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Falcons name their team captains for the 2021 season

A couple of first time captains join longtime leaders.

Atlanta Falcons v Seattle Seahawk Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images

NFL teams announced their captains for the 2021 season today, and there were no surprises as far as the Atlanta Falcons were concerned in naming their leaders for the upcoming campaign.

Matt Ryan, Jake Matthews, Deion Jones, Calvin Ridley and Grady Jarrett were given that responsibility and honor.

These five will be joined by one other captain on the field, who will be chosen on a game-by-game basis. It’s likely someone whom I presume will be the “special teams” representative in most games.

While there can always be debate surrounding the topic, the closest consensus would likely be that Ryan, Matthews, Jarrett, Jones and Ridley are the five best players on the team going into the season. They also happen to be five of the six longest tenured Falcons on the roster, along with long snapper Josh Harris, who will likely be one of those rotating representatives.

This will be the first time in which Matthews and Ridley will be permanent captains for an entire season. Last year’s selection of leaders included Ryan, Jarrett and Jones along with Julio Jones, Alex Mack and Ricardo Allen. It’s a sign of how much has changed that those last three aren’t even on the team anymore.