Kirk Cousins declines comment on if he would have signed with Falcons had he known draft plans

The Atlanta Falcons surprised a lot of people when they selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first round with the No. 8 overall pick. Possibly even quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins signed with the Falcons in the offseason on a four-year, $180 million deal, making him a massive investment for the franchise.

So how will the two quarterbacks co-exist? Perhaps more interestingly, had Cousins known the Falcons’ draft plans, would he still have signed with Atlanta?

“I don’t really deal in hypotheticals,” Kirk Cousins said at OTAs. “We could go down that path for a long time in a lot of ways, and it just doesn’t do us any good.”

Cousins, of course, is still in the middle of rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon that he suffered in October. The Falcons hope to have him ready by the season.

If he is, the Falcons get one of the league’s better passers. Cousins has thrown for nearly 40,000 yards, with 270 career touchdowns. He’s done it at a high level for a long time.

He’s also eager to show he’s still got a lot in the tank.

“I’m excited for this opportunity I have,” Kirk Cousins said. “I think it’s a real privilege to be a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and I’m trying to make good on the opportunity given me with the way I work each day and when we play this fall.”

As for his relationship with Penix, which will be a work in progress going forward, Cousins put to rest any notions of jealousy or uncomfortability with the new draft pick.

He plans to do what he can to help Penix and hopes that’s reciprocated.

“I don’t think it has to be either or. I think it’s going to be it all,” Kirk Cousins said. “You’ve got to build relationships, you make the positives in people, you serve, you ask questions. I think there’s a place for (where) the quarterback room is a working force for one another. And that’s never not been the case. So we’re all in there as a working force together to help each other. That dynamic has always been there and always will be there.”