Nathan Landman

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/7/24

Here are the minor moves made around the NFL on Monday:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Received one-game roster exemption: WR Zay Jones

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Received one-game roster exemption: DT Mike Hall

Green Bay Packers

Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Both Jones and Hall were issued suspensions under the personal conduct policy leaving them sidelined for the first five weeks of the season. Their roster exemptions will allow them to make their debuts in Week 6, but after that point a corresponding move will be needed for them to be permanently activated to their respective 53-man rosters.

Lemieux served as New Orleans’ starting center in Week 4 after being promoted from the practice squad. He stepped into a first-team role in place of Erik McCoy, who is dealing with a groin injury. Losing Lemieux for at least the next four games will deal another blow to the Saints’ O-line. Connor McGovern was added to the mix recently, but Lucas Patrick has received the nod at center to begin the team’s Week 5 matchup.

Falcons Place LB Nate Landman On IR

The Falcons got some bad news ahead of tonight’s showdown with the Eagles. The team announced that linebacker Nate Landman has been placed on injured reserve. The team also announced that they signed cornerback Kevin King to the active roster and elevated safety Dane Cruikshank from the practice squad.

[RELATED: Falcons Host Free Agent LBs]

Landman had already been ruled out for Monday Night Football after being sidelined with a calf injury throughout the week. It’s uncertain if this is related to the quad injury that the linebacker was fighting towards the end of the preseason. Landman started Atlanta’s season opener, appearing in about half of his team’s defensive snaps while contributing seven total tackles.

The former UDFA saw a limited role as a rookie before breaking out in 2023. Landman 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. The Colorado product finished the campaign with 110 tackles, two sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Fortunately for the Falcons, there’s still plenty of ILB depth on the roster. Kaden Elliss obviously leads the depth chart, and Andersen got into 31 defensive snaps during his return in Week 1. The Falcons are also rostering fifth-round rookie JD Bertrand. Still, that didn’t stop the organization from at least exploring some outside help. We learned late last week that the team hosted free agent linebackers Kwon Alexander, Rashaan Evans, and Josh Woods.

King got into a handful of snaps for the Falcons in Week 1, the first time he’s seen the field for a regular season game since the 2021 campaign. The former Packers starter is one of six CBs on the active roster, although Antonio Hamilton will be sidelined again tonight as he recovers from a groin injury. Cruikshank has bounced around the NFL in recent seasons and could make his 2024 debut tonight.

Latest On Falcons LB Troy Andersen

After seeing action in all 17 games (five starts) as a rookie in 2022, Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen opened the 2023 season as a full-time starter alongside Kaden Elliss in Atlanta’s defense. Unfortunately, the shoulder and pectoral injuries he sustained in Week 3 sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign, and his replacement — 2022 UDFA Nathan Landman — piled up 110 tackles, three forced fumbles, two sacks, and an interception in his stead.

As D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Andersen has no limitations as he participates in OTAs, with the player himself saying, “yeah, I feel good. Kind of back to normal. Hopefully, better than normal. Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

Landman has been working with Elliss and the first-team defense, while Andersen has been finding his footing with the second-team unit and fifth-round rookie JD Bertrand. But given Andersen’s draft pedigree — he was a second-round draft choice in 2022 — it is fair to assume that he will at least push for a starting role, and Ledbetter actually lists Andersen as a starter ahead of Landman on his depth chart.

The Falcons are transitioning to a 3-4 alignment under new head coach Raheem Morris, so there will be an opportunity for Elliss, Andersen, and Landman to get plenty of burn, and Morris indicated that all three players could be on the field at the same time on some occasions.

“Watching those three guys out there, man, it’s been fun to watch,” Morris said. “You’re talking about some big humans that can move really quickly and do some special things, particularly with the ball and getting in the way and getting in the way of passing lanes. They do so many good things, it’s almost like three different coaches sitting in a room at the same time. It is going to be exciting to get them on the field. Maybe all at the same time, because they have that type of ability that warrants more playtime.”

Elliss is the big-money member of the trio, having signed a three-year, $21.5MM contract with Atlanta last March. He held up his end of the bargain, recording 122 tackles and four sacks while grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 20th-best linebacker in the league out of 82 qualifiers in 2023.

Landman also fared well in the eyes of PFF’s metrics, finishing as the site’s 28th-best LB. PFF dinged him for his work in pass coverage — something many ‘backers struggle with — but he more than made up for it with his performance against the run.

As such, Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake have a good problem on their hands when it comes to finding reps for all of their linebackers, and the return of Andersen will further bolster a defense that finished 11th in total yardage last season. In his two games in 2023, the Montana State product notched 19 total tackles (including one TFL) and a half-sack.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/6/24

Some minor moves during a busy day of major transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

The Falcons were able to avoid tendering Landman by simply signing him to a new one-year contract. The exclusive rights free agent signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and after the season-ending injury to starting linebacker Troy Andersen, Landman took full advantage of the opportunity to start, finishing third on the team with 110 total tackles in 14 starts. He returns to Atlanta to fit in amongst Andersen and Kaden Elliss.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/9/23

18 teams had their seasons come to an end yesterday, and their front offices have already turned the page to the 2023 NFL seaon. This started today, as a number of players were signed to reserve/futures contracts, which allows organizations to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players throughout the offseason. Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

  • WR Ty Fryfogle

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/22

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: QB Carson Strong

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Nate Landman
  • Released: OL Parker Ferguson

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: LB Storey Jackson

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Falcons Sign 13 UDFAs

The Falcons announced the signing of 13 undrafted free agents:

  • Jared Bernhardt, WR (Ferris State)
  • Stanley Berryhill, WR (Arizona)
  • Kuony Deng, OLB (California)
  • Matt Hankins, CB (Iowa)
  • Brad Hawkins, S (Michigan)
  • Timothy Horne, DL (Kansas State)
  • Tyshaun James, WR (Central Connecticut)
  • Nathan Landman, ILB (Colorado)
  • Bryce Rodgers, DL (UC-Davis)
  • Derrick Tangelo, DL (Penn State)
  • Seth Vernon, P (Portland State)
  • Tyler Vrabel, OL (Boston College)
  • Leroy Watson, TE (UT-San Antonio)

“We keep talking about our scouting staff and our coaches and all the work that goes into it, and they really grind through this free agency process as well,” GM Terry Fontenot said right after the draft (via Scott Bair of the team’s website). “So I know we are going to continue to add some good football players. We’re excited.

“Once they get here, it doesn’t matter how they got here. It’s competition at every position.”

Derrick Tangelo got some significant money from the organization. Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that the defensive lineman got $55K guaranteed, including a $5K signing bonus. The rookie had 6.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in five seasons split between Duke and Penn State.