Kirk Cousins Headlines Falcons Captains for 2024 Season

Quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of four Atlanta Falcons captains for this season.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of four team captains for the 2024 season. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons have announced their captains for the 2024 season.

Atlanta will have four players donning the captain emblem on their jerseys this fall: Quarterback Kirk Cousins, left tackle Jake Matthews, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and safety Jessie Bates III.

Two players who were captains last year -- kicker Younghoe Koo and right guard Chris Lindstrom -- are no longer in the role this season. The Falcons downsized from five captains to four under new head coach Raheem Morris.

Matthews, Jarrett and Bates were each captains a season ago. Jarrett has been a captain since 2019, while Matthews has held the role since 2021. They're not only the longest tenured captains but also the team's longest tenured players.

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Meet the Captains

Matthews is unheralded, but nothing about his career says he should be. The 2014 first-round pick is entering his 11th year as Atlanta's blindside blocker. He's started 161 consecutive games, the most in franchise history and longest active streak in the NFL.

Jarrett will be playing his 10th season a Falcon this fall. Since drawing the start in the last game of his rookie season in 2015, Jarrett has rolled with the first team in 119 consecutive appearances. He's a two-time Pro Bowler who earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2019.

Bates, who signed a four-year contract worth just over $64 million in the spring of 2023, had a stellar first season in Atlanta. He led the Falcons with 132 tackles and recorded six of the team's eight interceptions. He also had three forced fumbles, a trio of tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with 11 passes defended.

Cousins, the Falcons' splashy free agent acquisition who's making $90 million guaranteed over the next two years, is a four-time Pro Bowl signal caller who has quickly earned the respect of his peers.

Atlanta begins the 2024 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.