go somewhere. So they'll probably have to cut him at some point and hurt their team. Or admit taking Penix there was a mistake and keep him behind Cousins for as long as the latter is healthy. 

Either way, the Falcons botched it, from undermining the guy they just gave a big contract to, to the player evaluation if they really think Penix is the 3rd best overall prospect in this draft class, to not maximizing value by trading down. 

 

 

If they traded down, they probably don't get Penix. 

 

On the flip side, they probably pick up a 2nd rounder this year and end up with say, pick 13, take Laiatu Latu at 13 and then have a pair of 2s they could probably use to get to around 18-19 and get Dallas Turner and end up with both top pass rushers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

I don’t have issues with the Michael Penix pick because of Cousins injury.

 

However, I do NOT understand the thought process behind giving Cousins the money they gave him.

 

If you view the selection from the perspective of I don’t trust Cousins to bounce back, then it’s a smart pick. You can kill Atalanta for their free agency decision.

Edited by candyman93
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, scar988 said:

If they traded down, they probably don't get Penix. 

 

 

That's a feature, not a bug. Getting a good defensive player at 12 or 13 plus say the Raiders 2nd this year or Broncos 3 this year plus 2nd next year would help beef up their defense. The reason they spent 45 mil on Cousins is to not have uncertainty at QB. They could have spent it on a couple of top tier D-linemen if they were that high on Penix. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...