Falcons HC Raheem Morris gives non-answer to starting QB question

Will the Atlanta Falcons be making a change at starting quarterback?

That’s been the question on everyone’s minds as current starter Kirk Cousins continues to struggle. On Tuesday, it became more apparent that it’s also a question on the mind of Raheem Morris, the Falcons’ head coach.

After the Falcons’ Week 15 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, Morris dodged a question about his willingness to promote rookie Michael Penix Jr. to the starting role.

‘Those things will always be discussed, that’s just the nature of the beast in football,’ Morris said Monday. ‘It’s just so heavily talked about at the quarterback position because there’s only one guy out there. For us, our mentality is to find a way to win the next game.’

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On Tuesday, when asked again about a potential quarterback change, Morris was similarly noncommittal.

‘We just got back (from Las Vegas),’ he said, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. ‘We still have to go through that process. All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn’t play well enough at the quarterback position.’

Kendall added more context after sharing the initial quote, saying that Morris and the Falcons are behind schedule on their normal weekly process since they played on Monday night. Morris’ non-answer is partly due to that delay, so it’s possible a change isn’t on the horizon.

Still, the Falcons’ head coach reiterated his sentiments from his postgame press conference the night before.

‘We have to play better at that position (quarterback),’ he said.

It’s up to Morris and his staff to work on building Cousins’ confidence back up after weeks of poor play. Otherwise, they need to make a big decision at the quarterback position before the NFC South division title is out of reach.

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