When Kirk Cousins took over the starting job in Washington, the media scrutinized everything from Robert Griffin III’s press conferences to his body language.
The media’s charted course was clear. Make sure RG III was a good teammate to Aw Shucks Kirk, and if he weren’t, every morning sports talk show in the Washington, DC area would tear him apart.
Years later, the shoe could be on the other foot.
Atlanta is prepared to move forward with Michael Penix Jr. as the starter, and, as of now, they are asking Cousins to be the backup. I suggested this back in December.
Both Cousins and the Falcons have been saying the right things. Cousins has let the organization know he would like to go to a team where he can start. In return, the Falcons have said they’ll try accommodating Cousins if it makes sense for the organization.
As of now, no offer has made the Falcons move in that direction, and Cousins is starting to grow weary.
Cousins would like to be released, but the Falcons don’t want to absorb the cap hit. Teams are also looking at the remaining balance on Cousins’ contract, and they don’t want to absorb that.
Cousins won’t be at the voluntary workouts, which makes sense. The Falcons expected that, but if Cousins decides to hold out, Atlanta should do everything defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to claw back money.
It’s time for Cousins to do what was expected from RG III.
Be a good teammate.
