NFL Star’s Wife Gets Emotional After He’s Benched for Younger Player originally appeared on Parade.
Julie Cousins, wife of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, isn’t afraid to stand up for her husband. In Season 2 of the Netflix sports docuseriesQuarterback, Julie addresses the Falcons’ decision to bench her husband in favor of 25-year-old Michael Penix Jr.
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In 2024, the 36-year-old Cousins signed a four-year deal with the Falcons. Despite the move, the team made a surprising decision to draft quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Penix eventually stepped in for Cousins toward the end of the 2024–25 NFL season following a series of turnovers. The Falcons have since announced that Penix will start as quarterback for the upcoming 2025–26 season.
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In one episode of the Netflix series, Julie becomes emotional while recounting how her husband responded to the news that he had lost the starting quarterback job.
She said, “He was gone for about an hour, and that was a really sad time. My kids were playing and I was crying, and they’re like, ‘What’s wrong?’ Trying to explain it to them… they’re like, ‘Is he not on the team anymore?’ It was just a very somber night. He came back and sat in the garage. When I went out there, he was actually calling Michael, which I thought was really cool. Like, who does that? ‘Hey, how are you doing? You just drove home from one of the hardest conversations you’ve ever had, and you’re going to call Michael to say the job is yours.’ I mean, that brings tears to my eyes. That’s the kind of man he is.”
In a clip from the series shared to social media, fans rallied around Julie’s emotional moment. One wrote, “Kirk is a class act—humble man—just a good human,” while another added, “He’s an easy guy to root for.”
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Quarterback is now streaming on Netflix. In addition to Cousins, this season features Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
NFL Star’s Wife Gets Emotional After He’s Benched for Younger Player first appeared on Parade on Jul 14, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.