It really is bizarre, Orlovsky's explanation notwithstanding. Cousins is locked in at an enormous price tag for four years. Of course they could view it as a sunk cost, sure, fine, whatever. But if they see Penix as developmental, a guy waiting in the wings after Cousins plays QB for a couple of years, by the time Penix starts he will be 26-27 years of age. That's not the end of the world, as Rodgers didn't start til age 25, and Steve Young didn't really start in the NFL til age 31 (!). So you can get quite a few years of excellent production. But then, why not trade back and draft Penix a little later, adding some draft capital along the way? I can't believe they couldn't have gotten him a little later in the first round.
And if Cousins remains really good, then do they sit a guy who's playing really well in year 3 or 4 of his contract? Then Penix won't start til his late 20s. Just seems really, really odd. They could have used this pick to draft, I don't know, a stud on defense or even Xavier Worthy.