Falcons Named Potential Landing Spot For 2x Pro Bowl Quarterback

The Atlanta Falcons would gain a quarterback who was taken first overall in the draft in this scenario

The Falcons are a potential landing spot for a veteran QB | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons enter the 2026 NFL season at the start of a new era. With head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham taking over, Atlanta is resetting its identity. The roster features promising young talent, established veterans and more than a few unanswered questions, the biggest of which lies at the quarterback position.

Michael Penix Jr. started nine games for the Falcons in 2025, before a partially torn ACL suffered in a Week 11 matchup with the Carolina Panthers sidelined him for the rest of the season. Atlanta’s staff has been non-committal to Penix as the starter, and some insiders have reported that the Falcons may be looking for a replacement at quarterback. 

Whether that proves to be the case or not, one thing is clear: once veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is released on the first day of the new league year in March, the Falcons will be left with just one quarterback on the roster. At minimum, Atlanta will need to bring in another arm this offseason, if not to compete for the starting job, then to provide necessary depth behind whoever ultimately takes the QB1 reps.

A name that’s been thrown around this offseason for the Falcons is Kyler Murray. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and Chris Simms spoke on Thursday about Atlanta as a destination for the former Pro Bowl quarterback.

“The other one [landing spot] that I’ll throw out to you is Atlanta,” Chris Simms said while discussing Kyler Murray’s future. “Atlanta and that situation with Michael Penix, what you hear coming out of there right now, it doesn’t sound like Matt Ryan and the regime are sold that Michael Penix is definitely the guy to take them forward.”

One of the biggest knocks on Murray’s game has long been his height. The quarterback is listed at just 5-foot-10. But as Chris Simms and Mike Florio noted, Stefanski has not shown hesitation when it comes to working with quarterbacks who don’t fit the prototypical mold.

“We know Kevin Stefanski will have no qualms about a short quarterback; he drafted one last year in Cleveland,” Florio said. “And wanted him to play. He was the guy.”

While it’s unclear whether Stefanski specifically pushed the Browns to acquire Dillon Gabriel, he ultimately made the call to start the 5-foot-11 quarterback over Shedeur Sanders, a decision that reinforces the idea that height alone won’t be a disqualifier in his system.

And from an offensive standpoint, the Falcons offer one of the more quarterback-friendly setups in the league.

“Atlanta’s fascinating because of all the weapons they have,” Florio said. “Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson and Drake London, they can create space for him [Murray], they could. And you know the other thing they have is a really good offensive line. They have one of the better offensive lines in football.”

Murray, who was the first overall pick in 2019, was a Pro Bowler in two of his first three seasons in the NFL, throwing at least 20 touchdowns in each of those seasons. However, he has played fewer than nine games in two of the last three seasons. He played just five games in 2025 before getting hurt, and then never saw the field again, with the Cardinals choosing to shut him down when he was healthy. 

Not to mention, Murray has quite a hefty contract, set to earn a base salary of over $22.8 million in 2026. It doesn’t quite make sense for the Falcons to take on that contract, especially when they’re just moving off a massive Kirk Cousins contract.

Atlanta also only has five picks in the upcoming draft. There is no need for the team to give up draft assets to take on a quarterback with an injury history (especially when that is currently one of the biggest concerns with Penix), along with a massive contract. The Falcons will likely look to free agency to get another quarterback on the roster.