Kirk Cousins is reportedly set to make his first start of the season. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback will start on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Regular starter Michael Penix Jr. is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee suffered last week against the San Francisco 49ers and was listed as "questionable" on the team's Friday injury report.

As Penix was limited in practice, Cousins took "significant" reps this week, according to head coach Raheem Morris, an indication the quarterback is preparing to potentially start in case Penix is ruled out.

"I'm really confident in our backup," Morris said about Cousins. "We're gonna give [Penix] every opportunity we can give him. The kid is tough."

Morris added that a quarterback decision will likely not come until gameday, but Schefter broke the news a little early.

[Get more Falcons news: Atlanta team feed]

It was in Week 16 last season that Penix took over the starting job from Cousins after the Falcons went from a 6-3 start to dropping four of five games, which featured Cousins throwing nine interceptions and only one touchdown.

The 37-year-old Cousins is in the second year of a four-year, $ 180 million contract that ranks him among the NFL's top 15 salaries at the position. Shortly after signing Cousins, the Falcons made Penix their first-round pick. Atlanta is reportedly asking for any potential trade partner to take on most of that contract, along with a high draft pick in exchange.

The 3-3 Falcons sit third in the NFC South behind the 4-3 Carolina Panthers and 5-2 first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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