Jessie came to the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 1987 and retired in August of 2001 as one of the all-time greatest players in franchise history. Nicknamed, "The Hammer", for his bone- jarring tackles, Tuggle is the club's all-time leader in total tackles with 2,065 and enjoyed 12 straight 100-tackle seasons.

He led the team in tackles in a season 10 times and amassed 20 or more tackles in a single-game on four occasions with a personal– best of 24 stops. His 14 seasons played, 189 career starts and 209 total games played are third–most ever in Falcons history.

Tuggle's five Pro Bowl appearances (1992, 1995, 1995, 1997, 1998) stand tied for the third-most ever by a Falcons player. The Falcons honored No. 58 with "Jessie Tuggle Day" during halftime of the Falcons game vs. the Detroit Lions on December 22, 2002.