Raheem Morris: Michael Penix is the future, will get his chance "when it's time"

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins has struggled in recent weeks, throwing eight interceptions and zero touchdowns over his last four games.

But head coach Raheem Morris has remained steadfast in his reluctance to make a change at QB, despite the club's selection of Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall in the spring.

Part of that is the development plan that the Falcons have set out for Penix, with Morris saying on Thursday that he doesn’t want to put the young QB in too early.

"I told you right from the beginning, he’s our future," Morris said, via Marc Raimondi of ESPN. "And to be able to have the respect, to be able to have the confidence, to be able to have the wherewithal to support Kirk and all this stuff, too, it's a great learning lesson for him as well.

“So, when you go through all that process, you can look at different organizations [that have] pulled the trigger and put guys out there too early and it's gone terrible, and I don't want to be that guy.”

Morris did not set out the details of the plan for Penix, saying the quarterback will get his chance "when it's time."

Morris, however, did concede that making a switch at signal-caller has crossed his mind. But he went on to continue to express his belief that Cousins will turn it around.

"For me, it's the ultimate encouragement and backing for my building and for my state of the union to go out there and support [Cousins]," Morris said. "So, to say benching doesn't cross your mind, you've always got to consider those things if you feel like it's something that's ... irreparable or whatever the case may be.

"But I don't feel that way. I feel like [Cousins is] going to come out of this thing, and he's going to go on a run here and get us to do the things that we need to do.”

In 13 games this season, Cousins has completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,396 yards with 17 touchdowns and a league-leading 15 interceptions. With Atlanta now at 6-7, Cousins needs to play better football for the club to stay in the postseason race — starting with Monday night's matchup against Las Vegas.