Atlanta Falcons Sign Quarterback From Division Rival

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA – The Atlanta Falcons lost quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to a season-ending ACL injury this week. The second-year quarterback will require surgery, and the Falcons were quick to back-fill their quarterback room after putting him on the injured reserve. 

In a pair of moves, the Falcons will elevate Easton Stick to the 53-man roster, where he will serve as the backup quarterback to Kirk Cousins for the remainder of the season. In addition to that move, they will also sign Kyle Trask to be their third quarterback. He will be added to the practice squad. 

Raheem Morris confirmed these moves in his weekly Wednesday press conference. 

To this point, Stick has spent the entirety of the 2025 season on the Falcons’ practice squad. He last made an appearance with the team during preseason action, where he led all quarterbacks in passing with 520 yards. After being selected by the Chargers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Stick has made four career starts. He is 0-4 in those games, where he has completed 63.8% of his passes for 1,129 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. 

“Just however you can help the room,” Stick said Monday about his mindset heading into the rest of the season. “If you're not the one out there playing, helping the team win on the field on Sunday, [it’s about] trying to find a role through the week to benefit the guys, to benefit Mike, to benefit Kirk, and the room however you can.” 

Now, Stick will be the next man up for the Falcons should anything happen with Cousins over the team’s final seven games.

Trask, a former second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has made seven NFL appearances but has never started a game. He has completed just four passes for 28 yards over his three seasons in Tampa. 

He was released by the Buccaneers in August after training camp.

Trask played quarterback for the Falcons’ tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. at Florida. He finished fourth in the Heisman vote as a senior with the Gators in 2020, after he led all of college football in passing attempts (437) and touchdowns (43). He also led the SEC in yards per game (356.9). 

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As for Penix, the second-year quarterback is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Morris. 

“It’s hard on all of us,” he said. “It’s a tough injury that he’s gotta go through again. He’s dealt with it, but what we know of Mike and all the stuff from our research after all his injuries, he’s come back stronger. We feel really confident that this will be the same way.”

The Falcons are set to kick off with the Saints at 1:00 p.m. in Week 12 action in New Orleans.