After the Atlanta Falcons announcedTua Tagovailoa as the team's starting quarterback for the 2026 season, much has been made of the previous six Week 1 starters. Dating back to the 2021 season, the Falcons have had a different starter for each season pointing to the incredible level of instability that has defined the organization in recent days.
With this in mind, let's rank the previous six starting quarterbacks the Falcons have rostered including Tagovailoa. No question, the list is far from impressive and leaves Atlanta's lack of a winning season for nearly a decade far easier to explain.
1. Matt Ryan (2021)
Ryan's final season was such an unfair exercise, looking back and realizing just how little talent was rostered to support the aging quarterback. The offensive line was in shambles, and the receiver room was a complete joke after losing Julio Jones. No question, it was a fitting end for Ryan, with the quarterback being asked to do far more than was reasonably possible.
Still, there is no denying that the quarterback accomplished far more than reasonably expected with 3,968 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. Your most talented target was a rookie Kyle Pitts, who had his effort questioned and was in a bland Arthur Smith offense; this was a far better season than the numbers suggest.
2. Kirk Cousins (2024)
As much as fans might love to hate on how things ended with Cousins, the quarterback had great moments with the franchise. Cousins set the single game franchise passing yardage record against the Tampa Bay Bucs and delivered one of the most thrilling wins that fans have watched for much of the last decade.
Cousins was a solid starting option before his injury against the New Orleans Saints that left no power in his throwing shoulder and appeared to alter the course of his career and perhaps Atlanta's franchise as a whole.
3. Michael Penix Jr. (2025)
The current Atlanta backup was clearly the choice that head coach Kevin Stefanski wanted to make when naming a starter for the 2026 season. Penix simply wasn't confident he was back to the best version of himself and this created an opportunity for Tagovailoa. Still, there is no denying that Penix has shown flashes of capability and could still prove to be a capable starting option.
4. Marcus Mariota (2022)
Mariota had a handful of fun moments and clearly was more talented than the final two starters on this list. So much about what went wrong with Mariota can be laid at the feet of Arthur Smith and due to a lack of weapons. No matter your opinion, there is no denying that fans were at least able to buy into Mariota for a short time, something that didn't happen with either of the next two starting options.
5. Tua Tagovailoa (2026)
Tagovailoa earns a spot ahead of Ridder despite not playing a single snap, based simply on his career. The resume is far more impressive than much of this list, but that doesn't appear to be the player the former Miami quarterback is any longer. Turnovers seem to be the only piece of Tagovailoa's game that can be relied on moving forward.
6. Desmond Ridder (2023)
Ridder had the talent to be a capable game manager, but lacked the most important trait and that is capable decision making. This was consistently exposed as Ridder melted in big moments and has bounced around the league being unable to show enough to even hold onto a third quarterback role.
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations