WR Josh Ali is OUT for the game and didn't even fly with the team to London. Once again, Cordarrelle Patterson is listed as Questionable after being limited in practice all week. This is really getting annoying. But, there's hope - he did fly with the team to London. Practice squad DT Timmy Horne is getting another standard practice squad elevation this week. It's interesting that last week, he was elevated and played while defensive linemen Albert Huggins and Joe Gaziano were inactive. The main reason is that the 323-pound Horne is by far the largest defender in the organization. Huggins lists at 305 along with Grady Jarrett. David Onyemata lists at 300. Ta'Quon Graham is next at 294. So if they're looking for an interior run-stuffer to add to the rotation, the second-year undrafted prospect Horne is all they have available. I'm expecting to see him run out of standard elevations and get signed to the practice squad by midseason. The game starts at 9:30 Eastern / 6:30am Pacific and is only going to be available live via ESPN+. Yuck.
Well, technically Cordarrelle Patterson did play. But you would never have known he was there. He was on the field as part of the kick return unit - but all six kickoffs by the Jaguars went for touchbacks. And he was on the field for one snap on offense (not sure why) but didn't touch the ball. Hurrah...
Van Jefferson has found a new team. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Rams are trading Jefferson to the Falcons. Los Angeles will receive a 2025 sixth-round pick in exchange for Jefferson and a 2025 seventh-round pick. A 2020 second-round pick, Jefferson apparently became the odd man out after Cooper Kupp’s return from injured reserve. Jefferson played just two snaps in the Rams’ Week 5 loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Jefferson’s most productive season was 2021, when he caught 50 passes for 802 yards with six touchdowns. But in 2022, he had only 24 receptions for 369 yards with three TDs in 11 games. In five contests this season, he’s caught eight passes for 108 yards. Jefferson’s father, Shawn, is currently the receivers coach for the Panthers. After defeating Carolina in Week 1, Atlanta will host the second matchup in Week 15. NBC
I love the trade. Depth receiver Josh Ali went on IR. So now for the depth guy in rotation at the #4 or #5 WR role, Atlanta has gone from a returning practice squad guy to a former second rounder. The price tag is nothing - flipping a sixth for a seventh two drafts from now? He's worth that much even if he just sits on the bench all year as emergency depth. The Rams trading him isn't a surprise. Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell have stepped up big for them, and Cooper Kupp is back. Jefferson ended up taking a back seat, and he's in the final year of his contract. So they get nothing, but they do free up a little bit of cap space that can roll over to next year. The fallout is that LB prospect Andre Smith is getting dropped from the Falcons roster to make room for Jefferson (the trade is pending a physical, so it hasn't actually gone through yet) and will almost certainly land back on the practice squad, and WR prospect Zay Malone is unfortunately getting the boot from the practice squad to make room for Smith. So ultimately it's Jefferson coming in, Malone going out. Hopefully we'll see Malone back soon.
Looks like it's now official. And as advertised, linebacker Andre Smith has now been returned to the practice squad after being dropped from the roster. He was originally on the practice squad but was bumped up to the regular roster after Troy Andersen went on IR. Practice squad WR Zay Malone is ultimately the odd man out from the Jefferson trade, losing his spot to make room for Smith. The other move today that might catch the eye of a few fans... former Ohio State wide receiver C.J. Saunders has been dropped from Atlanta's practice squad. The team has replaced him with undrafted rookie Keilahn Harris.
Right tackle Kaleb McGary got banged up and came out of the game last week. He was back to full participation today in practice. The team is taking it easy with him and will wait until Sunday to make the game evaluation, but it already looks like he's playing. Storm Norton filled in while McGary was out. He didn't miss a beat, and head coach Arthur Smith noted that he didn't even have to alter his play calling to help protect Norton. So it looks like the team has indeed found its swing tackle. Cordarrelle Patterson still didn't play a significant number of snaps on offense last week, though he did get his first reception of the season. Hopefully he will become a bigger factor on offense soon.
