The Falcons likely will follow the lead of the Cowboys and Steelers, who didn’t play their starting quarterbacks in their exhibition opener Thursday in Canton, Ohio.
Dallas’ Dak Prescott didn’t play after suffering a strained shoulder, while Pittsburgh held out Ben Roethlisberger. There is no reason to play a seasoned veteran in Matt Ryan, who will get some action in the joint practice with Miami next week.
A.J. McCarron and Feleipe Franks are likely to split the exhibition opener against the Titans at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with McCarron taking the first half and Franks the second half.
“You want to see how they operate,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said Wednesday. “Can they get the call in the way we may package certain plays or how they play operationally, decision-making.”
McCarron, who’ll turn 31 on Sept. 13, played at Alabama. He was drafted by the Bengals in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2014 draft.
McCarron, who’s 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, has been a backup in the NFL. He has played in 17 games and has made four starts.
He has completed 109 of 174 passes (62.6 percent) for 1,173 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also played with the Raiders and Texans.
Franks, who played at Florida and Arkansas, signed as an undrafted rookie after the 2021 draft.
Franks, who’s 6-foot-6 and 228 pounds, transferred to Arkansas as a graduate student in 2019 after losing his starting job with the Gators following an ankle injury. He started nine games for the Razorbacks and completed 163 of 238 passes for 2,107 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2020.
“You hope to get some two-minute drives in the game,” Smith said. “See them operate in situational football.”
McCarron, like Garrett Gilbert for Dallas and Mason Rudolph for Pittsburgh, likely will get the start.
“It will be interesting because they are in different parts of their career,” Smith said. “A.J. has played in NFL games, and you’ve got to keep that in perspective with Feleipe. He’s done a nice job, but he is a rookie. There will be struggles (and) tons of mistakes.
“Both of those guys, we are happy with. They are at different points in their career. We’ll see hopefully, after the next couple of games, where they are at.”
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