"Kirk Cousins career over" - NFL fans react as Michael Penix Jr. replaces $180,000,000 QB as starter for Falcons 

Michael Penix Jr. is replacing Kirk Cousins as the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback. Head coach Raheem Morris announced the change on Tuesday, a day after the 15-9 win at the Las Vegas Raiders that saw the team fail to reach the red zone at all despite scoring a passing touchdown courtesy of Drake London.

His statement, released by the team, reads:

"After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward. This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."

As soon as the statement came out, there was mockery directed at Cousins, especially since he is on a four-year, $180-million contract:

"Kirk Cousins career over."

"180 mill sitting on the bench."

"Kirk left the Vikings to not be a bridge quarterback only to be a bridge quarterback."

More reactions can be seen below:

"Yes, its time!!!!" one cheered.

"Finally," another sighed.

"Where is Kirk going?" another wondered.

Penix, the Falcons' eighth pick of the Draft, is expected to make his debut against the New York Giants this coming Sunday.

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Falcons' benching of Kirk Cousins for Michael Penix Jr. had been foreshadowed by HC Raheem Morris

This move by the Falcons has been long in the making, however. As soon as Kirk Cousins started failing to establish his dominance over the NFC South, Raheem Morris knew he had to do something about it. In that same Tuesday presser, he said:

"We didn't play well (Monday) at (the quarterback position). I like to be open and honest about those things. It's always going to be those question marks …when it comes to the quarterback. And you got to be really transparent about it. We got to play better."

Hence, the switch to Michael Penix Jr., who exploded for 4,903 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns against eleven interceptions in his final season at Washington and helped the Huskies go undefeated in the regular season and go all the way the the national title game, where they would lose to future Minnesota Viking JJ McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines.

Defending the decision to draft Penix Jr. in April, general manager Ryan Fontenot had said:

"If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him. And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we're doing so well at that position."

Penix made his pro debut late against the Seattle Seahawks, completing his only passing attempt - a 14-yarder to sixth-round batchmate Casey Washington. So far, he has completed three of five passing attempts for 68 yards. He has also been sacked once.