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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons To Activate LB Divine Deablo From IR

November 19th, 2025 at 1:39pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Falcons opened linebacker Divine Deablo‘s 21-day practice window on Monday, but he won’t need the full three weeks to return from IR. The team will activate Deablo on Wednesday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Head coach Raheem Morris said he expects Deablo to play on Sunday against the Saints.

Deablo went down with a fractured left forearm in a loss to the 49ers in Week 7, the beginning of a ruinous skid for the Falcons. That was the first of five straight defeats for Atlanta, which has fallen to 3-7. It’s unlikely the team will rally into playoff contention, especially with starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. set to undergo season-ending ACL surgery.

The 2025 campaign has turned into a massive disappointment for the Falcons, who entered it hoping to push for an NFC South title. Deablo was an obvious bright spot before he suffered his injury, however.

A former Raider, the 27-year-old Deablo has started in each of his first six games as a Falcon and notched 24 tackles, four passes defensed, and 0.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus grades Deablo’s performance fourth among 81 qualifying linebackers. The Falcons couldn’t have asked for more when they signed Deablo to a two-year, $14MM contract last March.

Atlanta’s defense ranked second in the NFL in yards and eighth in scoring at the time of Deablo’s injury. The unit has fallen to 16th and 19th in those categories. Deablo’s absence obviously hasn’t been the sole reason for such a drastic decline, but it hasn’t helped. JD Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison have been defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich‘s main Deablo replacements over the past several weeks. Now that he’s returning, Deablo should slot back in alongside Kaden Elliss as the Falcons’ top two LBs.

Falcons QB Michael Penix To Undergo Season-Ending ACL Surgery

November 19th, 2025 at 10:24am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Falcons announced on Wednesday that second-year quarterback Michael Penix would undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee to address a partially-torn ACL.

Penix went down in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the Panthers. He was replaced by Kirk Cousins and did not return. At first thought to be a re-aggravation of the bone bruise Penix suffered in October, further testing revealed that he also sustained a partial ACL tear and a knee sprain. With Atlanta all-but-eliminated from the playoffs, the team opted to shut their 26-year-old quarterback down in the hopes that he can return for the start of the 2026 season.

Cousins will move forward as the Falcons’ starter in yet another twist in the 37-year-old’s 14-year career. He arrived in Atlanta in March 2024 on a four-year, $160MM contract ($90MM fully guaranteed) and the intention to start for at least a few years. Instead, the Falcons drafted Penix in the first round of the 2024 draft and installed him as the starter for the last three games of his rookie season. It seemed like Cousins’ time in Atlanta was over, but his contract made it impossible for the Falcons to trade or release him. Instead, they held onto him as the most expensive and experienced backup in the league with the expectation of parting ways in 2026.

Penix’s injury therefore creates a huge opportunity for Cousins to rebuild his stock after a poor debut season in Atlanta. 2024 was his worst year as a starter, featuring a league- and career-high 16 interceptions and a career-low 88.6 passer rating. He now has a chance to audition for a starting job elsewhere next season. His lone start this year, a 34-10 loss to the Dolphins in Week 8, did not show much improvement. He completed just 21 of his 31 passing attempts for 173 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions, and a 81.8 passer rating. Taking over as the full-time starter could yield better results, though he will be without star wideout Drake London for at least one week.

Head coach Raheem Morris said (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall) that practice squad QB Easton Stick will be signed to the active roster to serve as Cousin’s backup. Stick’s spot was filled by former Buccaneer Kyle Trask, who will now be the Falcons’ third-string quarterback.

Morris did not outline a timetable for Penix’s return. He will need a full reconstruction, according NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, with an estimated recovery time of at least nine months. Depending on the exact date of his surgery, that would position Penix to return just before the start of the 2026 regular season. Morris said (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that the Falcons will have to reevaluate their approach to the quarterback position this offseason. Whether or not that includes retaining Cousins remains to be seen.

This is the third torn ACL and reconstructive surgery of Penix’s career. The first two came in 2018 and 2020 and impacted his right knee, while his current partial tear is in his left knee. He will be entering his third NFL season coming off a major injury with legitimate questions about his potential as a long-term starter in the NFL. In 14 appearances, Penix has recorded a 59.6% completion rate, 7.2 yards per attempt, and a 85.8 passer rating. The Falcons have a 4-8 record in his 12 starts and will almost assuredly miss the postseason this year.

Next year will be a major test for Penix’s ability to bounce-back and prove that he is Atlanta’s franchise quarterback. The Falcons have to make a decision on his fifth-year option (for the 2028 season) during the 2027 offseason and may also be evaluating Penix against any other quarterbacks they pick up during his absence.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/25

November 18th, 2025 at 9:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad moves around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Andrew Steuber

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DL Fabien Lovett Sr.

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: WR John Rhys Plumlee
  • Released: S Jack Henderson

Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: S Marcus Banks

Tennessee Titans

Reeves-Maybin, the current NFLPA president, spent most of his career with the Lions but was released this offseason. He worked out with the 49ers in October and now returns to the NFC North with the Bears.

