Reports: Atlanta Falcons to sign Josh Rosen after AJ McCarron suffers season-ending injury

The Atlanta Falcons are signing former top-10 pick Josh Rosen to compete for the backup spot behind quarterback Matt Ryan, according to multiple reports.

Atlanta lost AJ McCarron, the frontrunner for the second-string spot, to an ACL tear in his right knee during the Falcons' preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday. That left Atlanta with one healthy option behind Ryan: undrafted rookie Feleipe Franks, who went 4-for-9 with 46 yards passing and one interception against the Dolphins.

Rosen is expected to pick up where McCarron left off, competing for the Falcon’s open backup quarterback position, according to ESPN, which first reported the signing.

Rosen was waived by the San Francisco 49ers last week, with the team having quarterback options in Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. He played in San Francisco’s first preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs and led the team in passing, completing 10-of-15 passes for 93 yards but also threw an interception.

The 24-year-old UCLA alumnus was selected 10th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent one season in Arizona before the Cardinals traded him to the Dolphins after Arizona picked Kyler Murray in the 2019 draft. He was waived by Miami and picked up by the Buccaneers before the 49ers signed him in late 2020. He has played in 20 regular-season games -- with the Cardinals (2018) and Dolphins (2019).

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In his career, Rosen has completed 275-of-502 passes for 2,845 yards, 12 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He has also rushed 26 times for 151 yards.

Atlanta is now back to three healthy options at quarterback , but coach Arthur Smith is still considering other options.

“It doesn’t mean if we add someone this week, doesn’t mean that we may not add another person next week,” Smith said earlier Monday. “We’ll continue to monitor that.”

Rosen will have less than a week to prepare for the Falcons' final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Smith understands there may be a learning curve to any player joining the team this late in the preseason.

“I just think it’s unfair to throw somebody out there and say, ‘Here, here’s the entire game plan, you better be able to operate. So, depending on who we sign, you know they’ll be ready to go.”

Contact Alyssa Hertel at ahertel@usatoday.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.