Falcons make quarterback change, signing Andy Dalton and releasing Cooper Rush

Dalton is joining Atlanta only 10 days after Philadelphia released him, while Cooper Rush is out

Oct 19, 2026 at 10:29 am ET • 2 min read

The Atlanta Falcons are making changes to their quarterback room. The club is signing veteran signal-caller Andy Dalton, according to ESPN. In a corresponding move, Atlanta is releasing Cooper Rush, who started the first two games of the regular season.

It's been a little bit of a whirlwind for Dalton over the past two weeks. The 38-year-old had spent the entire offseason and first month of the regular season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dalton initially won the backup job in Philly behind Jalen Hurts coming out of training camp over Tanner McKee, but was recently released on Oct. 9.

Dalton has been in the NFL since the Cincinnati Bengals selected him in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of TCU. After serving as Cincinnati's starter for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019, Dalton has bounced around the league quite a bit, largely in a backup capacity. He's made stops in Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans, and Carolina on top of his most recent stint with Philadelphia. 

For his career, he's completed 62.6% of his passes and has a passer rating of 87.4. The last time Dalton was on the field was back in Week 3 of this season. He made a brief appearance in Philly's loss to Chicago, throwing one pass that was picked off. 

Now, Dalton joins a Falcons quarterback room headlined by starter Michael Penix Jr. and backups Tua Tagovailoa and Jack Strand. 

Andy Dalton gives Falcons upside Cooper Rush didn't

It's not entirely surprising that the Falcons showed Rush the door. The offense was a mess over the first two weeks when he was under center, averaging just eight points per game. Rush also completed just 54.5% of his passes to go along with a 51.9 passer rating. He threw two interceptions in each of his starts this season and was even benched for Strand in the Week 2 defeat to the Panthers. 

The Falcons knew what they had in Rush, and it wasn't great. With Dalton available, they get an upgrade along the QB depth chart. That cannot be overstated, given the durability concerns surrounding Michael Penix Jr. 

On top of missing the first two weeks as he recovered from the season-ending ACL tear he suffered last season, Penix has also been in-and-out of the lineup with a rib injury. While he hasn't missed a game due to the injury, he was unable to finish the team's Week 5 loss to the Ravens in overtime. That thrust Tagovailoa into the fray, and he threw a game-clinching interception. If the Falcons aren't entralled with Tagovailoa, there's possibly a window for Dalton to climb up to be QB2 behind Penix.