Falcons juggle quarterbacks in time for final exhibition game Friday

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons will continue to be cautious in the exhibition games when they face the Cowboys at 8 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The projected starters will continue to rest, while backups and mostly players who will be waived will play in the preseason finale.

The Falcons clearly are pointing toward their regular-season opener against Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. Sept. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Falcons added quarterback Ben DiNucci to help them get through the final exhibition game. Fourth-string quarterback Emory Jones was injured Friday against the Titans and did not return to action. He was waived injured Monday, and veteran receiver D.J. Chark also was released Monday.

The Falcons will not play starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. nor backup quarterback Kirk Cousins in the final exhibition game, Morris said.

Easton Stick has started both exhibition games and returned to the field in the fourth quarter against Tennessee after Jones was injured. Stick and DiNucci will get the action against the Cowboys.

“We got a chance to sign (DiNucci),” Morris said. “Obviously, with Emory going into the (concussion) protocol. We’re going to need some people to play. We’ve got Stick, obviously. Our first two quarterbacks don’t play, especially in his last game. So, we’ll have a chance to get (DiNucci) out there and see what he can do.”

DiNucci, who played at Pittsburgh and James Madison, has bounced around the NFL after being drafted in the seventh round (231st overall) of the 2020 draft by the Cowboys. He has played in three NFL games and made one start.

DiNucci, who’s 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, also has spent time with the Broncos, Bills and Saints.

Also, first-round pick Jalon Walker, who suffered a groin injury near the end of the joint practice with the Titans on Aug. 12, will be eased by back into the action and likely won’t play in the exhibition finale.

“We’ll operate with an abundance of caution,” Morris said.

The Falcons also added outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins, and he was at practice Monday.

Walker did not practice Monday, but will participate in the jog-through Tuesday.

“Then we’ll try to get back and try to get him in the individual (drills) and acclimated to that,” Morris said. “We’ll see where we go with team periods from there.”

Morris will likely have Walker aim for the getting ready for the regular season.

“Now, it’s about really getting ready for the season,” Morris said. “I’m not really worried about it, but really, you don’t want (the hamstring injury) to linger throughout.”

Despite not playing his starters, Morris doesn’t look at the game against Dallas as a meaningless affair.

“This is the ‘make-the-roster game,’” Morris said. “This is where those guys solidify themselves on a 53-man roster or that practice squad, or whatever the case may be, trying to finalize who you keep.”

Morris noted that the Falcons used their practice squad a lot last season. They made 36 practice-squad promotions to the game-day roster.

“When you talk about (wide receiver) Chris Blair, when you talk about cornerback Natrone (Brooks), when you talk about all the guys that we’ve been flexing up into the games,” Morris said. “Then some of them, in the case of (linebacker Josh) Woods, some of those guys actually making it to the active roster after their (promotions) went out.”

There will be several battles for those final roster spots and the 16 practice-squad positions.

“It was really great for a lot of those guys to play,” Morris said. “So, no different in this game. Being able to evaluate and get some of those guys that are going to make it to the bottom of your roster and to your practice squad.”