There's not much more clarity surrounding the future of Kirk Cousins in Atlanta than there was at the end of last season when he lost his starting job to Michael Penix Jr. It appears that despite signing an enormous contract and being tabbed as the quarterback of the future, the veteran signal-caller will not be at the center of the organization's long-term plans. Whenever something like this happens the discourse moves to the point where people start getting antsy but it makes a lot of sense for trade speculation to be just that for a few reasons.
First, there will be more teams down the road who would consider bringing in a proven quarterback like Cousins than there are now as the season begins and injuries occur. Second, there's no guarantee Penix will perform at the level the Falcons hope and Cousins is a proven commodity and nice safety blanket. While that waiting takes place, though, there's room for some awkwardness and studying of the participation report.
