FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Raheem Morris held on to hope as long as he could.

"Every single week" over the last month, he hoped Kirk Cousins would get back on track. He hoped the turnovers were a fluke. He hoped his starting quarterback's slump would rectify itself. It never did. So, on Tuesday night, he met with Cousins at the facility in Flowery Branch and told him the news: The team had decided to give the reins of the offense to Michael Penix Jr.

It wasn't an easy conversation to be sure.

"Any time you take a step down, a demotion, it's not going to be met with great appreciation and all those things, but Kirk was a professional. He was a pro. He was a man. He was a great human," Morris said. "... He handled it with class. I can't say enough good things about who the man is, and how he is. Obviously, it comes with some disappointment when you lose your job."

The writing has been on the wall for Cousins and the Falcons for a month, with questions swirling daily about Atlanta's plan for the quarterback position with Cousins' production declining at a significant rate from his October days of glory. Morris and the Falcons' staff gave Cousins as much time as they could to right his own ship. But the closer you get to shore, the more likely you are to run aground, and the Falcons can't afford to do so.

"We had been searching, been digging as much as we can dig to make things work and try to get things going," Morris said. "But (Tuesday) night we came to the decision to make the move. We wanted to play better at quarterback and we felt like we got a chance to play a little bit better and if we can go out there and play better at quarterback who knows what could happen."

As time went on — and Cousins' turnover-to-touchdown ratio became more lopsided — the once burning confidence of the Falcons' belief in Cousins dwindled.

"I had a lot of confidence that we would play better. I had a lot of confidence that we would do better at the position. I had a lot of confidence that he would get back to his form," Morris said. "And we just haven't, for whatever reason. We have to figure those things out."

Morris was asked the obvious follow-up: Is there anything he could put a finger on to explain Cousins' decline in performance?

He was candid and quick with his answer: "No."

Meanwhile, the Falcons have to prepare Penix for his first career start in the league. From a mental standpoint, Morris said, the team believes Penix is ready. The remaining work involves getting him up to speed with the physical side of things, which mainly involves his connection with Atlanta's pass catchers.

Morris said Penix hasn't had much practice time with the first-team offense to this point. This week's practices are particularly important for establishing his connection with Drake London, Darnell Mooney and other offensive weapons quickly.

"The young man has been preparing to go the entire year," Morris explained.

"... (Penix) can execute everything that we want to do. ... So, (the offense) will look very similar to what you know."

As for Cousins, he told Morris in their Tuesday night conversation that he plans to be "the best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League."

As for his future with the organization?

Time will tell on that front.

"We have those long-term decisions that have to be made," Morris concluded, "but that's not right now."