FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have named the team captains for the 2024 season on Monday.
In a release, the team announced that quarterback Kirk Cousins, safety Jessie Bates III, defensive lineman Grady Jarrett and offensive tackle Jake Matthews are the captains for the season.
Cousins is in his first season with the team but it is his 13th overall NFL season. He has earned Pro Bowl honors four times and has appeared in 150 regular-season games (145 starts) across 12 seasons starting in 2012 with the Commanders and Vikings. This will be his ninth time being named a team captain in his NFL career, according to a release.
Bates III is in his second season with the Falcons and as team captain. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2018 through 2022, during which he was also a captain in 2021. The two-time second-team AP All-Pro started all 17 games in 2023. He recorded single-season career highs in tackles with 132, interceptions with six, and three forced fumbles while adding 11 passes defensed, three tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
Jarrett is going into his 10th season with the Falcons after being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has earned Pro Bowl honors twice in his career and will be serving as team captain for the sixth consecutive year.
Finally, Matthews will be entering his fourth year as team captain and 11th year with the Falcons. He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. He has started 161 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest streak in franchise history, according to a release.
The news of who the team captains are comes as the Dirty Birds prep for the first game of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