Possible congratulations to backup tight end / prospect Tucker Fisk. Fisk was on Atlanta's practice squad for most of last season and won a practice squad berth coming out of training camp again this year. Turns out he is one of the team's two standard practice squad elevations this week. If he gets into the game, it will be his NFL debut. And even if he doesn't get into the game, he still gets an actual game paycheck. Defensive lineman LaCale London is the other practice squad elevation this week. He was also elevated last week and played 10 snaps. He was previously active for one game with Chicago in 2021, playing one snap on defense in that one.
Update before the Titans game... punter Bradley Pinion is ill and has been changed on the injury report to Questionable for tomorrow. As a precaution, Atlanta has signed another punter (Pat O'Donnell) to the practice squad and made him a standard practice squad elevation for the game. The other standard practice squad elevation this week is linebacker prospect Andre Smith. He's coming in for special teams duty as LB Tae Davis is in the concussion protocol and will be out for the game. Davis did return to practice on Friday, so the good news is that he is progressing through the protocol. Bud Dupree was limited on Friday after fully practicing Wednesday and Thursday. I haven't heard details of the injury or illness, but he is also listed as Questionable for the game. The only other two players who hit the injury report at all this week were Calais Campbell and Cordarrelle Patterson, who both had Wednesday off as veteran rest days - not due to injury, but you have to list them on the report anyway. Something special about the game is that it's the first time head coach Arthur Smith will be bringing the Falcons into Nashville. Smith was on the Titans coaching staff for a decade before coming to Atlanta, and he and Titans coach Mike Vrabel are close friends.
MRI shows Falcons DT Grady Jarrett suffered torn ACL in loss to Titans Atlanta's Week 8 loss became a bit more painful on Monday following additional testing on one of the Falcons' key defenders. An MRI revealed defensive tackle Grady Jarrett suffered a torn ACL on Sunday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, per a source. Jarrett will miss the rest of the 2023 season. ESPN first reported the news. Jarrett sustained the injury on just the fourth play from scrimmage in the game against Tennessee, appearing to tear his ACL while attempting to win a one-on-one matchup with Titans rookie Peter Skoronski. While engaged with Skoronski, Jarrett began hopping around on one leg, finding a way to exit the field rather quickly before receiving further medical attention. He did not return to the game. A former fifth-round pick out of Clemson, Jarrett exceeded expectations for his career long ago. He's earned an All-Pro selection and two trips to the Pro Bowl, and has played an important part along Atlanta's defensive interior for the majority of the last decade. Fortunately for Jarrett, his 2023 salary was fully guaranteed. With a cap number exceeding $20 million in 2024 and 2025, we'll see what the future holds for the 30-year-old defender. The sixth-ranked Falcons defense will undoubtedly miss him going forward. NFL.com
Out for the season. Falcons have allegedly made a trade this morning to add depth to the group, which doesn't speak so well for the extra defensive linemen they already have on board.
Update for the Cardinals week: the Falcons have released one of their free agent signings this year. Backup linebacker Tae Davis, who was primarily signed for special teams duty, is out. Andre Smith, Jr, who was in camp with the team and has spent most of the season on the practice squad, has now been signed to the roster as his replacement. It's not all that shocking considering that the coaches didn't play Davis on defense when Troy Andersen went on IR. That creates a practice squad opening. I haven't seen the official transaction notice, but I believe the guy filling the void is offensive line prospect John Leglue. He has bounced around the league a bit, most notably getting in on six games (with one start) for Pittsburgh two years ago. Fun fact... in addition to guard and tackle, he was also Tulane's long snapper for a while.