Odum began his NFL career in Indianapolis and is now returning to the Colts after a three-year stint with the 49ers. He will likely provide depth on special teams when elevated from the practice squad.

Kpassagnon, meanwhile, will be looking for his third team this season. He signed in Chicago this offseason to reunite with Dennis Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator and Kpassagnon’s former coach in New Orleans. He played 89 snaps across five games in Chicago before he was released. He then signed with the Colts’ practice squad, but did not make any appearances in blue and white.

The Seahawks signed Jones to their practice squad, but he was released the following day in a health-related move, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Rice, the son of NFL legend Jerry Rice, will get to play for one of his father’s former teams. Jerry Rice played for the Seahawks during his last season in 2004.

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. Suffers Partial ACL Tear, Likely Done For Season

November 17th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Connor Byrne

10:01pm: The Falcons will place Penix on IR, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report. Along with damage to his ACL, Penix aggravated a bone bruise and a knee sprain.

11:13am: Penix has a partial ACL tear and is expected to miss the rest of the season, according to Palmer.

9:55am: Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. suffered a potential season-ending knee injury in a 30-27 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Penix will go for a second opinion, but his chances of a 2025 return don’t look good. The Falcons believe Penix is done for the season, per James Palmer of The Athletic.

It seemed likely that Penix would miss at least some time when he exited early on Sunday. However, a possible season-ending injury comes as a surprise. Penix previously sat out a game this year with a bone bruise in his left knee, which he re-injured against Carolina. Kirk Cousins, who replaced Penix, will take over for the foreseeable future.

The Falcons used the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft on Penix, a stunning move after they signed Cousins to a four-year, $180MM deal with $100MM in guarantees in free agency.

Penix entered NFL with a couple of major knee injuries in his past. Then with Indiana, Penix suffered season-ending right ACL tears in both 2018 and ’20. The southpaw finished his college career with a pair of healthy and productive seasons as a Washington Huskie, leading the Falcons to take a chance on him in the first round.

Penix began his NFL career as Cousins’ backup, but the Falcons switched to the heir apparent late last season. After starting 7-7 under Cousins, the team replaced him with Penix. While Atlanta lost two of its final three games en route to an 8-9 finish, Penix showed head coach Raheem Morris enough to grab the reins as the team’s unquestioned starter entering this season. The demoted Cousins wanted out in the offseason, whether via trade or release. The Falcons wound up retaining him.

With Penix at the helm for all but one game this season, the Falcons have stumbled to a disappointing 3-7 record. Penix has underwhelmed at the head of an offense that ranks 18th in passing and 27th in scoring. He has completed 60.1% of passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions. The 25-year-old ranks 17th in the league in QBR and 23rd in passer rating.

It remains to be seen whether Penix’s injury will be severe enough to affect his availability for any of 2026. In the meantime, the Falcons will turn back to Cousins. The Falcons gambled on a Cousins mega-deal despite the fact that he suffered a torn Achilles midway through his final season with the Vikings in 2023.

Cousins, who had been prolific passer throughout his career with Washington and Minnesota, hasn’t recaptured his old form since moving to Atlanta. In his lone start this year, a 34-10 loss to Miami in Week 8, Cousins went 21 for 31 for 173 yards. He finished a lackluster 6 for 14 for 48 yards in relief of Penix in Week 11.

Having lost five in a row to fall to 13th place in the NFC, the Cousins-led Falcons will need a miraculous run to earn a playoff berth. To worsen matters, Cousins will go at least one week without the Falcons’ No. 1 receiver, Drake London, who sprained his PCL against Carolina. London won’t play in New Orleans this Sunday, and it’s possible he’ll miss more time after that, per Rapoport.

Falcons To Designate LB Divine Deablo For Return

November 17th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons should soon have their starting inside linebacker back in the lineup. According to Terrin Waack of the team’s website, the Falcons will be designating Divine Deablo for return from injured reserve.

Deablo last saw the field in Week 7, when he suffered a fracture in his left forearm. Head coach Raheem Morris indicated that his linebacker should be back on the field for Week 12, meaning it will only be a minimum IR stay for the starter.

A former Raiders third-round pick, Deablo joined the Falcons this offseason via a two-year, $14MM deal. He was one of the team’s most productive defenders through the first six weeks, as the acquisition collected 24 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Notably, he ranks fourth among 81 qualifiers on Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings.

With Deablo out of the lineup, the Falcons have turned to JD Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison to play opposite Kaden Elliss in the middle of their defense. Harrison has seemed to leap Bertrand in recent weeks, with the journeyman collecting 22 tackles and two sacks in his four appearances. Deablo will likely slide back into his starting spot next to Elliss, but Morris indicated that Harrison will still be in line for a role moving forward.

