South Atlanta News

The Falcons announced their team captains for the 2024 season on Monday.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, offensive tackle Jake Matthews, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, and safety Jessie Bates III will don the captain badge on their respective jerseys this season. The four captains will be present for the opening coin toss on Sept. 8 when the Falcons host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.

Jarrett, Bates, and Matthews were also named team captains for the 2023 season. This marks Jarrett's sixth, Matthews' fourth, and Bates' second time as captain. While Cousins wore another uniform last year, he has been named a captain for the ninth time in his career.

Cousins is entering his 13th year in the NFL and his first with Atlanta. The quarterback's career has been split evenly between six seasons in Washington, where he was drafted in 2012, and six seasons in Minnesota, where he compiled a 50-37-1 record before signing with the Falcons this offseason. He has accumulated 39,471 passing yards with 270 touchdowns and 110 interceptions during that span. Cousins has four Pro Bowls to his name, all but one with the Vikings.

Matthews enters his 11th season in the league, all with the Falcons after being selected No. 6 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by Atlanta. He has started every game but one for Atlanta throughout his entire career and set the team record for consecutive starts. In 2018, Matthews earned Pro Bowl honors.

Jarrett is about to embark on his tenth campaign in the NFL. Like Matthews, Jarrett is a career-long Falcon who was drafted by Atlanta in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In his career, he's recorded 443 tackles—68 of those for a loss—34 sacks and 114 quarterback hits. Jarrett has been selected for two Pro Bowls and earned a second-team All-Pro nod.

Bates has one year under his belt in Atlanta as he enters his seventh NFL season. Before joining the Falcons in 2023, he spent five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals who picked him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Bates has notched 20 interceptions, 54 pass breakups and recorded over six hundred tackles during his career so far. In addition to earning both second-team All-Pro honors twice throughout this period; including making it into last year's Pro Bowl lineup too!