Don't sell the practice squad short. The team's five consecutive winning seasons under Mike Smith featured significant players who started their careers on the practice squad. That list includes offensive linemen Tyson Clabo and Harvey Dahl and cornerback Brent Grimes. Atlanta signed 15 of the 16 players who were active on the practice squad for the season finale. They also signed one of the three injured practice squad players, one player who had been on the practice squad earlier in the season, and one guy from the CFL. And this is in addition to the 10 players they had already promoted from the practice squad or signed from other teams' practice squads before the final game. (Those players finished the season on the regular roster, so Atlanta already controls their rights heading into 2023.) Noteworthy players on the list: ILB Nate Landman was an undrafted rookie for Atlanta this season from Colorado. He made the roster and appeared in 7 games, mainly on special teams. He was then dropped down to the practice squad in a late season roster shuffle (essentially making room for Elijah Wilkinson to return from IR). OG Justin Shaffer was a late round pick in the 2022 draft who struggled in preseason, didn't make the roster, and spent most of the regular season on the practice squad IR list. It was basically a lost cause for the big guy from UGA. But he's healthy now and resumed his practice squad duties late in the season, so now he'll rest, regroup, and see if he can show improvement in his second training camp and preseason. The Falcons knew he'd be a developmental project when they drafted him. S Jamal Peters had a good combination of size/speed/length coming out of Mississippi State, but not enough college production to get drafted. So he took the northern road and went to the CFL. He led the Toronto Argonauts this season with six interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. CB Javelin Guidry was an undrafted free agent in 2020, initially signed by the Jets. The former Utah cornerback has appeared in 32 games with 5 starts over the three years of his career to date. He's undersized at 5-9, but he was the fastest player at the Combine in 2020. Speedsters haven't always worked out so well for the Falcons, but if nothing else Guidry was a solid contributor on special teams while he was with New York. CB John Reid was the guy signed to fill in the open spot after Cam Batson was released following his arrest. Reid is a feisty, athletic corner out of Penn State who was drafted in the fourth round by the Texans in 2020. Houston traded him to Seattle in 2021. He was on IR this year, and Seattle released him rather than return him to active status. Whether he'll prove to be a good fit for Atlanta will obviously depend on what system the team plays next season, which is up in the air as we await the interview process for our next defensive coordinator following Dean Pees' retirement. ILB Dorian Etheridge was a Falcons UDFA in 2021 who made the initial roster under new coach Arthur Smith and DC Dean Pees. He ended 2021 on the practice squad and was resigned for 2022. He was hurt in preseason and released with an injury settlement, then signed to the practice squad in October when he was eligible to return. OLB/edge rusher Quinton Bell and TE John Raine are other names that fans might remember from training camp and preseason. Raine is the same case as Etheridge - he was on the 2021 practice squad, returned for 2022, got hurt in preseason and released with an injury settlement at the end of August and rejoined the practice squad later in the year. Bell was initially a late draft pick by the Raiders in 2019 who spent most of 2019-2020 on Tampa's practice squad. He got into 5 games with the Buccaneers in 2020, joined Atlanta's practice squad in 2021 and got into 4 games for Atlanta this season. OT Tyler Vrabel (son of Titans coach Mike Vrabel) was a UDFA this season who had a solid training camp and preseason and made the practice squad - then got hurt. He was still on practice squad reserve status to end the season. Apparently he's close to returning, as the team has already re-signed him for 2023. C Ryan Neuzil and WR Frank Darby weren't on the list because they had already quietly been added to the regular roster following a few standard elevations. Arthur Smith considered Neuzil the leader of the third unit line in training camp, calling the group "Neuz' crew". Darby made his first catch of the season in the finale against Tampa. He's considered a deep threat. His draft profile is similar to that of Olamide Zaccheaus, who became a starter this season - speedster who needs work on his catching technique. Other Falcons who came up from the practice squad during the year include RB Caleb Huntley (IR), TE MyCole Pruitt, S Jovante Moffatt (IR), DT Jalen Dalton, CB Cornell Armstrong and DT Jaleel Johnson. The team also signed LB David Anenih from Pittsburgh's practice squad and DB Micah Abernathy from Green Bay's practice squad.
The experience should bode well. Glad to see some cohesiveness with these guys, that in and of itself will pay good dividends, imo.
Definitely. It's obvious that Ridder already has good chemistry and a sense of timing with Drake London and also backup TE MyCole Pruitt. I'm hoping Pruitt and also backup TE Parker Hesse will be resigned. Both should certainly be cheap enough. On defense, Rashaan Evans and Lorenzo Carter will likely be more expensive to bring back. Ditto for nickel corner Isaiah Oliver. But all three have earned it. The young core is almost scary when you consider the upcoming cap space that GM Terry Fontenot will have to fill in the gaps. Desmond Ridder will be throwing to Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Cordarrelle Patterson and others, with Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, and hopefully Caleb Huntley back from injury to pound the ball on the ground. NONE of those guys were here when Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith first came aboard two years ago.
