One change to the IR rules in the last couple of years is that when players are designated to return, the team gets a 21-day roster exemption to get them back in practice and up to speed and playing condition. At that point they either have to make room on the roster to bring those players off of IR or have the player be lost for the season. Three weeks ago Atlanta designated injured lineman Jalen Mayfield to return. Three weeks later, he isn't on the regular roster. His season is over. So far there hasn't been any comment on him from the coaching staff. He may have had a setback of some kind in practice, taking him back out of action. It might also have been a coaching decision, as Elijah Wilkinson has also been designated to return. If Wilkinson can return to the starting lineup, Colby Gossett and Chuma Edoga are still available as backups - leaving Mayfield stuck on the inactive list and using up a roster spot. Either way, we won't see Mayfield again until minicamp next spring, making this year a complete bust for the 2021 third rounder. Looking ahead, Kaleb McGary, Elijah Wilkinson, Colby Gossett, Chuma Edoga and Germain Ifedi are all free agents at the end of the year. McGary has really turned his career around this season and seems to be a likely target to re-sign. Wilkinson has done well as the starting left guard and would also be a good choice to keep. I've already tagged Ifedi as a likely odd man out. Gossett and Edoga? Who knows... they've both been useful backups, and they're likely to be cheap signings, so they could easily be back for competition. The team also has prospects Ryan Neuzil, Justin Shaffer and Tyler Vrabel in the pipeline. The good news for Mayfield is that he's already under contract, so he should be back next spring. The bad news is that Matt Hennessy had also been working at guard. If Wilkinson returns, he's capable of playing either guard or tackle - and is obviously a strong contender to be the starting left guard again next year. Chris Lindstrom is fixed at right guard. So the big question for Mayfield will be whether the team will move him back to his natural tackle spot and let him compete for the swing tackle role. That seems to be his only path to playing time. If he remains at guard, he might not even have a roster spot once the season starts. My guess is that Wilkinson returns, at least one of Gossett and Edoga return, and that Shaffer and Hennessy are both going to be in the mix.
