Caleb Harris
If the Super Bowl was being played today and the Atlanta Falcons were playing in the big game, quarterback Kirk Cousins says he would be ready to go despite still recovering from an Achilles injury suffered last season. These are a lot of hypotheses that aren’t close to happening at the moment, but they do provide some insight into Cousins’ health status and thought process.
When discussing his progress, Cousins said, “I’m ready to go.”
“I’ve been telling people for a while now that if the Super Bowl were today, I would play,” Cousins said. via NBC Sports. “And that probably goes back to – I think when I first got here, I was working out and maybe we took a week or two for my rehab and I did some workouts where I said, ‘Hey, if the Super Bowl was today, I’m playing.’ And they seemed to agree.”
The Super Bowl is 264 days away and the Falcons are not currently favored to win it all. They have the 14th-best odds (+2,800) to win it all and the sixth-best odds (+1,300) to be conference champions, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Those aren’t the worst odds, but if Atlanta makes it to the Super Bowl, Cousins won’t have to worry about being ready for it.
Cousins saying he’d be ready to play in a championship today might seem encouraging, but taking the leap all the way to the Super Bowl suggests he wouldn’t be ready to play in a regular-season game in the same time frame. Cousins still has time to prepare for the season, with 110 days left until the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cousins went on to describe the complexities of his recovery.
“So, you know, once the tendon gets stabilized and heals and the tissue connects, you’re really trying to tell your body that you’re okay now, because the brain still wants to guard and protect and that takes some time,” he said, later adding, “Even if it didn’t heal completely, which I hope it will.”
This also suggests that Cousins still has some time before he knows if he is fully healed.
Cousins joined the Falcons this offseason after spending six years with the Minnesota Vikings (2018-2023).
Cousins never advanced to the Super Bowl with the Vikings or his first team, the Washington Commanders. The furthest he got in the postseason with any team was in the divisional round. He played in five postseason games, starting four, with a 1-3 record. In his playoff career, he had 1,047 passing yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
Like Cousins, the Falcons don’t have much playoff or Super Bowl experience. The last time the Falcons were in a big game was late in the 2016 season when they blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots. Atlanta hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season and has two Super Bowl appearances – both losses.
At almost 36 years old, Cousins is expected to be ready to start the 2024 season, but his age and the severity of the injury leave questions about what his health will be like next season. The Falcons are banking on him being ready to go, giving him a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
They do, however, have a backup plan. The team surprisingly drafted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. 8th overall in 2024 NFL Draftsaying it was to secure a talent position for the future.
