Cousins (Achilles), who signed a four-year deal with Atlanta in March, is slated to be joined in the team's QB corps by Michael Penix, who was taken with the No. 8 overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft, Terrin Waack of the Falcons' official site reports. Despite the franchise's surprising decision to select Penix, Cousins, who is rebounding from an Achilles tear that he sustained Oct. 29, remains locked in as the Falcons' No. 1 QB for the foreseeable future. Regarding that topic, GM Terry Fontenot noted Thursday, "Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We're very excited about Kirk, very excited about this team. (With) Michael Penix we're talking about the future. The draft is you look at the future and you look at big picture." In terms of his injury recovery, Cousins relayed last month that he's progressing well and is "optimistic that (he) can be full speed at practice before (the Falcons) break for the summer." In any case, barring any setbacks, Cousins -- who turns 36 in August -- is entrenched atop Atlanta's depth chart, with Penix providing the team with both an insurance policy for the veteran signal-caller, as well as a potential successor down the road.
Heavy on Falcons
Atlanta Falcons news & information.
Atlanta Falcons
NFC South
(7-10, 3rd place)
Latest Falcons News Alerts
More from Heavy on Falcons
Falcons schedule 2023
Falcons team stats 2023
-
passing yards
2836rushing yards
976receiving yards
905tackles
89interceptions
6Passing
name GP CMP ATT CMP% YDS YDS/G TD INT SACK SYL RTG T. Heinicke,QB57413654.4%890178.05484774.7D. London,WR1611100.0%221.40000118.8D. Ridder,QB1524938864.2%2,836189.112123119783.4L. Woodside,QB13475.0%2727.0011753.1J. Smith,TE17010.0%00.0000039.6Rushing
name GP CAR YDS AVG LNG YDS/G TD FUM LST FD K. Pitts,TE171-4-4.04-0.20040T. Heinicke,QB5151248.32424.81145D. Ridder,QB15531933.62312.95122918K. Hodge,WR17100.000.00110C. Patterson,RB14501813.61812.901129L. Woodside,QB1166.066.00000J. Smith,TE17100.000.00100T. Allgeier,RB171866833.73140.2403839B. Robinson,RB172149764.63857.4444950Receiving
name GP REC TGTS YDS AVG TD LNG YDS/G YAC FD K. Pitts,TE1753906671333939.2134.035D. Byrd,WR10200000.00.00D. London,WR16691109051324556.6188.045T. Fisk,TE61199091.56.01D. Ridder,QB1511-6-606-0.40.00K. Hodge,WR1714232321705213.682.013S. Miller,WR171116161152569.580.06V. Jefferson,WR12122810180148.417.06M. Hollins,WR1318302511404519.355.09K. Smith,FB133333110282.515.01J. FitzPatrick,TE91112120121.310.01C. Patterson,RB149123841112.737.02J. Smith,TE1750705821236034.2357.026M. Pruitt,TE17912110121226.551.06T. Allgeier,RB1718231931117511.4217.06B. Robinson,RB175886487847128.6519.024Defense
TacklesSacksInterceptionsFumblesname GP SOLO AST TOTAL SACK SCKYDS TFL PD INT TD FF FR FTD J. Bates III, SAF17 89 43 132 0 0 3 11 6 0 0 0 0 K. Elliss, LB17 82 40 122 4 36 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 N. Landman, LB16 66 44 110 2 18 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 R. Grant, SAF17 65 37 102 3 19 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 C. Campbell, DL17 32 24 56 6.5 29 10 1 0 0 0 1 0 D. Onyemata, DL14 25 25 50 4 22.5 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 A. Terrell, CB17 34 11 45 0 0 4 11 0 0 0 0 0 J. Okudah, CB13 34 10 44 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 D. Alford, CB16 25 16 41 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 1 0 B. Dupree, OLB16 17 22 39 6.5 28.5 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 L. Carter, OLB17 24 11 35 3 33 6 1 0 0 0 2 0 Z. Harrison, DL16 18 15 33 3 10 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 D. Hellams, SAF15 20 12 32 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 C. Phillips III, CB11 22 5 27 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 A. Ebiketie, OLB17 16 9 25 6 40 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 G. Jarrett, DL8 9 14 23 1.5 10.5 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 T. Graham, DL15 6 17 23 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 A. Huggins, DL13 7 15 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 M. Hughes, CB15 14 7 21 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 T. Andersen, LB2 6 12 18 0.5 3.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 T. Flowers, CB17 12 6 18 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 A. Smith Jr., LB11 10 6 16 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 K. Street, DL5 9 5 14 1 2 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 L. London, DL7 6 7 13 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 T. Horne, DL3 0 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 M. Abernathy, SAF12 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 J. Gaziano, DL2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 J. Hawkins, SAF6 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T. Bell, DT2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D. Malone, OLB17 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E. Ankou, DT1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K. Pitts, TE17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 L. McCullough, LS17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K. McGary, T14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D. London, WR16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 M. Bergeron, OL17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P. Hesse, TE3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T. Fisk, TE6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D. Ridder, QB15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K. Hodge, WR17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S. Miller, WR17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 M. Hollins, WR13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K. Smith, FB13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T. Davis, LB8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 J. FitzPatrick, TE9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 M. Eifler, LB2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D. Dalman, OL14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C. Lindstrom, G16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 J. Smith, TE17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T. Allgeier, RB17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B. Robinson, RB17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Falcons Depth Chart
