As the Falcons continue to build their roster, some of the rent-a-player guys on one-year contracts will be moving on - either by choice or simply because they aren't really what Atlanta needs. An obvious example in the secondary is veteran backup safety Dean Marlowe, who has already been traded away. At this point, the core of the secondary is A.J. Terrell, Darren Hall and rising prospect Dee Alford (formerly CFL) at cornerback plus Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins at safety. At safety, Grant and Hawkins are set as the starters and are both under contract for 2023. Erik Harris has been versatile as a backup and might return, but he's easily replaced if he moves on. The more interesting questions are in the cornerback group, where injuries stacked up to the point that the team briefly had to play a no-name group of backups. But by the end of the 2022 season, Darren Hall (fourth rounder last season) should have enough starting experience that he's ready to challenge Casey Hayward (now on IR but still under contract for 2023) for the full time starting role across from A.J. Terrell in camp next season. Meanwhile, there are a handful of cornerbacks whose contracts expire after this season. Isaiah Oliver had been a bit of a bust under Dan Quinn but found new life last year as the nickel corner for new defensive coordinator Dean Pees - until he hurt his knee early in the season and went on IR. He returned to action in mid-October of this season and is still playing well. He seems to be a likely target to re-sign for 2023. And then there's the trio of Mike Ford, Cornell Armstrong, and Rashad Fenton. It's quite possible - even likely - that none of them will be back for next season, especially if Hayward and Oliver return. Fenton was acquired at the trade deadline. He's still new to the team and the defensive scheme, so it's too soon to make a solid guess as to his chances of resigning. It might be a bit harsh to list Armstrong as a likely odd man out since he was initially here only as a practice squad player. But his performances as an emergency starter were brutal to watch, and he's already 27 with enough time in the league that he'll be a full unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. So he's fair game. My take is that he doesn't have a future as a true starter at cornerback here. There are too many players already ahead of him, and I don't see a lot of upside. It's a similar situation with Mike Ford. For that matter, I'm a bit baffled that Ford is still on the roster even now. He had a horrible opening preseason game against Detroit. He allegedly had better practices after training camp closed. But the real tell is his playing time as the regular season has progressed. He played 28% of defensive snaps in the first three games, then only 12% in the next three games. And in the six games since then, he has played a grand total of 3 defensive snaps - in spite of being active every game. He's a core player on special teams, but even when Hayward, Terrell and Alford were all out the coaching staff chose to call up Armstrong from the practice squad and START him while not putting Ford on the field for a single defensive snap. This is his fifth season in the league. Like Armstrong, he's 27 already and will be a full-fledged free agent when the season ends. There's no upside to be found here, and it's pretty clear that the coaching staff doesn't want to see him on the field at cornerback. I'd say his only chance of returning would be to add a little weight and switch to safety, hoping to stick around as a reserve and special teams player.
Armstrong did get resigned. Those first appearances of his were abysmal, but he improved enough by the end of the season to earn a chance at a backup spot for 2023. He's going to have to earn his roster spot though. It's a new coaching staff on defense, and the team has A.J Terrell, Casey Hayward and Mike Hughes as the top three. Dee Alford and Darren Hall are also back, and there are already six other rising prospects like Armstrong to compete for those backup DB roles. (My early guess is the top two backups will be Alford and an upcoming draft pick.) Mike Ford has moved on and signed a one-year deal with the Browns.
