Getty Matt Barkley initially signed a two-year deal with the Titans this offseason.
In need of depth at quarterback with Feleipe Franks‘ status up in the air for Week 17, the Atlanta Falcons claimed former Tennessee Titans QB Matt Barkley off the waivers on Wednesday, December 29.
ESPN’s Field Yates made the announcement via Twitter:
The Falcons have claimed QB Matt Barkley off of waivers from the Panthers.
Barkley was most recently waived by the Carolina Panthers on December 28 and comes to Atlanta with plenty of backup experience under his belt.
Before that, the 31-year-old had initially signed a two-year deal with the Titans over the offseason but was later poached by Carolina from the waivers.
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Barkley Was Projected to be Drafted No. 1 Overall in 2013
After four years at USC, Barkley went drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. However, he was projected to go much higher than that before hurting his shoulder during his senior year with the Trojans.
The injury kept him from participating in throwing drills during the NFL Scouting Combine, which ultimately hurt his draft stock.
He entered training camp as a rookie on the hunt for a starting job while up against Nick Foles and Michael Vick. After not earning the starting job, Barkley settled in at backup and after two seasons with the Eagles, he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in September 2015.
He spent only six months there before being released and ending up in Chicago with the Bears. He was a solid backup and even filled in as a starter for the Bears, but his time there didn’t last long either. He bounced around from the San Francisco 49ers, did a second stint in Arizona and spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and then the Carolina Panthers.
Through nine NFL seasons to date, Barkley has thrown for 2,699 yards, 11 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He has played in just 19 games with seven starts but has yet to play in 2021.
Falcons Week 17 Depth Chart vs. Buffalo Bills
The Falcons are set to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 17 and could be very thin at several positions due to an outbreak at their team facility, so you can expect Barkley among others to be elevated on Sunday.
Below is the Falcons current depth chart versus Buffalo:
OFFENSE
WR: Christian Blake
TE: Kyle Pitts, Lee Smith
LT: Jake Matthews, Jason Spriggs
LG: Jaylen Mayfield, Josh Andrews
C: Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Drew Dalman
RT: Kaleb McGarry, Colby Gossett
TE: Hayden Hurst, Keith Smith, Feleipe Franks
WR: Russell Gage, Olamide Zaccheaus, Frank Darby
RB: Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Davis, Qadree Ollison
FB: Keith Smith
QB: Matt Ryan, Josh Rosen or Feleipe Franks
DEFENSE
DE: Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson
NT: Ta’Quon Graham, Anthony Rush
DE: Jonathan Bullard, Mike Pennel, John Cominsky
OLB: Dante Fowler
ILB: Deion Jones, Mykal Walker
ILB: Foyesade Oluokun, Darren Bates
OLB: Steven Means, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, James Vaughters
LCB: A.J. Terrell, Darren Hall
FS: Jaylinn Hawkins, Shawn Williams
SS: Duron Harmon, Richie Grant
RCB: Fabian Moreau, Avery Williams, Kendall Sheffield
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Younghoe Koo
P: Thomas Morstead
LS: Josh Harris
H: Thomas Morstead
PR: Avery Williams, Olamide Zaccheaus
KOR: Cordarrelle Patterson, Avery Williams
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