Andy Dalton has a new NFL home.
It’ll be the third NFC South home for the former Carolina Panthers quarterback who also played for the New Orleans Saints.
The news came out on Monday morning that Dalton is signing with the Atlanta Falcons, who are releasing veteran QB Cooper Rush to make room for the “Red Rifle.”
Dalton had begun this season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but they released him in the lead-up to Week 5. It didn’t take him too long to find his next quarterback room.
Andy Dalton With Panthers
Dalton had been with the Panthers for each of the last three seasons.
He came aboard in 2023, the same year Bryce Young arrived, and got to spend three seasons as a mentor for the No. 1 overall pick Young.
Dalton’s playing time with Carolina wasn’t all that frequent, but he did end up with six starts overall for the Panthers.
He went 0-1 as a starter in the 2023 season, throwing overall that year for 361 yards in three appearances with two touchdowns.
Dalton made five starts in 2024. He went 1-4 while completing 66.3% of his passes for 989 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
Last season, Dalton made just one start out of four overall appearances. He threw for 293 yards on 25-for-37 passing (67.6%) with one touchdown and one interception in 2025.
Dalton left in the offseason to join the Eagles.
The Panthers replaced Dalton on the depth chart with Kenny Pickett, and they also have the athletic rookie Haynes King in the QB room.
Why Falcons Signed Andy Dalton
It seems pretty clear, based on the fact that the Falcons released Cooper Rush in conjunction with the Dalton signing, that this is just about having an experienced quarterback in the building.
There will be speculation about Tua Tagovailoa’s job status, but that would be more notable if Rush was kept around, too. Given that Rush is gone, Dalton is most likely to just take Rush’s spot as the QB3.
The Falcons’ top-two quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. along with Tua, both have extensive injury histories, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dalton on the field at some point this season. Maybe the Panthers will even have to face him.
But with Dalton turning 39 years old soon, he’s far past his prime. He’s not necessarily someone the Panthers have to worry about at this point. They do know him well, though, and now Dalton won’t be far away from the team he spent the last three seasons with.
Ex-Panthers QB Signs With Falcons