The Atlanta Falcons have officially hired Kevin Stefanski to be their next head coach and are expecting him to help turn around an offense that struggled mightily in 2025. They are bringing in an experenced head coach to work with this roster, and that feels like the right decision from Matt Ryan.
This roster is talented enough for Stefanski to instantly break this team's eight-year playoff drought, but that doesn't mean the roster still doesn't require maintenance. One of those glaring issues is at the quarterback position, where Michael Penix Jr. has yet to cement his status as the franchise QB.
Unfortunately for the 43-year-old, his former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is practically guaranteed to be cut this offseason, which means they'll have to add another veteran to push Penix. And given Stefanski's love for Joe Flacco, he could become the perfect experienced backup in Atlanta.
The Falcons could look to sign Joe Flacco in free agency to back up Michael Penix Jr.
Stefanski coached Flacco in two of the last three seasons, and the 41-year-old helped him win his second Coach of the Year award by leading the Browns to the playoffs. That was two seasons ago, but he's still proven that can he still play at a high level when equipped with a favorable situation.
The Browns traded the Super Bowl-winning QB midway through 2025 to make way for the young QBs, which saw him shine in Cincinnati. In six starts in place of Joe Burrow with the Bengals, they went 1-5, but threw an impressive 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions across that span.
Cousins has helped Penix as a mentor, but Flacco would be better. The 15-year veteran has been around the block the last couple of years, but is someone who he's always ready to go, which is an asset should he not be ready to go for Week 1 of 2026 due to his torn ACL.
Flacco is a superior option to wasting draft premium draft capital on someone like Trinidad Chambliss, especially when this team has bigger needs to fill. QB is a position they'll absolutely have to consider in free agency, especially when you consider the sheer depth of this free agent QB class.
Even though he's not the signal-caller he was back in Baltimore, Flacco is a very solid stopgap option. He has started four or more games in four straight seasons, and is familiar with Stefanski's system. And if he's forced to start games in Atlanta, he'll have the luxury of throwing to some elite weapons.
Beyond bringing over coaches, the Dirty Birds need to bring players who fit Stefanski's vision, and for what they need, Flacco should be atop the list to back up Penix.