Two standard practice squad elevations for this game: big defensive tackle Timmy Horne, who might be activated for possible extra depth if David Onyemata can't play or might be intended for run-stuffing purposes, and WR Frank Darby. Darby is an obvious choice since Mack Hollins is out. He's competent on special teams and has deep threat potential as a WR, though he hasn't cracked the roster the last two years after being taken late in the draft in 2021. This year might be his last chance to make it in Atlanta. Cool thing about having him active for this game is that he's from Arizona State, so this game is a homecoming for him. I hope he sees action on offense and does well, as I'm sure he'll have friends and/or family at the game.
Nate Landman (#55 in the middle of that pic) has been a tremendous developmental prospect for Atlanta. He was a UDFA rookie last year who made the back end of the roster while the team was in cap hell. He got dropped to the practice squad late in the season as part of a flurry of roster moves (in particular, the team had to make room when they signed backup QB Logan Woodside from the Titans practice squad). But they resigned him for 2023 and he has thrived in Ryan Nielsen's defensive scheme. He has me really looking forward to 2024 when Troy Andersen returns. I'm wondering if Nielsen will then use Kaden Elliss as more of a pure edge rusher and leave Landman and Andersen as the true LBs in the nickel package. He used Elliss that way at the end of the 2022 season when they were both in New Orleans, and Elliss had 6 sacks in 7 games in that role. An otherwise forgotten player who might be turning it around is Ta'Quon Graham. He became a starter last year with injuries (and a retirement) ahead of him and played very well under Dean Pees. Then he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and he hasn't been as much of a factor so far under Nielsen. But he's now consistently playing about a third of defensive snaps in rotation as a backup, and against the Jets he had a solo tackle and two assists to show for 24 snaps played. That's not bad at all for a guy doing the grunt work on the defensive line. I'm hoping he can continue to regain his form for the final push to try to win the division title.
Nate Landman has a nose for the football, great instincts and the speed to get to the play and make a play. I stated earlier in the season how he is damn near in on every play or at least close to the ball. Truly a huge factor on the defense.
The Falcons ruled out four players for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, but cornerback A.J. Terrell was not one of them. Terrell suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s win over the Jets and made it back to full practice participation on Friday. He’s considered questionable to play this weekend and his presence would be a plus for the Atlanta defense. Linebacker Nate Landman (knee), defensive lineman LaCale London (knee), right tackle Kaleb McGary (knee), and defensive linemen David Onyemata (ankle) will not be playing for the Falcons this weekend. Terrell is joined in the questionable group by two other cornerbacks — Jeff Okudah (ankle) and Mike Hughes (hand) — as well as wide receiver Mack Hollins (ankle) and center Drew Dalman (ankle). NBC
One correction to the NBC article... it's defensive lineman Kentavius Street that will be OUT rather than LaCale London. London was on IR but was designated to return. Street got banged up last week. The new item is that Street is now being placed on IR, and London has been returned from IR to regular active status. It's his first week back in practice returning from his knee injury though, so he is listed as Questionable for the game. Onyemata was initially listed as Questionable on the Friday injury report but was downgraded to OUT. The team is really, really banged up on both lines right now. Keep in mind for the DL that Grady Jarrett went on IR a few weeks ago, so both starting DTs in the 4-man nickel front are now out, along with backups Street and Echenukwu. And on the offensive line, left tackle Jake Matthews is Questionable (got hurt last week and did not return), center Drew Dalman is Questionable, backup center Matt Hennessy is on IR, right tackle Kaleb McGary is still OUT, and left guard Chris Lindstrom (got hurt last week, did return but still gimpy) is Questionable. Storm Norton, signed earlier this year, has done well as the swing tackle in McGary's absence. Practice squad tackle Tyler Vrabel was a standard elevation last week and filled in for Jake Matthews. He's a standard practice squad elevation again this week in case Matthews can't go or needs to come out of the game again. Ryan Neuzil, Kyle Hinton, and late round rookie Jovaughn Gwyn are the other backups available. Neuzil would be the primary backup at center. Kicker Younghoe Koo is also battling some kind of illness and has been added to the injury report as Questionable for the game. So never mind the Panthers record. It's a division slugfest, and the lines for Atlanta are all kinds of banged up. We might seriously see the duo of Tyler Vrabel and Storm Norton as the tackles defending against the Carolina edge rushers. Yikes...
