Every Atlanta Falcons starting QB ever: full list
By Ryan Heckman
Back in 1965, the Atlanta Falcons were born when the NFL awarded ownership to Rankin Smith Sr., the executive vice president of Life Insurance Company of Georgia.
Since then, it's no coincidence the Falcons have spent much of their rich history looking for more than just insurance at the game's most important position of all: quarterback. Atlanta has had some talented passers come through the organization, but only five have ever thrown for more than 10,000 yards in their career with the Falcons.
Of course, the all-time great of the group is Matt Ryan, who leads the franchise in passing yards with a whopping 59,735. Ryan also ranks no. 1 in franchise history with 367 touchdown passes, 120 wins, 5,242 completions and over 269 passing yards per game.
But, what about the other guys? It is easy for fans to remember someone like Ryan, and even the likes of Michael Vick or Steve Bartkowski. How about every other individual to start a game under center for Atlanta? There have been quite a few, so let's take a trip down memory lane.
Every Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback in team history
To make things easier, we break it down by decade. Let's begin back where it all began.
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 1966-1969
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Randy Johnson (1966-1970) | 35 (37) |
Dennis Claridge (1966) | 3 (3) |
Terry Nofsinger (1967) | 1 (1) |
Steve Sloan (1966-1967) | 1 (1) |
Bob Berry (1968-1972) | 14 (50) |
Bruce Lemmerman (1968-1969) | 2 (2) |
Fun fact: Randy Johnson's middle name is 'Klaus.'
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 1970-1979
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Bob Berry (1968-1972) | 36 (50) |
Randy Johnson (1966-1970) | 2 (37) |
Dick Shiner (1971, 1973) | 8 (8) |
Pat Sullivan (1972-1975) | 4 (4) |
Kim McQuilken (1974-1977) | 7 (7) |
Steve Bartkowski (1975-1985) | 50 (121) |
Scott Hunter (1976-1977) | 13 (13) |
June Jones (1977-1980, 1981) | 5 (5) |
Fun fact: Bob Berry threw one more touchdown (57) than interceptions (56) during his stint with Atlanta
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 1980-1989
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Steve Bartkowski (1975-1985) | 71 (121) |
Mike Moroski (1979-1984) | 7 (7) |
David Archer (1984-1987) | 23 (23) |
Turk Schonert (1986) | 5 (5) |
Scott Campbell (1986-1990) | 9 (11) |
Erik Kramer (1987) | 2 (2) |
Chris Miller (1987-1993) | 30 (66) |
Jeff Van Raaphorst (1987) | 1 (1) |
Steve Dils (1988) | 3 (3) |
Hugh Millen (1988-1990) | 1 (3) |
Fun fact: Steve Bartkowski once led the league in touchdown passes (31) in 1980 and completion percentage (67.3) in 1984.
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 1990-1999
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Chris Miller (1987-1993) | 36 (66) |
Hugh Millen (1988-1990) | 2 (3) |
Scott Campbell (1986-1990) | 2 (11) |
Billy Joe Tolliver (1991-1993, 1997) | 10 (10) |
Wade Wilson (1992) | 3 (3) |
Bobby Hebert (1993-1996) | 25 (25) |
Jeff George (1994-1996) | 35 (35) |
Tony Graziani (1997-1999) | 5 (5) |
Steve DeBerg (1998) | 1 (1) |
Danny Kanell (1999-2000) | 3 (8) |
Chris Chandler (1997-2001) | 40 (67) |
Fun fact: Chris Chandler made the only two Pro Bowls of his career while with the Falcons in 1997 and 1998. Those two seasons were also the only seasons Chandler threw for at least 20 touchdown passes.
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 2000-2009
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Chris Chandler (1997-2001) | 27 (67) |
Doug Johnson (2000-2003) | 11 (11) |
Danny Kanell (1999-2000) | 5 (8) |
Michael Vick (2001-2006) | 67 (67) |
Kurt Kittner (2003) | 4 (4) |
Matt Schaub (2004-2006, 2016, 2018-2020) | 2 (3) |
Joey Harrington (2007) | 10 (10) |
Chris Redman (2007, 2009-2011) | 6 (6) |
Byron Leftwich (2007) | 2 (2) |
Matt Ryan (2008-2021) | 30 (222) |
Fun fact: Michael Vick previously owned the NFL's all-time single season rushing record by a quarterback with 1,039 back in 2006, before Lamar Jackson overtook him in 2019 (1,206 yards).
Falcons starting quarterbacks from 2010-2019
Name (Tenure with ATL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with ATL) |
|---|---|
Matt Ryan (2008-2021) | 192 (222) |
Matt Schaub (2004-2006, 2016, 2018-2020) | 1 (3) |
Fun fact: Matt Ryan was an iron man, missing just three games his entire Falcons career.
*All tabled information was compiled from Sports Reference's database