Falcons worked out QB Drew Plitt last week

Atlanta’s quarterback room changed drastically this offseason, with franchise icon Matt Ryan traded to the Colts, Marcus Mariota joining in free agency, and hopeful future franchise icon Desmond Ridder coming aboard via the draft. With Mariota and Ridder added and Feleipe Franks still on the roster, it felt like that after all the chaos and change, the group might be pretty well set.

The last week has made given us some reason to doubt that the third quarterback spot is settled. The first is that Feleipe Franks is spending some time with the tight end group in organized team activities, raising the possibility that a positional switch or at least a heavier focus on tight end could be in his immediate future. Also, I’m a bit late to the party, but reportedly the Falcons worked out former Ball State quarterback Drew Plitt, a 2022 undrafted free agent who previously tried out for the Bengals, Colts, and Bears in their respective rookie minicamps.

You’ll note that the Falcons haven’t signed Plitt, a five-year starter at Ball State, though they could obviously do so during this week’s organized team activities or next week’s mandatory minicamp if they wanted to. Plitt gets knocked for his arm strength and his lack of high-end mobility but is solid otherwise, and if the workout went well he might be an appealing summer addition for a team without a settled long-term situation anywhere on the depth chart. He’d obviously top out as a third quarterback this year and potentially into the future, but that’s still something the Falcons might have interest in.

This might be a little ado about nothing if the team likes Franks under center and just want to see what else he can do at tight end, which is certainly a strong possibility after he finished the 2021 season as the backup to Ryan. Because we don’t really know what the Falcons are thinking with Franks into the future and because they’re at least amenable to working out a quarterback or two right now, though, it’s probably not safe to set that quarterback group in stone just yet.