HEADLINES

Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/21

December 4th, 2021 at 4:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Falcons Designate Steven Means For Return

November 30th, 2021 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have designated defensive end Steven Means for return from injured reserve, per a club announcement. Means will be eligible to practice with the team starting today and return to action anytime in the next 21 days.

Means, 31, originally caught on with the Falcons in September 2018. Since then, he’s re-upped twice and started in 23 of his 32 games for Atlanta. This year, he was first-string at outside linebacker through eight games, up until he suffered a knee injury.

Fortunately, this was a less serious injury than the Achilles tear that cost him all of 2019. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll look to reprise his mostly solid work from 2020, which included 38 total stops and three sacks.

Once Means is back, he should resume his starting job with support from Ade Ogundeji and James Vaughters. He’ll also look to improve on his first half work – through his eight games, Pro Football Focus had him ranked near the bottom of all qualified edge defenders.

To make room for Means, the Falcons have waived cornerback Chris Williamson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/21

November 27th, 2021 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how teams finalized their Week 12 rosters:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

  • Promoted: WR Matt Cole, OL Austen Pleasants

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

  • Promoted: LB La’Darius Hamilton

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Falcons Sign P Thomas Morstead

November 23rd, 2021 at 8:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Thomas Morstead has found his next gig. The Falcons announced that they’ve signed the veteran punter. Morstead also confirmed the signing on Twitter.

There’s a chance Falcons punter Dustin Colquitt is forced to miss Sunday’s game due to COVID-19 protocols. Morstead would be a temporary fill-in, and there’s a good chance he’ll earn his walking papers once Colquitt is back in the lineup.

Morstead, 35, first entered the league as a fifth-round draft pick of the Saints in 2009. After earning a ring as a rookie, he signed multiple extensions to stay in New Orleans through 2020. This year, the Saints were more than $100MM over the cap, so he was released in the middle of their numbers crunch. Morstead landed with the Jets in mid-September, replacing the injured Braden Mann. But, with Mann designated for return, Morstead’s services were no longer needed and he was cut.

The veteran missed only two games in his 12 Saints seasons and punted in all seven of his Jets contests, bringing his career total to 197 appearances. Morstead was averaging 48.2 yards per punt with the Jets, his best average since 2016.

Latest On Falcons WR Calvin Ridley

November 22nd, 2021 at 5:53pm CST by Ben Levine

It doesn’t sound like Calvin Ridley‘s return is coming any time soon. While the Falcons wideout is now eligible to be activated off the non-football injury list, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters that he doesn’t have an update on the former first-round pick (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).

The wideout announced in late October that he’d be stepping away from football to deal with his mental health. The organization later placed him on the reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he’d miss at least three additional games. The 26-year-old is now eligible to come off the list, but it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to return to football.

The 2018 first-round pick emerged as one of the NFL’s top wideouts in 2020, finishing with 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. This was going to be a pivotal year for the former first-round pick. The Falcons picked up his fully guaranteed fifth-year option but have not yet signed him to an extension. The team also traded Julio Jones to the Titans, firmly establishing Ridley as Atlanta’s No. 1 wideout.

His numbers were a bit underwhelming through the first four games, with Ridley hauling in 27 catches for 255 yards and one touchdown. Since that time, he’s only seen time in one game, when he caught four passes for 26 yards and one touchdown.

Falcons’ Cordarrelle Patterson Out Tonight

November 18th, 2021 at 6:44pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons will be without a key offensive weapon tonight against the surging Patriots. The team announced that Cordarrelle Patterson will miss tonight’s game thanks to an ankle sprain.

The veteran suffered the injury last weekend, and there were whispers that Patterson could end up missing a few weeks. The fact that Atlanta hasn’t placed him on IR is promising, although it remains to be seen if Patterson will suit up for his team’s matchup against the Jaguars in Week 12.

Patterson joined the Falcons on a one-year, $3MM deal this offseason. After serving as a Swiss Army Knife-type player during his stints with the Patriots and Raiders, the 30-year-old has taken it to another level in 2021. Through nine games this season, Patterson has collected 776 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns on 116 touches, which are all already career-high marks.

The Matt Ryan-led offense is already without leading wideout Calvin Ridley, meaning someone besides rookie tight end Kyle Pitts will have to step up against a tough New England defense. Mike Davis should get the bulk of the carries with Patterson out of the lineup, with Wayne Gallman serving as the main backup.

Falcons Place TE Hayden Hurst On IR

November 18th, 2021 at 3:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons will make an adjustment to their two-tight end sets in the weeks to come. They placed Hayden Hurst on IR due to the ankle injury he is battling.

Hurst did not practice this week. The fourth-year tight end played 23 snaps in Atlanta’s loss to Dallas and has played alongside Kyle Pitts in every Falcons game this season.

Blocking tight end Lee Smith, however, is good to go for Thursday’s game, according to the team. Smith missed the Cowboys game due to a back issue. Atlanta also elevated tight end Parker Hesse from its practice squad ahead of its game against New England.

Atlanta traded for Hurst last year, but the team’s new regime replaced him as the primary tight end by selecting Pitts fourth overall in April. Hurst caught 56 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. While Pitts is now the leader of this group and has emerged as one of the NFL’s most promising rookies, Hurst still has 20 receptions through nine games.

Although the Falcons traded second- and fifth-round picks for Hurst last year, they declined the ex-minor league baseball player’s fifth-year option. Hurst, 28, is due to be a free agent in March. The former first-round pick would have a few games at the end of this season to make a final impression for tight end-seeking teams.

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