The Atlanta Falcons, fresh off a loss against the Chicago Bears, are signing veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. In a corresponding move, they’ve cut ties with fellow red-headed quarterback Cooper Rush.
To say this is a bit of a curious move would be an understatement, given that Dalton will open up as the third quarterback on the roster. Whether this is the Falcons covering themselves with Michael Penix Jr. getting banged up repeatedly and not wanting to chance Rush getting back into a game in case
of a rash of injuries that takes down Penix and backup Tua Tagovailoa, or whether they view Dalton as a possible QB2 over Tua remains to be seen. Either way, Dalton’s a slam dunk upgrade on what the team had with Rush, at the very least.
It was recently reported that Dalton had turned down an offer to return to the Eagles, where he was Jalen Hurts’ backup until he threw an interception on his lone passing attempt in Week 3 against the Bears; the Eagles released him on October 9. With Hurts going on injured reserve and Tanner McKee, Cole Payton, and Joe Milton as the only quarterbacks in the mix, Philadelphia wanted him back, but he declined to return.
The path to playing time would seem to be much clearer in Philadelphia, which is part of what makes this interesting. One would think for Dalton to sign on he’d have to be given a legitimate chance to compete with Tua to back up Penix, and that’s my operating assumption until I hear otherwise.
Dalton has appeared in 180 games in his career with 139 starts, with his last more-or-less full-time role coming back in 2022 for the Saints. Originally a 2011 second round pick for the Bengals, Dalton finished his career second in passing yards and first in touchdowns in Cincinnati’s history. He has 254 career touchdown passes and 152 interceptions as his age 39 season rolls on and has typically been a solid backup at worst for the teams he’s played for, with a 66% completion percentage and 10 touchdowns against 7 interceptions in his last extended reserve stint with the Panthers from 2023 to 2025. It goes without saying that while his signing adds some intrigue to the backup competition here in Atlanta, my hope is that Penix is both healthy and effective enough that we never see him in 2026.
Give Dalton a warm welcome, and we’ll see if he can overtake Tua for backup duties in the weeks ahead.
