2007, Harrington agreed to a two-year, $6 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons to compete with D. J. Shockley and Chris Redman to be the backup quarterback to Michael Vick. Harrington was elevated to starting quarterback after the suspension of Vick for the 2007 NFL season. Harrington performed well in the preseason, but after going 0–2, Atlanta signed quarterback Byron Leftwich as a possible replacement for Harrington. During the Week 3 Atlanta home opener against the division rival Carolina Panthers, Harrington completed 31-of-44 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 110.1 passer rating in a 27–20 loss. In Week 4, Harrington improved on his numbers with a 121.7 passer rating, completing 23-of-29 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions, leading the Falcons to their first win of the 2007 season. On March 5, 2008, the Falcons released Harrington in a salary cap move. He was re-signed by the team seven days later but was again released in August after the Falcons completed their preseason schedule. New Orleans Saints Harrington signed with the New Orleans Saints on September 19, 2008. He was the third-string quarterback behind Drew Brees and Mark Brunell for one game against the Denver Broncos. He was released only five days later on September 24, 2008, due to increasing injuries on the Saints roster. After the Saints' injury situation became more manageable, Harrington was re-signed on October 1, but was cut again on October 6. He once again re-signed with the Saints on October 12, 2008, as an inactive third-string quarterback. On March 30, 2009, Harrington was re-signed to a one-year deal by the Saints. He was released by the team again on September 5, 2009. After being cut by the Saints, Harrington would not sign with another NFL team. Performance assessment Harrington was first given the label of "Savior" by fans and media in Detroit - then deemed a "bust" when he did not meet high expectations. Many speculate that his premature start in the NFL, along with lack of surrounding talent, poor coaching, and questionable offensive lines have affected his performance severely. Many other quarterbacks, such as Tim Couch and David Carr, were also drafted highly and eventually lost their starting jobs. In 2005, former quarterback Troy Aikman wrote that Harrington "can still be a really good quarterback in this league," and does not deserve the blame for what happened in Detroit: "The focus