Just two years ago, the Atlanta Falcons shocked a lot of people when they drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round, just weeks after signing Kirk Cousins to a massive contract. The veteran did not sign up to groom his replacement, but he took it on the chin.
Now Cousins is in a similar situation with the Las Vegas Raiders. The team signed him in free agency and then drafted Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick. However, it’s a bit different this time, as Cousins has been well aware of the fact that the Raiders were drafting a quarterback.
He is expected to mentor Mendoza, but is that a role he can thrive in? According to Penix, he has thrived as a mentor before.
“(Mendoza) is going to get a great guy, before the football player,” Penix said, per The Athletic. “You look at Kirk as a man, as a husband, as a father — he has always been great. Obviously, for Fernando, his first year coming up, I know he’s gonna be able to work with Kirk, and Kirk’s going to be there for him.”
Cousins Will Be Very Helpful to Mendoza
Cousins could’ve been cold to Penix considering how the Falcons went about the situation, but it’s clear the young quarterback has a lot of respect for him. It doesn’t sound like he was holding back on Penix in an effort to preserve his starting job.
“The person that he was for me, just helping me make sure I was locked in each and every day, making sure that I understood some of the reads, some of the things that you would get in the league,” Penix said. “Kirk is definitely gonna help (Mendoza) understand getting through your reads, understanding when to eliminate different route concepts so that you can get to the back side and continue to play great football.”
Mendzoa Already Impressing Teammates
The expectation is for Cousins to be the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, but Mendoza won’t make his life easy. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby has been very impressed with Mendoza early on.
“It’s like, listen you don’t just come in and say, OK now you just start where you left off in college — that’s not the reality,” Crosby told reporters recently. “You come here and you have to earn your respect all over again and build up trust within your teammates, your coaches and the whole nine. So, Fernando has been awesome. He’s a great kid. He has great work ethic. I had a lot of the young guys over at the house, we watched Game 7 [of the NBA Western Conference Finals], and Fernando was unfortunately behind me in a game of horse, and I destroyed him. I got him out of there quick. So, he’s got to work on the jump shot, but ultimately he’s a competitor and he’s learning and getting better every single day. So, I’m really excited for what he’s going to bring to this team, and you can already feel just his energy on a daily basis has been extremely consistent.”
Michael Penix Has Clear Message for Fernando Mendoza About Kirk Cousins