Falcons backup QB Easton Stick ready to lead the charge Friday night
Credit: AP
FLOWERY BRANCH — Backup quarterbacks Easton Stick and Emory Jones are set to lead the Falcons into their exhibition opener against the Lions at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Anytime you get a chance to play, that’s what we want to do,” said Stick after practice Tuesday. “This stuff (practice) is great. It’s part of it, but you want to go out there and play. You understand it’s (an exhibition game). It’s not necessarily putting a game plan together and doing all of it. But to get a chance to tee it up, keep score and all that stuff, it’s a lot of fun.”
Stick, formerly of the Chargers, signed with the Falcons on April 21.
“It’s been good,” Stick said of training camp. “It’s been great to learn from that (quarterback group). (Assistant coaches) Zac (Robinson), T.J. (Yates) and D.J. (Williams), all of those guys. It’s been fun. Learning a lot. It’s a new system. Learning it the best I can.”
Stick, 29, was drafted by the Chargers in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. He played collegiately North Dakota State.
Stick, who’s 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, has appeared in only six games over six seasons in the NFL, including four starts in 2023.
“Obviously, Stick’s been in the league,” Michael Penix Jr. said. “He knows what it looks like. He knows how to play the position at this level. He’s been in there during game-time situations when he was in LA and (Justin) Herbert went down.”
Stick went 0-4 in his starts during the 2023 season. In the NFL, he has completed 112 of 175 passes (64%) for 1,133 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He has a 85.7 passer rating.
Stick is vying for a job behind Penix and Kirk Cousins, who will not play in the exhibition game.
The Falcons signed Jones, a mobile quarterback, on Dec. 26 before they were to face Washington and quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Jones, who is from LaGrange and played at Heard County High School, was signed to the Falcons’ practice squad to run the scout team. He was re-signed to a futures contract in January and was activated to the 90-man roster in March.
Jones played at Florida, Arizona State and Cincinnati in college.
“Those guys are elite,” Penix said. “They know the offense in and out. That’s obviously what you want out of your quarterbacks. You hope for that, but those guys have been great.”
While Penix and Cousins have received most of the snap in training camp, Stick and Jones will be called on to execute the offense.
“They’ve been operating at a high level, as well, each and every day,” Penix said. “Seeing Emory getting back to his fourth read, throwing the in-cut on the backside to Nick Nash (on Monday). Just small stuff like that.”
Jones posted a 10-21 record as a starter in college. He completed 601 of 953 passes (63.1%) for 7,099 yards. He had tossed 51 touchdown passes and threw 28 interceptions.
Jones rushed 449 times for 1,862 yards and 18 touchdowns while in college.
He signed with the Ravens after he wasn’t drafted in 2024. He signed with the D.C. Defenders of the United Football League before landing with the Falcons.
“We’re seeing exactly what we expect to see from those guys,” Penix said. “They’ve been poised and just out there having fun each and every day and getting better.”
Jones plans to be ready.
“I just tried to come in here and work as hard as I can,” Jones said. “This is my first year in this offense.”
Yates, the Falcons’ pass-game coordinator, believes Stick and Jones will play well.
“Just be able to go out there and operate our offense efficiently,” Yates said. “It’s tough to get threes and fours a lot of reps in camp. It’s always going to be a tough thing. But just to see them handle our offense.”
The Falcons likely will lean heavily on their rushing attack and the backup running backs.
“Get some completions,” Yates said. “Move the ball up and down the field. Try to score some points. Just run a clean offense.”
With starting wide receiver Darnell Mooney down with a shoulder injury, Casey Washington has been receiving a lot of reps.
“It’s been a lot of guys,” Yates said. “Casey, (Chris) Blair and David Sills IV is having a really good camp. There are a lot of guys who have really started stepping up in Mooney’s absence.”
The top offensive players are not likely to play, either.
“We’ve got a lot of offensive weapons,” Yates said. “A lot of depth. Obviously, when somebody is nicked up for a little bit, it gave an opportunity for somebody else. There are a lot of guys stepping up in that absence.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
