Late in the season, you’ll find some NFL teams pondering truly desperate options at quarterback. Over a long season, injuries happen. Teams aren’t prepared to lose two or three quarterbacks and have a good option left.
The Atlanta Falcons are dealing with that. It’s Week 2.
It’s hard to remember a team that had such a dire quarterback situation this early in the season, other than the 2026 Cleveland Browns. When asked on Wednesday, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski refused to name a Week 2 starter. He didn’t rule out Jack Strand, an undrafted rookie from Minnesota State–Moorhead.
This isn’t exactly prime Matt Ryan the Falcons will be starting on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
“We will have a quarterback, yes, for this week,” Stefanski told the media.
That’s reassuring.
The Falcons’ lackluster QB options
The Falcons were one of the teams to roster four quarterbacks, and all of them have various issues after one week.
Michael Penix Jr.: Penix is coming off a torn ACL and while he said he’s close, he said he told Stefanski last week, “I’m not where I want to be right now,” via the team’s site. Perhaps that changes by Sunday. Stefanski said he will practice Wednesday.
Tua Tagovailoa: The sad arc of Tagovailoa’s career took a cruel twist last week when he hurt his oblique in warmups at the start of practice and he was ruled out of Week 1. Stefanski said Tagovailoa won’t practice Wednesday.
Cooper Rush: Rush did start in Week 1 and did not play well. He completed 12 passes and eight went to running back Bijan Robinson. His interception to T.J. Watt that was returned for a touchdown was a turning point in a 20-13 loss. The offense was awful with Rush at QB. The Falcons can’t be the least bit excited to start him again.
Jack Strand: Strand didn’t play last week and his college career was in Division II. He has become a fun name after having some good plays in the preseason. So was Max Brosmer for the Vikings last season, until he had to play in the regular season and struggled mightily. The odds of a Division II undrafted rookie playing at a high level in his first NFL snaps is pretty low.
That’s the group Stefanski is picking from. No wonder he didn’t want to announce a decision on Wednesday.
“I’d say we’re working through it,” Stefanski said. “I’m not ruling anyone out.”
Will Michael Penix Jr. be ready?
Whoever the Falcons pick, it won’t be ideal. Even if Penix says he’s ready to go, there is plenty of skepticism that Penix will ever be worth the eighth pick of the NFL Draft, which the Falcons used on him in 2024. He has been pretty underwhelming as a pro, though he’s clearly the best option the Falcons have.
How did the Falcons get here? The gamble on Penix, who had major health concerns coming out of college, hasn’t worked out yet. Tagovailoa was very cheap after the Dolphins cut him with a massive dead cap hit, and health was a reason. So was the complete downturn in his play, which continued during a bad preseason. Rush has had some good moments, but there’s a reason he’s a No. 3 quarterback on a bad team. Strand seems like a good UDFA signing but that’s still a long way from being a good NFL quarterback.
That’s the hand Stefanski was dealt for his first Falcons season. Perhaps Penix comes back and plays well, as he has for brief stretches in his career. That would be a remarkable turn for the Falcons.
Otherwise, it’s going to be a long season for the Falcons. It has already felt like a long season. And it’s just Week 2.
About the Author
