Falcons Predicted to See Kevin Stefanski Reunite with Former QB

The Atlanta Falcons are in need of a quarterback, and a veteran option is being tabbed to come to his former head coach's aid

There is a quarterback out there that the Falcons' head coach is familiar with | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, new Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham addressed the media, and he confirmed that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins would be cut on the first day of the new league year in March and would not be re-signed.

With the release of quarterback Emory Jones last week, the Falcons need another quarterback on the roster, at the very least to serve as a backup. Thus, CBS Sports’ Garett Podell predicts that the Falcons will sign Joe Flacco to a one-year, $8.5 million deal.

“Flacco already knows new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski’s playbook from his multiple tours of duty with him on the Cleveland Browns,” Podell wrote. 

Flacco has had two stops with the Browns in the past three seasons, in 2023 and 2025. In his first stint with Cleveland, Flacco took over a 7-5 Browns team that had started two quarterbacks in the last three weeks. 

He started five games, fielding an impressive 4-1 record, and helped lead the Browns to the playoffs, throwing for over 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 90.2 passer rating in those games. 

Flacco would go on to win Comeback Player of the Year that season. In 2025, he returned to the Browns for four games before a rare intra-division trade saw him land in Cincinnati.

Flacco did not play nearly as well the second time around, throwing just two touchdowns to six interceptions in his four starts with Cleveland. 

However, Podell believes he still has some upside left in the tank.

“Flacco doesn’t have a lot of gas left in the tank at 41 years old, but he could be a solid spot starter on a team with weapons like he was last year,” he writes. 

The Falcons need another quarterback on the roster, and with cap space freed up from the restructure of Kirk Cousins’ massive contract, it would make sense to get a player who is already familiar with Atlanta’s new head coach, and one who won’t break the bank.

Whether Flacco would be brought in strictly as a veteran backup or as legitimate competition in the quarterback room remains to be seen. But, given his prior success in Kevin Stefanski’s system, a short-term reunion in Atlanta would make a lot of sense for both parties.