Has Easton Stick Done Enough to Make Atlanta Falcons 53-Man Roster?

During the Atlanta Falcons final preseason game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night, projected third-string veteran quarterback Easton Stick played into the fourth quarter. 

Stick once again played well, completing 20 of 28 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown. He added 18 yards rushing on three carries. He led Atlanta into scoring position on three of five drives in the first half.

Stick’s lone interception took place on his final pass of the night.

After playing in only six NFL games, Stick has demonstrated veteran pocket awareness and a great internal clock. For the preseason, he went 54 of 78 passing (69.2%) for 520 yards with 3 touchdowns and two interceptions. 

The only question surrounding Stick is whether the Falcons decided to keep three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. The deadline for making cuts is Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST. Atlanta kept three last year with Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr., and Taylor Heinicke, and will likely do the same in 2025.

However, Heinicke was traded the day after the deadline to the LA Chargers for a 6th-round pick. 

Barring any trade or injury pertaining to Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, Stick more than likely will not see the field during the 2025 NFL season. The Atlanta Falcons still have some questions that need to be answered, but the quarterback room is not one of them.

Atlanta named Michael Penix Jr. the starter going forward, and Kirk Cousins will be the highest-paid backup in the league. Penix Jr. will have his hands full during the first five weeks of the season when Atlanta will match up with four playoff teams from a year ago within those first five weeks of the season.

Cousins will be waiting in the wings on the sideline for an opportunity to start again in the event of Penix Jr. not playing well, getting injured, etc. So far, no rumors with legs have surfaced about a potential Cousins trade due to the fact that teams haven’t been willing to meet the Falcons’ asking price for a trade.

A Cousins trade isn't ever entirely out of the realm of possibility, which would benefit Easton Stick to move up on the depth chart in Atlanta. An injury to another team’s starting quarterback ahead of the trade deadline would skyrocket Cousins’s trade value. 

The Atlanta Falcons will open the season at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 7th, and it’s a good bet all three quarterbacks will be in uniform.