Falcons Injury Report
Cousins (Achilles), who signed a four-year deal with Atlanta in March, is slated to be joined in the team's QB corps by Michael Penix, who was taken with the No. 8 overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft, Terrin Waack of the Falcons' official site reports. Despite the franchise's surprising decision to select Penix, Cousins, who is rebounding from an Achilles tear that he sustained Oct. 29, remains locked in as the Falcons' No. 1 QB for the foreseeable future. Regarding that topic, GM Terry Fontenot noted Thursday, "Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We're very excited about Kirk, very excited about this team. (With) Michael Penix we're talking about the future. The draft is you look at the future and you look at big picture." In terms of his injury recovery, Cousins relayed last month that he's progressing well and is "optimistic that (he) can be full speed at practice before (the Falcons) break for the summer." In any case, barring any setbacks, Cousins -- who turns 36 in August -- is entrenched atop Atlanta's depth chart, with Penix providing the team with both an insurance policy for the veteran signal-caller, as well as a potential successor down the road.
Smith-Williams signed a one-year deal with the Falcons on Monday, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports. Smith-Williams spent the firsst four seasons of his career with Washington, where he recorded seven sacks across 55 appearances. In 13 games last season, the 26-year-old logged 22 tackles and one sack. Smith-Williams should add depth at defensive end for the Falcons, and he'll likely slot in somewhere beind starters Ta'Quon Graham, Grady Jarrett (knee), and Zach Harrison (knee).
King signed with the Falcons on Monday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports. King, who sat out the 2022 season for personal reasons and then missed 2023 due to a torn Achilles that sustained during an offseason workout, will now look to secure a role in the Falcons' secondary after last seeing game action in 2021 with the Packers. During that campaign, the 2017 second-rounder recorded 29 tackles and a pick in 10 regular-season outings (six of which were starts).
The Falcons signed Hamilton on Thursday, Amna Subhan of the team's official site reports. After spending each of the last three seasons with the Cardinals, Hamilton has found a new home in Atlanta. The veteran cornerback has appeared in 98 games (18 starts) across his eight-year NFL career, logging 147 total tackles and 25 passes defended, including two interceptions. Hamilton is expected to compete for a depth role in the Falcons' secondary ahead of the 2024 season.
The Falcons signed Goldman on Wednesday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports. Goldman will join Atlanta's offseason roster after he recently decided to put an end to his second retirement. The 6-foot-3, 332-pound defensive tackle last saw action with the Bears in 2021, but now that he's been signed by Atlanta, the 30-year-old will look to carve out a role in the team's line rotation.
Heinicke took a pay cut in March to stay with the Falcons, reducing his $5 million base salary to $1.21 million, ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein reports. He also converted a $1.32 million roster bonus to a signing bonus and agreed to remove the $40,000 per-game roster bonuses for his contract. He's left with $2.53 million in real-money compensation for the second and final year of his deal, with a $4.53 million cap hit. Heinicke is in excellent position for the backup QB role behind Kirk Cousins, after Desmond Ridder was traded to Arizona for WR Rondale Moore in mid-March. The Falcons still have time to bring in competition, but it may not be a priority given that Heinicke's track record suggests he's qualified for the second spot on the depth chart. They'll at least need to bring in a camp arm or two, seeing as Cousins and Heinicke are the only QBs on the roster at the beginning of April.
Street (pectoral) re-signed with the Falcons on Monday. Street was sent to Atlanta via a trade with the Eagles on Oct. 30 and proceeded to play five games with the franchise before suffering a season-ending pectoral injury. The NC State product should bolster the Falcons' depth on the defensive line in 2024.
The Falcons signed McCloud to a two-year deal worth up to $6 million Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. McCloud has agreed to terms with Atlanta after spending the last two years of his career in San Francisco. The 27-year-old wideout was primarily utilized as a return specialist in 2023, returning 24 punts and 10 kicks for 428 yards. McCloud played just 28 percent of the 49ers' offensive snaps last season, catching 12 of his 15 targets for 135 yards and no touchdowns. He's expected to have the opportunity to compete for a depth role at wideout this offseason, most likely behind both Drake London and Darnell Mooney.