Kirk Cousins has completed 68.1 percent of his pass attempts for 2,807 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Since they have the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Falcons are essentially two games up on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for tops in the NFC South.

As the Atlanta Falcons prepare for their game against the Los Angeles Chargers, they now have to keep another player in mind.

Shortly after the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. via the eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, reporters and analysts noted that Atlanta could make Kirk Cousins available to other clubs following the ongoing season.

Several of the Falcons starters returned to practice Wednesday, according to the team’s official injury report.

From 2021 to 2023, the Falcons used multiple first-round picks on offensive weapons, drafting Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson in consecutive years. Cousins has helped the team utilize these young playmakers in a way that Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder could not.

Thanksgiving is here and that means a virtual smorgasbord of football action. The weekend begins with a tripleheader on the big day itself, and the fun doesn’t stop until Monday. In this space, it’s been a tough season but, on the bright side, four of the last five weeks have ended in the green as we scratch and claw our way toward respectability.

Falcons first-year coach Raheem Morris has his team in first place in the NFC South with six games to play in the regular season. The Falcons (6-5) are set to face the resurgent Chargers (7-4) at 1 p.