Falcons captains: Bijan, Bates, Lindstrom — and still no QB

The Falcons named five captains Thursday. Bijan Robinson, Chris Lindstrom, Jessie Bates III, Divine Deablo, and Nick Folk. First-time C patches for Bijan, Deablo, and Folk. Zero quarterbacks.

Kevin Stefanski's first Atlanta vote just told you what the locker room already knows: the Week 1 starter is still a secret, and the guys who actually run this building do not throw the ball.

The five, and who got left off

Teammates voted. Official list, per atlantafalcons.com:

• Bijan Robinson (1) — 2026
• Chris Lindstrom (3) — 2026, 2025, 2023
• Jessie Bates III (4) — 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023
• Divine Deablo (1) — 2026
• Nick Folk (1*) — 2026

Folk was an extra Titans captain in 2024 when Tennessee played his old Patriots. This is his first full-season C in Atlanta.

Last year under Raheem Morris they carried six, and Michael Penix Jr. was one of them. This year they stopped at five. Falcons Wire noted the obvious: naming Penix or Tua Tagovailoa would have been a QB1 press release in a hat. They did not send that press release.

Bates is the constant. Four straight years. Lindstrom is the trench vote. Bijan is the new money and the new face after the three-year extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid running back. Deablo is the inside-linebacker hire who now wears the patch while Jalon Walker is done for the year and James Pearce Jr. sits eight games. Folk is the veteran kicker the room actually likes.

None of that is a quarterback.

What the blank space means with Pittsburgh on the calendar

Week 1 is Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Steelers. FOX, 1 p.m. Nine days. Ian Cunningham already explained keeping four quarterbacks on the 53 — Penix, Tua, Cooper Rush, Jack Strand — as an evaluation, not a personality quiz. The captains vote is the same evaluation with the lights on.

Tua has had the practice reps while Penix worked back from the ACL. Penix has been medically cleared and in team work. Neither one got a C. NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk put it cleanly: the competition is still open, so the vote skipped the position.

That is not a slight at the room. It is Stefanski refusing to let a ceremonial patch do the job he has not done yet.

Abraham and Fralic get the Ring while this 53 is still wet

Friday morning the club added a second announcement: John Abraham and Bill Fralic go into the Ring of Honor this season. Abraham on Oct. 11 vs. the Ravens on Sunday Night Football. Fralic posthumously when Tampa Bay comes to Mercedes-Benz in Week 16 (date TBD with flex). They will be members 15 and 16.

Abraham's 68.5 sacks are the franchise record. Fralic was the 1985 No. 2 pick who started 115 of 116 games here and made the All-1980s team. Worth the ceremony. It is also the kind of history drop a team makes when the present-tense story is still "who takes the first snap in Pittsburgh."

Bird Gang bottom line

The captains are the grown-ups: Bijan, Bates, Lindstrom, Deablo, Folk. The missing name is the whole plot. If you are opening a league at pickembaby.com, Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh is a Week 1 pick you have to make before Stefanski has to. Pencil it, then wait for the actual starter.

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