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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

NFL Minor Transactions: 10/22/25

October 22nd, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s midweek minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Designated to return from IR: QB Will Howard
  • Waived (with injury settlement): T Gareth Warren

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While several players were designated to return from injured reserve today, Norton and Johnson’s designations took place back on 8/26, the roster cut deadline. The Texans are in danger of being without their top three receivers in Week 8. Tank Dell is already on IR, but Nico Collins and Christian Kirk’s statuses for the weekend are up in the air as Collins deals with a concussion and Kirk has been dealing with n hamstring injury.

Not that they’ve needed him, since Aaron Rodgers has looked a bit more effective than he was in his days with the Jets, but Howard is nearing a return to the roster for the remainder of his rookie season. It will be interesting to see where the sixth-rounder slots in on the depth chart as he adds another level of security behind the 41-year-old Rodgers.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/21/25

October 21st, 2025 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Raiqwon O’Neal
  • Placed on IR: OL Ryan Hayes

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: OL Marques Cox
  • Released: OL Karsen Barnhart

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: DE Seth Coleman
  • Released: CB Keenan Garber

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Signed: DT Fatorma Mulbah

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Falcons Release WR Ray-Ray McCloud

October 21st, 2025 at 3:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

After being sent home from Falcons practice late last week, Ray-Ray McCloud is done with the team. Atlanta is officially moving on via release, per a team announcement.

This is not especially surprising, considering the Falcons had booted the veteran wide receiver/return man from a workout before its Week 7 game. McCloud became a healthy scratch for the second straight game. This evidently did not go over well, and the parties will split midway through their second season together.

Cutting McCloud, who is a vested veteran set to avoid the waiver wire, will bring less than $500K in dead money for the Falcons. He had been tied to a two-year, $5MM deal; the guarantees paid out in 2024. Only part of McCloud’s signing bonus will be left on Atlanta’s payroll.

Considering McCloud’s 2024 production, this is a surprising cut. But the partnership had trended downward this year. The career return specialist erupted for 686 receiving yards and 765 from scrimmage — both far and away career-high marks — and worked as the team’s primary kick returner. He had been less involved this year, returning four kicks and a punt and adding six receptions for 64 yards.

Raheem Morris said the McCloud situation is not tied to the team’s decision to fire receivers coach Ike Hilliard. McCloud, however, saw his role vastly reduced after that decision. He played 69.7% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 3; after Hilliard’s firing a day later, the slot target was at 35.4% in Week 4. He has not played since, being scratched for the team’s games against the Bills and 49ers.

No WR3 has emerged in Atlanta this season, with Drake London and Darnell Mooney the top two cogs at the position and Kyle Pitts in place at tight end. The Falcons are seeing Bijan Robinson craft a dominant season in what could be a de facto contract year, as his first offseason of extension-eligibility (after Morris has heaped praise on the former No. 8 overall pick) comes in 2026. Robinson’s 390 receiving yards are second to London on the roster, and the RB’s 914 scrimmage yards trail only Christian McCaffrey (981) in the NFL. Atlanta’s third-leading WR (Casey Washington) has five receptions for 69 yards.

Since the Falcons cut McCloud before the trade deadline, he will pass directly to free agency. The Falcons were the 29-year-old’s fifth NFL team, after he had bounced from Buffalo to Carolina to Pittsburgh to San Francisco between 2018-23. McCloud’s return history at the very least figures to generate interest from teams, even as being dropped after being dismissed from practice is not exactly a good look.

Falcons LB Divine Deablo To Miss Time

October 20th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Falcons linebacker Divine Deablo was off to an exciting start this season, but his potential breakout was interrupted by a broken forearm suffered in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers.

Head coach Raheem Morris said (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Deablo would “miss some time,” but added that the fifth-year linebacker is expected to return this season. 2024 fifth-rounder JD Bertrand replaced Deablo after he went down on Sunday night and will likely fill Deablo’s role moving forward.

