{"id":913,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/913","headline":"Falcons sign Andy Dalton, release Cooper Rush","dek":"Dalton joins Atlanta just 10 days after Philadelphia let him go, setting up a backup battle with Tua Tagovailoa behind Michael Penix Jr.","body":"The Atlanta Falcons swapped out veteran quarterbacks on Monday, signing Andy Dalton and releasing Cooper Rush from the 53-man roster in a corresponding move. Rush had started the Falcons' first two games of the season before shifting into the role of emergency third quarterback.\n\nDalton, 38, lands in Atlanta only 10 days after Philadelphia released him. He is expected to compete with Tua Tagovailoa for the backup job behind starter Michael Penix Jr., who is healthy.\n\nAsked about the move, head coach Kevin Stefanski pointed to general manager Ian Cunningham's constant search for roster upgrades. \"I just think Ian (Cunningham) is always looking at ways that we feel like we can add to the roster and Andy was available, so it was as simple as that,\" Stefanski said.\n\nThe shuffle leaves the Falcons with a crowded quarterback room, with Penix Jr., Tagovailoa, Dalton and Jack Strand all still on the roster. Rush, meanwhile, is now out of a job in Atlanta after a short stint that began as a starter and ended as a release.","published_at":"2026-10-20T00:05:54.422100+00:00","source_count":6,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kevin Stefanski comments on Falcons signing QB Andy Dalton","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kevin-stefanski-comments-falcons-signing-184503743.html"},{"outlet":"Fox Sports","publisher":"Fox Sports","title":"Falcons Sign Veteran QB Andy Dalton, Release Cooper Rush","url":"https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/atlanta-falcons-qb-andy-dalton-cooper-rush"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Falcons sign veteran QB Andy Dalton, cut Cooper Rush: Source","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7704628/2026/10/19/falcons-andy-dalton-signing-cooper-rush-cut/"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Sources: Falcons to sign QB Dalton, release QB Rush","url":"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50218249/sources-falcons-signing-qb-dalton-releasing-qb-rush"},{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"Falcons make quarterback change, signing Andy Dalton and releasing Cooper Rush","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/falcons-qb-news-andy-dalton-signs-cooper-rush-release/"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Falcons signing Andy Dalton, cutting Cooper Rush","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/falcons-signing-andy-dalton-cutting-cooper-rush"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Andy Dalton is signing with Falcons after declining return to Eagles","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/andy-dalton-signing-falcons-declining-135018892.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Falcons signing Andy Dalton, cutting Cooper Rush","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/falcons-signing-andy-dalton-cutting-135345182.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Falcons sign QB Andy Dalton and release Cooper Rush","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/falcons-sign-qb-andy-dalton-140541800.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Atlanta Falcons sign Andy Dalton, release Cooper Rush","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/falcons-sign-andy-dalton-release-161437304.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Falcons sign veteran Andy Dalton as another backup to Michael Penix Jr. and release Cooper Rush","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/falcons-sign-veteran-andy-dalton-164903510.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Atlanta Falcons sign Andy Dalton, release Cooper Rush","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/atlanta-falcons-sign-andy-dalton-195029170.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/62a4531/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhdliveextra-a.akamaihd.net%2FHD%2Fimage_sports%2FNBCU_Sports_Group_-_nbcsports%2F858%2F855%2Fnbc_pftpm_chiatl_261018.jpg","credit":"Pro Football Talk","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}