The Atlanta Falcons Are in an Impossible Quarterback Situation for the 2026 Season
Finding the correct answer at the quarterback position seems to elude the Atlanta Falcons year in and year out. 2026 is potentially looking like more of the same, as come the start of the league’s new year, the team will have one quarterback under contract. This, of course, leaves the fans in Atlanta with plenty more questions at quarterback than answers. With a 2026 free agent class that looks extremely disappointing, Atlanta is at an impasse on what to do at quarterback come next season. General manager Ian Cunninham will have to get Atlanta out of an impossible situation that the previous regime put them in.
Cunningham made it known that, come March 11th, former starting quarterback Kirk Cousins will not be on the roster in 2026. Cousins signed a four-year, 180 million dollar contract with the team during the 2024 offseason. He was signed to give stability to a quarterback room that had been anything but stable since the years of former 2016 MVP Matt Ryan. Cousins didn’t even last a full season as the Falcons’ starter and was moved to backup duty come the 2025 season. The benching was more than deserved, as Cousins led the league in turnovers with a career high of 16 interceptions and 13 fumbles when he was starting. Cousins did not bring the stability that he was advertised to bring, not living up to that massive contract at all. The entire 2024 offseason for Atlanta, in hindsight, was dreadful to say the least, with the Cousins signing being front and center, his contract only adding to their impossible quarterback situation.
Another questionable move from that 2024 offseason was spending their eighth overall pick on former University of Washington prospect and 2023 Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. Penix will be 26 going into the 2026 season, and he has yet to start a full season's worth of games. He showed some flashes during his rookie year, but showed no signs of improvement during his sophomore year. Penix’s play was frustratingly inconsistent, the accuracy issues were very prevalent, and he looked jittery in the pocket. He rarely threw the ball over the middle of the field, and his previous injuries leave him a statue in the pocket. Circling back to said injury concerns, Penix tore his ACL in a Week 11 game against the Carolina Panthers. This ACL tear is now the third major leg injury Penix has suffered during his playing career. Safe to say that the Penix has not lived up to his eighth overall selection at all. At the start of the new year, Penix will be the only quarterback on Atlanta’s roster before any trades and signings. It would be foolish for Cunningham and his staff not bring in competition for the starting quarterback position.
How can Cunningham and his staff try to address the quarterback situation during free agency? Well, the realistic options to bring in for quarterback competition for next season leave a lot to be desired. Most of the names only add more questions and concerns to Atlanta’s impossible quarterback situation. Maybe they acquire veteran backups like Tyrod Taylor, Jimmy Garoppolo, or Gardner Minshew? Maybe we could see a reunion with Marcus Mariota? Possibly, but those signings are more can-kicking that still don’t fix their quarterback situation. Cunningham could potentially go after former 2021 top picks Zach Wilson and Trey Lance as career revival projects in hopes they could live up to their potential. That would be redundant, considering Penix is still on the roster, and it would be a massive risk to rely on more unproven quarterbacks to try to lead this team to the playoffs. Trades aren’t any better; the two realistic options would be Mac Jones, who gave the 49ers decent production in Brock Purdy’s stead last year. The other being Anthony Richardson, who has incredibly high upside but is woefully inconsistent. Will the assets they give up be worth it? Are Jones and Richardson upgrades over Penix? No. Trading for Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa are out of the equation after the Kyle Pitts franchise tag tightens their money even further. The quarterbacks currently on the market simply don’t fix the “upgrade” billing. There is no easy or concrete answer as to what Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski will do at quarterback for the upcoming year. For the fans in the A? They can only hope Atlanta can find some quarterback stability the likes they haven’t seen since the Matt Ryan era.
