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Kirk Cousins Says His Achilles is Fine, But it Sure Doesn’t Look Like It
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Kirk Cousins is taking the majority of the blame for the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And it’s not because he’s yet to be all the way back from his Achilles injury, he said.
Cousins said Thursday that his right Achilles, which he tore in Week 8 of last season, feels “good” and his struggles Sunday had nothing to do with his health. Cousins had just 19 passing yards in the second half, the lowest second-half total of his career. The 13-year veteran said it was more about not having played in a while than it was an injury issue.
If you’ve been scanning NFL news this week, you’ve probably come across the thought that Kirk Cousins is not fully healthy.
It’s not some outrageous conspiracy theory. There are a number of notable accounts have put together video clips and compilations that appear to show his mechanics being altered as a result of favoring the repaired Achilles:
every Kirk Cousins dropback end zone view
what do you notice pic.twitter.com/RllUesBU7F
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 9, 2024
Kirk Cousins is clearly NOT healthy.
The Falcons were in Pistol/Shotgun on 96% of their snaps Sunday!!
He has a NEW stance in the shotgun & it tells you everything you need to know about his health.
Let me show you @TheFacilityFS1 #RiseUp pic.twitter.com/U3HYTBElPY
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) September 11, 2024
Cousins was 16-26 for 155 yards, one touchdown, and two picks. It was the first game he’s played since October 29th of last year.
Anybody who has had a serious injury can tell you that the return to action sucks. You can be the toughest guy on the planet and feel like you’re healthy. You’ve completed the rehab and done everything the right way. But there’s a niggling thing in the back of your mind that you can’t really control, a subconscious thought that it’s go time and you’re wary of re-injuring yourself or putting too much weight on a bad foot, or using too much torque for a fixed arm – whatever the ailment is. That’s kind of the theory here with Cousins. It looks like he’s favoring his repaired foot and there was a noticeable lack of mobility in his performance. He didn’t throw deep and the Falcons ran a ton of pistol looks and he was mostly static in the pocket.
Whether it’s mental or physical, I guess we’ll find out Monday night. The Eagles pass rush is back home and playing on a proper surface with something to prove. They should really try to get after Cousins early, make him uncomfortable, and/or put him on his back. YOU LIKE THAT? YOU LIKE THAT?
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com