2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen makes Falcons' initial 53-man roster

The Atlanta Falcons are sticking with quarterback Josh Rosen through at least the end of August. 

As Michael Rothstein noted for ESPN, Rosen earned a spot on Atlanta's initial 53-man roster one week after he joined the club as a response to backup signal-caller A.J. McCarron suffering a season-ending torn ACL.

Rosen, a 2018 first-round draft pick, began the summer with the San Francisco 49ers but was released on Aug. 17. He went unclaimed and became a free agent before he signed with the Falcons last Tuesday, and the 24-year-old completed 9-of-18 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in the "Sunday Night Football" home loss to the Cleveland Browns over the weekend. 

"It's a really good opportunity to just play football again," Rosen said after Sunday's preseason finale. "That's what I keep saying." 

As Tori McElhaney explained for the Falcons' website, Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith isn't necessarily sold on carrying both Rosen and fellow backup Feleipe Franks on the depth chart behind starter Matt Ryan through Week 1. 

"The room may consist of Matt Ryan, Rosen and Franks now but that isn't guaranteed to be the group in even a week's time," McElhaney added. 

The Falcons open the regular season versus the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 12.