Arthur Blank noncommittal on Arthur Smith’s future The Falcons remain in the hunt for the NFC South title, but those hopes took a big hit in a brutal 9-7 loss to the Panthers on Sunday. Atlanta gained only 204 yards, with Tyler Allgeier getting almost as many snaps as first-round pick Bijan Robinson and seven more touches. The Falcons now have benched Desmond Ridder for a second time this season. It has coach Arthur Smith on the hot seat. Owner Arthur Blank addressed Smith’s future Tuesday in an interview with Jeff Hullinger of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Blank was noncommittal on a fourth season for Smith, who will have to win out to avoid a third consecutive losing season. “We are committed to coach Smith,” Blank told Hullinger. “We are going to play these last three games. We are committed to win. We will let the season play out and go from there. Obviously, this has not been the kind of year we expected. You would hear that from coach Smith; you would hear it from our fans, and our players. We understand that. We understand the challenges. At the end of the year, we will assess where we are and go from there.” Hullinger followed by asking if the Falcons had to get to the playoffs to save Smith’s job. “No, that was never really a requirement,” Blank said. “The requirement was we have more of a competitive team this year. I think through this part of the season, it’s been mixed, quite honestly. That’s what I think, and that’s what the coach would say. Arthur is a very honest, very. . . . He looks at himself very critically, so he comes from a beautiful family that has great values, and he reflects those values in his leadership the best he can. So, we’ll see how the season plays out and go from there.” Smith is 20-28, and the Falcons have started four quarterbacks in his three seasons. Their inability to find a capable replacement for Matt Ryan, who was over the hill in his final few seasons in Atlanta, has the Falcons where they are. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2017, and having lost their past two games, both to division opponents, they aren’t likely to make it this year either. So, in addition to continuing to search for a franchise quarterback, the Falcons also could be looking for another head coach in the offseason. PFT
Arthur Smith confirms Falcons will start Taylor Heinicke for last three games Barring something unforeseen, the Falcons will not be switching back to Desmond Ridder at starting quarterback over the last three weeks of the season. Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith said in his Wednesday press conference that Taylor Heinicke will start at QB for the rest of the season. Ridder was previously benched for his performance midway through the season, but then the club had him back in the saddle as QB1. After Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, however, Atlanta is making a more permanent switch. “Obviously Des came back a few weeks ago. Plan was to let him finish out the season. And that’s what the plan was. But you have to be willing to adapt,” Smith said, via Terrin Waack of the team’s website. “We feel right now, with where we’re at, that Taylor gives us the best chance. We have to adapt.” Smith continued to talk about adapting when he confirmed that Heinicke would start the last three games. “That’s the plan. But you have to be adaptable,” Smith said. “Look, if you don’t like the way something is going — maybe that’s offensively, maybe that’s special teams [or] defensively — that’s your job. There’s no perfect solution sometimes. And I take a lot of consideration and responsibility in this job because I think sometimes it’s easy to look like hey, let me blame something on this person or that person. There’s a lot that goes into it.” Still, Smith is anticipating the offense will improve with Heinicke behind center. “Taylor has had a lot of success in this league in big moments,” Smith said. “That’s why we signed him.” Heinicke has completed 55.4 percent of his passes this season for 498 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. In 13 games with 12 starts, Ridder has completed 63.3 percent of his throws for 2,528 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 picks. At 6-8, the Falcons play the Colts, Bears, and Saints to end the regular season. PFT ____________ __________________ Cant wait to hear your comments, @Torgo What kills me is the commitment for the 'next 3 weeks' ... why not wait and see like he has been doing... in essence, no matter how bad Heinicke is, he's our QB? Its all messed up in my opinion and Ridder is getting screwed.
