Four teams, including one in the thick of the playoff chase, will unwrap quarterback changes before Christmas in Week 16.
Most notably, the Atlanta Falcons (7–7) benched Kirk Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr. on Tuesday. Others included the Tennessee Titans (3–11) swapping out Will Levis for Mason Rudolph, the Cleveland Browns (3–11) replacing Jameis Winston with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and the New York Giants (2–12) returning to Drew Lock over Tim Boyle.
“It’s pro football, and there’s a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that unfortunately I wasn’t playing up to that standard consistently enough,” Cousins told reporters on Wednesday. “And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready—‘one play away’ kind of a thing—and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The Falcons sit a game back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) in the NFC South and out of the playoffs if the season ended today. Atlanta will face the Giants on Sunday in a must-win game.
As for the Giants the two other quarterback-changing teams, making a move is about building for 2025 as all three teams are eliminated for playoff contention. Unlike the Titans and Browns, Boyle was a backup getting shot as a starter amid injuries to Lock and Tommy DeVito.
New York has seen a carousel of quarterbacks since benching and releasing the season’s original starter, Daniel Jones. Since Nov. 10, the Giants have fielded four different starters.
“Yeah, you go out there and do the best you can,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Wednesday. “Prepare the guys. The three (remaining) of those guys work hard. Try to take in the game plan, go out there and practice. So, they’ve all got to be ready.”
For the Titans, Levis hasn’t panned out as a second-round pick from Kentucky in 2023. He threw three interceptions in a loss to the Bengals on Dec. 15, and it marked his third game with two or more interceptions this season.
“I still believe that I can be the franchise quarterback for this team,” Levis told reporters on Wednesday. “I have the utmost confidence in myself and my ability to lead any team in this league.”
Cleveland’s search for a franchise quarterback remains in flux as head coach Kevin Stefanski wants to test Thompson-Robinson’s progress over Winston, who has 12 interceptions amid seven starts this season. Winston came in midseason after Deshaun Watson suffered an ACL tear.
“A young player that’s really gotten better in every area,” Stefanski told reporters regarding Thompson-Robinson on Wednesday. “He’s done a very, very good job of getting up to speed on all the nuance of the position.”
“He’s done a very good job of keeping himself prepared for when a moment comes that he’s being put in there. So he’s really taken the preparation part of this really well,” Stefanski added.
