Harrington to start Saturday for Falcons

Flowery Branch — It’s Joey Harrington’s turn – again.

Harrington will re-visit his role as the Falcons’ starting quarterback on Saturday against Indianapolis in the team’s preseason home opener.

Head coach Mike Smith made the announcement Thursday. He declined to divulge the rest of the playing rotation. He said it would be unlikely that first-round draft pick Matt Ryan would play late in the game. Ryan, who had a solid debut against Jacksonville (9-for-15, 113 yards, one touchdown), could replace Harrington and play with first-team personnel, as he did last week against the Jaguars.

Ryan also appears to be in line to start against Tennessee Aug. 22 at the Georgia Dome. That would leave D.J. Shockley to start the preseason finale at Baltimore Aug. 28.

Should Ryan start against the Titans, it could be an indication that the rookie will start the regular-season opener. The Falcons open against visiting Detroit on Sept. 7.

The third preseason game typically is when teams set most of their starting lineups and rotations and allow their starters to play together for at least a half.

Teams also prepare for the third game as if it’s a regular-season game, scouting game tape of the opponent and working against scout teams during practice.

“We will be game-planning next week,” Smith said. “Once we get into our one-a-day practice schedule, we will actually go through our practice planning for our players.”

Harrington started 10 games for Atlanta last season, winning three, but he was benched for the final four games and then cut after the season. He re-signed for a reduced one-year, $1 million contract.

With the starting quarterback job unsettled, Harrington can’t totally be discounted, despite him failing to establish himself after six NFL seasons.

After struggling for four seasons in Detroit as the starter, he replaced Daunte Culpepper as the starter in Miami in 2006. Last season he was thrust into Atlanta’s starting lineup after incumbent Michael Vick was suspended and imprisoned of federal charges related to dogfighting.

“There is no doubt in my mind I can play in this league and no doubt I can be a starting quarterback in this league,” Harrington said.

Part of the audition is starting one of Atlanta’s four preseason games. Chris Redman, who replaced Harrington as the starter over the final four games last season, started the preseason-opening 20-17 loss at Jacksonville last week.

Harrington referred to himself Thursday as a backup, figuring Redman and/or Ryan rank above him in the pecking order.

Redman and Shockley seem likely candidates to play in the second half against the Colts, which would make this the second straight week Shockley would enter in the final two quarters. He played the fourth quarter against Jacksonville and almost rallied the Falcons to victory.

Shockley missed all of last season with torn knee ligaments. He has bounced back from the injury but missing a season after not playing as a rookie could have stunted his development.

Should the Falcons opt to keep Ryan, Redman and Harrington as their top three quarterbacks — they plan to have three on the active roster — Shockley could end up on the practice squad, where he has eligibility for one more season.