Heading into the offseason, the Atlanta Falcons had a primary goal: to secure a starting quarterback for the 2024 season. General Manager Terry Fontenot achieved this with the signing of Kirk Cousins in free agency.
However, Cousins, at 35 years old and recovering from a torn Achilles, poses short-term risks and doesn’t represent a long-term solution for the Falcons.
Complicating matters further, developmental prospect Desmond Ridder was traded to the Arizona Cardinals, leaving Atlanta with only two quarterbacks on their roster: Cousins and Taylor Heinicke.
While signing Cousins marks a significant success for Atlanta’s offseason, there’s still roster work to be done with the approaching 2024 NFL Draft.
Fontenot, alongside head coach Raheem Morris, has been actively finalizing draft plans, which reportedly involve adding another quarterback to the roster.
Fontenot stated, “We’re definitely going to add a quarterback, right? We’re not going to go into the season with two arms. But it could be the draft. It could be before or after the draft. We’ll be open-minded about how we go through that.”
Given the roster situation with only two quarterbacks, adding a third is logical. However, the Falcons aren’t expected to use their eighth overall pick in the draft for this purpose.
Instead, they are expected to utilize one of their remaining seven draft picks to fill the crucial quarterback position.
Although the chosen quarterback may not see playing time in the initial two seasons, having a young prospect in development could prove beneficial in the event of an injury to Cousins or for future planning purposes.
