Kirk Cousins Injury Update from Atlanta Falcons Coach Raheem Morris: 'Pretty Much Full Go'

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is progressing towards a Week 1 start according to head coach Raheem Morris.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is trending positively in his injury recovery. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons took to the outdoor practice field Friday without veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins - but if he was invited, he would've been there.

Atlanta began its rookie minicamp in Flowery Branch, where 39 players - 13 tryouts,
nine undrafted free agents, eight draftees, eight free agents from the 2023 draft class and Kenny Oginni, the team's international player pathway selection - put on their jerseys at the IBM Performance Center.

Cousins, nearly an hour after the session ended, walked across the field, flanked by tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London. The 35-year-old signal caller, who's now over six months removed from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles, is no stranger to the turf at Atlanta's headquarters.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Friday that Cousins has been an active participant during the team's practices.

"He's been out there pretty much full go," Morris said. "We've got him in a limited basis because he's still in his rehab and treatment, but he'll be doing a lot of the things when we get because we still won't have a lot of people in the pocket.

"Most of this stuff is jog throughs in the offseason programs, so he's full go on those type of things."

The story surrounding Atlanta's quarterbacks has changed in recent weeks, shifting from Cousins' four-year, $180 million contract to the selection of Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall.

And while Penix's left arm stole the show during the on-field portion of rookie minicamp, Cousins' injury recovery remains paramount to the Falcons' hopes of snapping a six-year playoff drought this fall.

Thus far, all signs around Cousins are positive - and trending upward.

"Kirk is every day improving," Morris said. "We're right at the point where he's doing everything we can do at this point at Phase 2, which is nobody around him, no contact, he's all good. He's been doing all those things, he's been throwing."

Rookie minicamp runs May 10-12, leading into the start of OTAs on May 13. Cousins is expected to be with the first-team offense when Atlanta starts its next phase, though he'll face a minor workload restriction upon taking the field.

"We'll limit what he does as far as the amount, not necessarily what he's doing when it comes to what we're at and what we're able to do right now," Morris said. "This is not like training camp, where I'm worried about people being around his feet, because the pace is so much slower.

"We feel really good about where he's at right now."

The Falcons have already quelled any quarterback questions - Cousins, when healthy, will be the starter. And as things stand, his Achilles recovery appears to be in a good place entering OTAs.