HEADLINES

Jayden Price

Falcons Reduce Roster To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 4:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the Falcons’ Tuesday moves which brought the team’s roster to 53 ahead of the cutdown deadline:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Taylor Heinicke was widely believed to be on the trade block, and it would have come as little surprise if the veteran passer had been released. Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins in free agency and drafted Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall in April. Those two are set to handle starting and backup duties in 2024 (and beyond, if things go according to plan), which suggested Heinicke was expendable. Instead, he will prepare for a second season with the Falcons.

King’s efforts to return to regular NFL action included a contract with the Falcons in March. The former Packers corner sat out the 2022 season while rehabbing multiple injuries. Last year, an Achilles tear forced him to miss another campaign. He was unable to carve out a roster spot in Atlanta, but as a vested veteran he will immediately hit free agency without needing to pass through waivers.

A number of recent draftees are included in the list of players being waived. As a former UDFA, Blair does not meet that criteria but his inclusion is a surprise. The 26-year-old was a standout in the preseason, and ESPN’s Marc Raimondi notes Atlanta is interested is retaining him via the practice squad. The same will no doubt be true of Logue, a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft.

Teams are allowed to designate two players to return from IR without naming them to the 53-man roster. A number of teams have taken advantage of that new rule today, and in Atlanta’s case it means Hellams will not occupy a spot for the time being. The earliest he can be activated is Week 5.

Falcons Sign 10 UDFAs

April 30th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Ben Levine

After finishing the weekend with one of the more questionable draft approaches, the Falcons have rounded out their rookie class with 10 undrafted free agents. The team announced that they’ve added the following UDFAs:

  • Ryan Coll, OL (Richmond)
  • JaQuae Jackson, WR (Rutgers)
  • John Paddock, QB (Illinois)
  • Nolan Potter, OL (Northern Illinois)
  • Jayden Price, CB (North Dakota State)
  • Anthony Sao, CB (MidAmerica Nazarene)
  • Ryan Sanborn, P (Texas)
  • Austin Stogner, TE (Oklahoma)
  • Trey Vaval, CB (Minnesota State-Mankato)
  • Isaiah Wooden, WR (Southern Utah)

The Falcons added another rookie QB to their roster in Illinois signal caller John Paddock. The prospect got a chance to start during his final season at Ball State before transferring to the Fighting Illini in 2023. At Illinois, Paddock only took over late in the season but still managed to finish the campaign with 1,278 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions.

The Falcons weren’t finished adding to their offense, signing three skill players to the roster. It’s actually the tight end, Austin Stogner, who has the most accomplished resume of the group. Stogner collected 84 receptions in a college career that saw him bounce from Oklahoma to South Carolina back to Oklahoma. This included a 2023 campaign where he finished with 17 catches for 196 yards.

The organization may be setting up a punting competition by adding Ryan Sanborn to the depth chart. Sanborn spent four years at Stanford before joining Texas for the 2023 campaign. The Falcons are still rostering last year’s starter, Bradley Pinion.