FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — On Monday, the Atlanta Falcons released veteran quarterback Cooper Rush, who started the first two games of the 2026 season.
Rush was signed by the Falcons at the start of training camp due to injuries at the position. He quickly got up to speed with the offense and saw a significant number of snaps in preseason games.
With injuries once again an issue at the beginning of the regular season, Rush started the first two games for Atlanta at quarterback. In those games, Rush completed 22 of his 39 pass attempts for 229 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.
"It's special being an opening day starter no matter how you get there," Rush said after starting in Week 1. "It was a cool moment for me personally, and I was able to go out there with those guys and had a lot of fun with them."
Since Michael Penix Jr.'s return to the starting lineup in Week 3, Rush has served as Atlanta's emergency third quarterback on game days.
In addition to releasing Rush, the Falcons signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. The 39-year-old quarterback is in his 16th NFL season and began the year with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jonathan Jones of The Athletic first reported the signing and noted that Dalton will compete for the backup role in Atlanta.
Dalton has appeared in 180 games and made 169 starts in his career. He has completed 62.6% of his passes in the NFL and thrown for 39,793 yards with 254 touchdowns and 152 interceptions. Dalton entered the league as a second-round pick for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011. He made the Pro Bowl three times in Cincinnati: as a rookie in 2011, in 2014 and in 2016.
Prior to joining Philadelphia, Dalton spent the 2023-25 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. In 2022, Dalton started 14 games for the New Orleans Saints.