“We played some really good ball with JD,” Morris said (via Waack). “But Ronnie has really earned more reps and more role, and it’s kind of been increased since he’s been here. A lot of credit to Ronnie, a man that’s come here with us from training camp and really increased his role from a practice squad player to a special teams player to now being out there with that first-team defense in some situations. The way he’s playing, it’s going to do nothing else but increase.”

As Waack notes, the 3-7 Falcons have dropped each of the four games they’ve played without Deablo in the lineup. While the linebacker won’t solve all of the team’s woes, he’ll surely help his squad as they look to make a late-season push.

Falcons Fear QB Michael Penix Jr. Could Miss Time Due To Knee Injury

November 16th, 2025 at 7:49pm CST by Rory Parks

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. missed his team’s Week 8 matchup, a blowout loss to the Dolphins, due to a bone bruise in his knee. That same issue could now force him to miss more time.

According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Penix is believed to have aggravated the prior injury during Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, which forced him out of the game early. Atlanta fears its QB1 could be sidelined for a stretch.

The Falcons’ selection of Penix in last year’s draft was perhaps the biggest surprise of the event, as the club had just signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract. Cousins’ demotion in favor of Penix during the 2024 campaign triggered plenty of trade/release speculation this offseason, though the trade deadline has passed and Cousins remains on the roster.

The 37-year-old was not particularly impressive in relief of Penix in the above-referenced Miami contest, and while Penix has flashed at times, his overall body of work puts him in the bottom half of the league in terms of both traditional quarterback rating (86.8) and QBR (53.6). The Falcons have now lost four in a row, and Penix started the last three games in that span (although those losses came by a combined 10 points, and the last two defeats were decided in overtime).

Now sitting at 3-7 and in third place in the NFC South, the Falcons will surely be cautious with Penix. Cousins will again step into the starting lineup for however long Penix is out, and if he performs well, he could perhaps convince a team in need of a bridge passer this offseason to swing a trade for him.

Coming into Sunday’s Week 11 game, Penix had completed just 58.8% of his passes, which was the third-worst mark in the league among qualified players. While the Falcons were just inside the top half of the league in terms of total offense, they were a bottom-six outfit in terms of points per game.

Per Tori McElhaney of the team’s official website, top wideout Drake London also exited Sunday’s loss early due to a knee injury of his own. London’s hip ailment forced him to miss the game that Cousins started earlier this year, so it will be bad luck for both London and the veteran passer if the knee injury leads to missed time.

Fortunately, he may be able to avoid that. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, London’s malady is not believed to be overly serious, though an MRI on Monday will reveal more.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/25

November 15th, 2025 at 8:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor NFL moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s slate of games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

With the 49ers set to see their starting quarterback return, Martinez’s presence on the 53-man roster is no longer necessary. He’ll likely find his way back to the team’s practice squad.

The Panthers’ two elevations, Barnes and Mukuamu, are direct reflections of injury absences for tomorrow’s game. With Trevin Wallace and Lathan Ransom ruled out for Sunday, Carolina made the decision to call up another player at each position.

Mevis will once again be called upon for kicking duties in Los Angeles. In his NFL debut last week, he was untested in terms of field goal attempts, but he converted all six extra point attempts in a blowout win in San Francisco.

Kamara in Tampa Bay is being called up for the third time this season. If the Buccaneers intend to play him in another game this year, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster, much as the Ravens did after Bryan exhausted all three of his standard gameday practice squad elevations.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/25

November 14th, 2025 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Today minor transactions as we head into the 11th weekend of the regular season:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Buccaneers will see undrafted rookie running back Josh Williams miss the next six weeks after he was suspended without pay for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, so Wright makes his way up to the active roster to reinforce Tampa Bay’s depth at the position.

Oliver has been out since suffering a knee injury in the Titans’ second game of the season. He was able to start practicing again by Week 6 but was still consistently ruled out for each game. He finally earned a “questionable” injury status in the final game before Tennessee’s bye week after three-straight limited-participation practices, and he held that status throughout limited practices this week. Ultimately, he was ruled out for the weekend, and his placement on injured reserve indicates that a setback may have occurred as he’s now guaranteed to miss at least four more games.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/13/25

November 13th, 2025 at 7:52pm CST by Connor Byrne

Here’s are Thursday’s practice squad changes from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

  • Placed on practice squad/injured list: TE Layne Pryor

New York Giants

  • Signed: LB Trace Ford

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/25

November 13th, 2025 at 6:53pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL…

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Conner, a sixth-round pick from Texas, has yet to debut as a rookie after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. The Cardinals placed Conner on IR with a return designation when they trimmed their roster to 53 players on Aug. 26. Now that Conner’s back at practice, the Cardinals will have 21 days to activate him.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson will miss Thursday’s game against the Jets with a toe injury, leading the Pats to elevate Johnson. He’ll work behind TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, though the latter is playing through a knee issue. It’s the third and final standard elevation of the year for Johnson, meaning the Patriots will have to sign him to their active roster if they want to promote him again. The 29-year-old has totaled just 15 snaps (nine on special teams, six on offense) this season.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

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