Originally a Raiders third-round pick in 2021, Deablo did not emerge as an impact starter on his rookie contract. He signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the Falcons this offseason that quickly looked like a great deal through his first five games. The 27-year-old started alongside veteran inside linebacker Kaden Elliss as a crucial part of an impressive defense that ranks second in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed this year. Deablo’s team-high 86.0 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks seventh among all inside linebackers this season, and he has been particularly impressive in coverage, allowing only a 79.6 passer rating when targeted with four pass break-ups.

Deablo will now be sidelined for multiple weeks and could even be placed on injured reserve depending on the severity of his injury. However, suffering a broken forearm – as opposed to a significant lower-body injury – will give him a good chance at coming back strong later this season.

Bengals Considered Long List Of QBs Before Joe Flacco Trade

October 18th, 2025 at 11:06pm CST by Connor Byrne

After a Week 5 loss to the Lions, their third straight lopsided defeat under backup signal-caller Jake Browning, the Bengals aggressively began searching for a different Joe Burrow fill-in. Led by director of player personnel Duke Tobin, the Bengals put together an extensive list of potential upgrades over Browning, Albert Breer of SI.com details.

Before swinging a trade with the division-rival Browns for Joe Flacco, the Bengals considered Anthony Richardson (Colts); Kirk Cousins (Falcons); the Giants’ backup duo of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; the Rams’ Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett; Tanner McKee (Eagles); and Josh Johnson (Commanders). They joined the previously reported Derek Carr (Saints), Sam Howell (Eagles), Drew Lock (Seahawks), and Davis Mills (Texans) in Cincinnati’s exhaustive search.

The Bengals narrowed the list down to five before choosing Flacco as the best option, according to Breer. It’s unclear who joined the 40-year-old in the group of finalists or whether the Bengals even made calls on all of those QBs.

In the end, Flacco won out as a result of a few factors. Flacco is affordable ($1.26MM base salary) and only cost a fifth-round pick. The well-traveled Super Bowl XLVII MVP also has plenty of AFC North experience, and coordinator Dan Pitcher identified him as a clear fit based on similarities between Cincinnati’s offense and Cleveland’s in terms of “spacing the field and progressing pass concepts,” Breer writes.

Two weeks into what will be a short-lived run as the Bengals’ starter, Flacco has looked like a shrewd acquisition. The Bengals lost his first start to the Packers, but they bounced back with an upset over the division-rival Steelers on Thursday.

Flacco outdueled fellow 40-something Aaron Rodgers in Week 7, going 31 for 47 for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-31 thriller. He made superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the focal point of the offense, targeting him on a jaw-dropping 23 throws and hitting him 16 times for 161 yards and a score. Chase has already hauled in 26 passes and two of Flacco’s five TDs as a Bengal. Flacco has yet to throw a pick with the team after tossing six in four games with the Browns.

The goal in acquiring Flacco was to hang around long enough to make a potential Burrow return worthwhile in 2025. Burrow, who underwent toe surgery on Sept. 19, is expected to miss at least three months. That means the Bengals will have to stay in the race into December under Flacco. At 3-4, they trail the division-leading Steelers (4-2) and sit in ninth place in the AFC. While the Bengals are still facing an uphill climb, Flacco has at least given them a more credible option than Browning under center.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/25

October 18th, 2025 at 7:57pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor moves and practice squad elevations as we head to the seventh Sunday of the regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

As injured reserve activations start to dominate the headlines, a couple teams are making minor additions off their injured lists. In Homer, the Bears are getting a veteran special teamer and some running back depth. Monk adds depth to Green Bay’s offensive line. And Weston will do the same for a linebacking corps in New York that has seen rookie fifth-round pick Francisco Mauigoa starting in place of an injured Quincy Williams.

Ford in Chicago, Sewell in New Orleans, and Jacobs in Tennessee are all being called up as standard gameday practice squad elevations for the third time this year. In order to appear in any more games after this weekend, their respective teams will need to sign them to the 53-man roster.

Falcons WR Ray-Ray McCloud Dismissed From Practice

October 17th, 2025 at 9:35pm CST by Ely Allen

An interesting report came out of Atlanta this afternoon that could see bigger implications in the near future. According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris sent wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud home from practice today. Few details were provided as Morris called it “a private matter between the team and McCloud,” but the head coach indicated that “he doesn’t know if McCloud will return.”

