The Atlanta Falcons have at least one healthy quarterback on the roster and another in the front office. However, right now it appears they'll roll into Week 2 planning to start Cooper Rush again, despite rookie Jack Strand having been their most-impressive preseason quarterback and Matt Ryan having thrown at practice throughout the summer.
The situation is so dire that some fans are asking the organization to call Cam Newton out of his non-retirement. While that would make for some splashy headlines going into a matchup with the Carolina Panthers, if it were going to happen it would have already happened by now.
There's no end in sight, with a short week coming after Sunday's game as the Falcons prepare to play the Green Bay Packers on Thursday
NIght Football - so we can probably pencil in Rush to start that game, as well.
The best solution may come via trade. According to Kristopher Knox at Bleacher Report, the Falcons are potential suitors for Pittsburgh Steelers backup Mason Rudolph.
"According to longtime NFL reporter Jason La Canfora, the Steelers are open to trading Rudolph if they can find a buyer... Other backups could be available, but teams also need depth and/or a spot starter. The Falcons have a quarterback mess on their hands. Over the past week, the Seattle Seahawks lost Sam Darnold to a hip injury. The Minnesota Vikings also lost Kyler Murray to a concussion."
The only problem with this idea is that Mason Rudolph is a below-average quarterback, unsuited to start at this level and far from an ideal backup, as well.
In 34 career games, Rudolph has thrown for 4,925 yards, 30 touchdowns, 22 interceptions and an 84.7 passer rating. While those sound like decent numbers for a backup, the advanced stats paint a more realistic and grim picture. Rudolph has a 44.4% success rate and a career Elo Value that ranks 538th among qualifying quarterbacks.
Until Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski is willing to make a clear declaration of who his starting quarterback is, the questions and speculation will continue.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons named potential trade suitor for Steelers quarterback
