3:17pm: The Falcons have issued a press release announcing their first wave of final cuts. In addition to confirming the cuts noted below, the team also parted ways with the following players:
- Nosa Eguae (DE)
- Jordan Mabin (CB)
- Freddie Martino (WR)
- Kimario McFadden (S)
- Jacob Pedersen (TE)
- Adam Replogle (OL)
- Donte Rumph (DT)
- Josh Vaughan (RB)
1:27pm: Fullback Maurice Hagens is the Falcons’ latest roster casualty, per McClure (via Twitter).
12:51pm: The Falcons have also released offensive lineman Pat McQuistan, according to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure (on Twitter).
12:09pm: The Falcons are set to release linebacker Pat Angerer, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (on Twitter). Fellow linebacker Yawin Smallwood, who was taken in the seventh-round of this year’s draft, will also get cut.
Angerer, a 2010 second-round pick, underwent microfracture surgery in December. At the time, the veteran was told that his chances of returning were slim, but he was healthy enough to be a consideration for the Falcons this offseason.
“It was about 50-50 but more like 20 percent chance of coming back (with) the way my knee was,” Angerer told Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was pretty beat up. To come back and to even be on the field, that’s a pretty big accomplishment and something I’m really proud of. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Angerer, 27, racked up 226 tackles in his first two NFL seasons but has played more sparsely over the last two years, in part due to foot and knee injuries. Many expected Angerer to be a shoe-in for the Falcons after they lost Sean Weatherspoon for the year, but it was not meant to be.