Falcons senior reporter Tori McElhaney added that McCloud has already been ruled out for the team’s Sunday night trip to San Francisco. This will be the second game in a row in which McCloud will be a healthy scratch. After missing Monday’s win over the Bills, McCloud has been a non-participant at practice all week for the Falcons. Despite the rough look of today’s departure, it doesn’t appear to be a punishment for the veteran receiver.

“I sent him home, an excused absence,” Morris told reporters. “We are working through some things that are private with the young man, and we will get those things figured out.”

Morris made sure to stress that, whatever McCloud is dealing with, this isn’t a reaction to the team’s decision to fire wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard back in September. “This is between Ray-Ray, the organization, and us,” Morris continued. “…I wouldn’t say it is a disciplinary thing, more of a football thing with something we have to get straightened out.”

McCloud’s absences have been difficult for Atlanta as fellow wide receiver Darnell Mooney has missed two games this year, as well, the most recent with a hamstring injury. Mooney has been limited in practice all week as he deals with the ailing hamstring, and he didn’t participate at all today. If Mooney, once again, can’t go on Sunday, the receiving corps Atlanta takes cross country will be a thin one.

Last week, behind leading receiver Drake London, it was second-year pass-catcher Casey Washington and converted college quarterback David Sills taking up most of the available snaps on offense. They seemed to serve mostly as decoys, though, as London drew 16 targets to Washington’s two and Sills’ zero, and all other passes were directed at running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and tight end Kyle Pitts.

It may be more of the same this weekend with McCloud out and Mooney trending in the wrong direction. As for McCloud, hopefully more details will emerge to give some insight into his path moving forward. After breaking out last year for by far a career-best 62 catches for 686 yards in his seventh NFL season and with his fifth NFL team, this has been an extremely disappointing follow up for the 29-year-old. He and the team will now work to get things back on track.

Falcons Designate S Jordan Fuller For Return

October 16th, 2025 at 7:25pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons will soon be adding some depth to their secondary. According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the team designated Jordan Fuller for return from injured reserve today.

Fuller suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that landed him on injured reserve. The veteran only required a minimum four-game stay on IR before returning to practice. The team now has 21 days to activate Fuller to the active roster.

Fuller joined the Falcons on a one-year contract this past offseason. This followed a one-year stop in Carolina, where he started all nine of his appearances while missing a chunk of games thanks to a hamstring injury. The former sixth-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with the Rams, where he quickly emerged as a starting safety.

Besides an injury-plagued 2022 campaign, Fuller otherwise started all 45 of his appearances for the organization. During his final two healthy seasons in Los Angeles (2021 and 2023), the defensive back collected 207 total tackles and four interceptions, with Pro Football Focus grading him as an above-average safety during those two campaigns.

While Fuller started Week 1, he mostly played behind Xavier Watts in that contest. The rookie third-round pick has since solidified himself in the starting lineup opposite Jessie Bates, meaning Fuller is eyeing a similar backup role when he’s ready to return. Billy Bowman Jr. likely represents the veteran’s competition for snaps. Bowman saw some significant reps for the team prior to the bye (mostly at cornerback), although he was a healthy scratch when the team returned in Week 6.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/25

October 13th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest moves from around the NFL,including practice squad elevations for all four teams playing on Monday Night Football:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed off Ravens’ practice squad: S J.T. Gray

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

  • Waived: OL Isaac Alarcon

Washington Commanders

The Bears elevated Moody to kick in their Monday night matchup with the Commanders with Cairo Santos sidelined by a quad injury.

Darnell Mooney Out For Week 6

October 11th, 2025 at 2:21pm CST by Connor Byrne
  • The Falcons will go without receiver Darnell Mooney on Monday against the Bills, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. Mooney, who’s dealing with a hamstring injury, will miss his second game of the season. He missed a Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers after suffering a shoulder injury in late July. With 64 catches, 992 yards, and five touchdowns in his first season with the Falcons in 2024, the former Bear enjoyed one of the best years of his career. His production has dropped over three games this year, though, with Mooney having caught seven of 16 targets for 79 yards. No. 1 receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, and running back Bijan Robinson are the only Falcons with double-digit receptions this season.
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