Falcons' Kirk Cousins says shoulder, elbow injuries affected play - ESPN
Kirk Cousins' first season with the Atlanta Falcons did not go as planned for either party, and now the quarterback has finally shed some light on why things went sideways for him after a strong start.
Cousins said Tuesday on NFL Network's «Good Morning Football» that he took a hit during the team's Week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints and hurt his right shoulder and elbow. Previously, he and the team had maintained that he was healthy.
«I, against the Saints, got hit pretty good in my right shoulder and elbow and from there kind of dealing with that was something I was working through and just never really could get it to where I wanted it,» Cousins said.
The Falcons lost that game, which started a four-game losing streak that sent them from 6-3 to 6-7. Cousins was benched in favor of rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in Week 16 after a stretch with nine interceptions and just one touchdown pass over five games.
Cousins was listed as limited on the injury report for one day during Week 11 for a right shoulder and right elbow injury, before the Falcons' game on the road against the Denver Broncos. That day was just a walk-through, though, and the injury report was an estimate. Cousins said after the Broncos game that it was just a «clerical error» and he was 100% healthy.
Cousins tore his right Achilles in Week 8 of the 2023 season. He said the Achilles heeled well, but his right ankle also never felt right in 2024.
«Even if the right ankle wasn't perfect, nobody's perfect in this league,» Cousins said. «We're never feeling a 100%. So, it didn't really affect me too much.»
The Falcons won just two more games after that 6-3 start and, after being in pole position to win the NFC South with a pair of wins over the