Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/21/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/24

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

  • Activated off IR: DL Jonathan Ford
  • Released: LS Matt Orzech

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, today’s moves were purely procedural. After returning to practice earlier this month, Jonathan Ford was nearing the end of his activation window. To avoid the defensive lineman landing on season-ending injured reserve, the Packers activated the former seventh-round pick to the active roster. That meant the Packers needed to carve out a spot, and long snapper Matt Orzech was the temporary casualty. However, Silverstein says Orzech will land back on the roster later this week following more roster machinations.

Meanwhile, the Giants added Armon Watts to the active roster following the lineman’s stint on the team’s practice squad. It sounds like rival teams may have forced the Giants hand. As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes, other teams expressed interest in the former Bears starter, forcing the Giants to secure Watts services now (vs. continuing to stash him on the taxi squad).

Elsewhere in New York, Haason Reddick was officially activated from the Did Not Report list today. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Jets now have a two-game roster exemption to officially add the pass-rusher to the 53-man roster.

Falcons Place OLB Lorenzo Carter On IR

The Falcons made a surprising roster move today. It’s been a fast-moving situation for outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who has played in every game so far this season. The sequence of events has led to Carter being placed on injured reserve, per Falcons digital team reporter Terrin Waack.

The situation began on Wednesday of this week, when it was reported that Carter was in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He had originally been placed on the team’s injury report under the designation of “illness” after not practicing, but Atlanta updated the designation to “concussion” by the end of the day. Carter missed the next two practices before ultimately being ruled out for tomorrow’s game.

What makes this sequence of events so surprising is that concussions rarely warrant a stint on IR. At a minimum, we’ve seen players navigate the league’s concussion protocol in days. To see Carter being ruled out for the next four weeks because of the head injury adds some concern and intrigue to the situation.

Carter had been the starter across from Matt Judon for every game this season, except for one in which the team only started one outside linebacker. In his extended absence, Arnold Ebiketie and James Smith-Williams will likely be fighting for the available snaps across from Judon.

To fill the newly open spot on the 53-man roster, Atlanta signed veteran cornerback Kevin King from the practice squad. King has appeared in all six games this season between time on the active roster and practice squad, mostly contributing on special teams.

Additionally, the Falcons announced that cornerback Natrone Brooks and defensive end Demone Harris will function as their standard gameday practice squad elevations in Week 7.

Falcons Eyeing Edge Rush Addition

The Falcons made a pair of veteran defensive additions not long before the start of the season. One of those was the trade acquisition of Matt Judon, but another move along the edge could be coming.

Atlanta is “very open” to bringing in more help in the pass-rush department, Sports Illustrated’s Albert notes. Judon racked up 1.5 sacks during his first two Falcons games, but he has been held without one in four weeks since then. Overall, the team has posted only five sacks, the fewest in the league this season.

Improving in that department has long been an organizational need, so it would come as little surprise if a depth move were to be made before the November 5 deadline. Atlanta currently sits 20th in the league in terms of cap space with $8.9MM in available funds. That could make a low-cost addition (especially for a rental) a feasible option if the 4-2 outfit adopts a buyer’s stance over the coming weeks.

Someone like Maxx Crosby – who offered a less-than-conclusive stance on his Raiders future – would represent a blockbuster target for the Falcons or any number of other teams aiming to take a major step forward in production along the edge. Far more realistic targets, as Breer notes, are players like Za’Darius Smith (Browns), Jadeveon Clowney (Panthers) and, if the 2-5 Saints were to try and add draft capital midway through what may well be a lost season, Chase YoungOnly the latter is a pending free agent, whereas Smith and Clowney are under contract through the 2025 season.

While Atlanta will continue to rely on Grady Jarrett as a key pass-rushing presence along the defensive interior, the team will also be looking to the likes of Judon, Lorenzo Carter and Arnold Ebiketie along the edge. Third-round rookie Bralen Trice would have been positioned to handle a rotational role this year, but he tore his ACL in the preseason, meaning his Falcons debut will be delayed until 2025. Before that point, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot could be in the market for a stop-gap addition.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/15/24

Today’s minor moves in the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Nichols is reportedly out for the season, per the Cardinals, but Prater could still return after an additional four-game absence. He’s already missed two games so far with a left knee issue. The 40-year-old was a perfect six-for-six on field goal attempts this year while 10-for-10 on extra points.

The Browns lose an important depth lineman in Harris. Harris started games at left tackle and center as an injury replacement this year, but he’ll be out for at least the next four games with an ankle injury.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris reported that Abernathy will be out for a “significant time,” per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/15/24

Today’s NFL practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: T Spencer Rolland

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Amos is far-removed from his days as a full-time starter in the NFC North. With Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve, though, and only three safeties on the active roster, Amos could have an opportunity to make an impact in the Bay Area.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/14/24

Monday’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/24

Today’s minor transactions, including practice squad callups for Week 6:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/24

Saturday’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

King made a long-awaited return to the NFL this season. After sitting out of the 2022 NFL season for personal reasons and tearing his Achilles tendon in the ramp up to the 2023 season, King hadn’t been seen in the NFL in over two years. The former second-round pick out of Washington has always had talent, but injury issues have kept him consistently off the field. In 2019, the only year in which King missed fewer than five games, the talented defensive back recorded five interceptions.

Despite a standout performance on defense in Atlanta this offseason, King saw very few snaps on defense in the regular season before being released this week. King was praised for his defensive versatility throughout camp and the preseason, but thus far, the Falcons had mostly utilized the veteran on special teams. He returns to the roster via the practice squad.

Falcons To Activate LB Nate Landman

The Falcons will be welcoming back a key defender for tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the team is activating linebacker Nate Landman off injured reserve.

After dealing with a quad injury throughout the preseason, Landman suffered a calf injury during his team’s Week 1 loss. That injury ended up putting the linebacker on the shelf, but fortunately, it sounds like he’s ready to go after a minimum stay on injured reserve.

A former UDFA, Landman saw a limited role as a rookie before breaking out in 2023. The linebacker was inserted into the starting lineup following Troy Andersen‘s season-ending injury, and the fill-in proceeded to start 14 of his 16 appearances last season. The Colorado product ultimately finished the campaign with 110 tackles, two sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Kaden Elliss has continued to lead the depth chart during Landman’s absence, with the veteran not missing a single defensive snap this season. Andersen has mostly soaked up Landman’s leftover snaps, although the LB missed Week 5 (and has already been ruled out for Week 6) while nursing a knee injury. That opened the door for JD Bertrand to get into a season-high 38 snaps in Week 5, but with Landman back on the roster, the Falcons can pivot to their intended linebacker pairing on Sunday.