Falcons Waive Former LSU, Patriots QB

The Atlanta Falcons announced that they have moved on from backup quarterback Danny Etling on Monday.

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Etling Peaked in College

Etling was a four-star recruit out of Indiana who split his college career between Purdue and LSU.

He started out at Purdue where he played from 2013-14. In 13 games as a Boilermaker, Etling completed 238 of 356 passes (66.9 percent) for 2,490 yards and 16 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

Etling then transferred to Baton Rouge. He was LSU’s starting quarterback from 2016-17. After playing in 25 games with the Tigers, Etling completed 325 of 544 passes (59.7 percent) for 4,586 yards and 27 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He also recorded 113 rushing attempts for 174 yards (1.5 average) and three touchdowns.

Patriots Draft Etling

Etling was originally selected by the New England Patriots with the No. 219 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Patriots started Etling out at quarterback but soon transitioned him to a wide receiver. The Patriots ended up waiving Etling Sept. 1, 2018 and signed him to the practice squad the next day.

The Falcons picked up Etling last August who where he stuck around as a third-string since Kurt Benkert had an early season-ending injury.

In two preseason games last year, Etling completed 17 of his 31 passes (54.8 percent) for 193 yards and one touchdown.

Benkert Is Back

After a long recovery, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kurt Benkert is finally cleared to play for the upcoming 2020 season and is ecstatic to step back on the field again. Benkert injured his toe early on last year during the Falcons first preseason game.

Unfortunately, it was such a bad injury he ended up having to get surgery that basically reconstructed his big toe. He was out for the entire season.

His time spent in the preseason game and Atlanta’s 12-10 loss made an impression on the coaches and fan base. Benkert actually outplaying Drew Lock leading the offense to all 10 of its points and threw for 185 yards with one touchdown pass to running back Brian Hill.

Realizing he would be out for the remainder of the season, Benkert and head coach Dan Quinn came to an agreement that he still wanted to play once he was healthy and Quinn wanted him to stick around—noting he had a promising future ahead.

Benkert is well aware he’ll have to compete for the No. 2 spot with Matt Schaub this season but his positive mindset heading into training camp could get him there.

“I just want to have a high completion percentage throughout all of offseason and just take care of the football,” Benkert told Heavy.com. “I know that I can make big plays. I can make big plays with my feet, throwing it out of the pocket, but I just want to show consistency through everything and just that I can take care of the ball. I think that’ll do enough on its own.”

He’s also become a fan favorite after videos of him passing with Calvin Ridley circulated.

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