The Falcons cut a pair of quarterbacks yesterday in Rex Grossman and T.J. Yates, but that wasn’t the end of the organization’s moves. Atlanta’s website announced that the team had waived six other players:
The Falcons roster is now down to 68 players. The team acquired Andy Levitre from the Titans yesterday, requiring them to cut an additional player.
The Falcons have made some changes to their roster and practice squad today, placing safety William Moore on the injured reserve list and promoting fellow safety Sean Baker to take his spot on the active roster, according to a team release. Atlanta also filled Baker’s spot on the practice squad by adding running back Ronnie Wingo.
For Moore, it’s his second time being placed on the IR list this season — earlier in the year, he received the designation to return due to a shoulder injury and missed eight weeks, and it’s his shoulder again that will keep him out of the team’s final regular season contest, as well as any playoff games. A starter when he’s healthy, Moore remains under contract for next season, so he’ll likely be back in Atlanta.
Baker, 26, spent four weeks on the Falcons’ 53-man roster earlier this season, but didn’t see any action on defense, and was waived in late October when the club signed signed veteran Charles Godfrey.
We’ll track today’s practice squad signings and cuts, in this space. Here’s the latest:
Earlier updates:
The Falcons have signed a veteran safety recently cut by one of their division rivals, the team announced today, confirming that Charles Godfrey has joined the team. To make room on the roster, the club has cut safety Sean Baker (Twitter link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution).
Godfrey, who will turn 29 in November, was sidelined for most of the 2013 season after tearing his Achilles early in the year. While the Panthers elected to keep him on the roster through the offseason and for the start of the 2014 campaign, the team reworked his contract significantly, reducing his base salary by more than $4MM and converting some of that money to per-game roster bonuses.
After starting all but one of his 73 games for Carolina during his first five years with the team, Godfrey began this season playing a lesser role, appearing in just 84 defensive snaps through four games. However, he was forced into more frequent action in recent weeks and struggled with the increased workload and a shift to cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF’s data gave Godfrey a -0.5 grade for his play through the first four weeks, and a -9.9 mark for weeks five through seven. The Panthers released Godfrey last Tuesday.
Three Falcons players are headed to injured reserve, the team announced today (Twitter links). Starting center Joe Hawley and right tackle Lamar Holmes have been placed on season-ending IR with ACL and foot injuries, respectively. Safety William Moore was also placed on injured reserve, though he received the designation to return, so he’ll be eligible to return from his shoulder injury after eight weeks.
Atlanta has filled two of its three newly-opened roster spots by promoting a pair of players from its practice squad, according to the team (Twitter link). Guard Harland Gunn and safety Sean Baker are two of the newest additions to the Falcons’ 53-man roster. Per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (via Twitter), that final open roster spot will be filled by veteran tackle Cameron Bradfield, who was cut by the Jaguars earlier this month.
Hawley and Holmes hadn’t been playing exceptionally well in the early going — both players had negative grades, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, they were adding some stability to a unit that is missing veteran Sam Baker and has seen rookie Jake Matthews get a little banged up as well.
With Hawley and Holmes now out of the mix, the club worked out a handful of offensive linemen today, including Leroy Harris, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). It appears for now though that Atlanta will try to get by with Gunn and Bradfield providing depth, as Peter Konz and Gabe Carimi appear likely to assume starting roles.
Safety Kimario McFadden and guard Adam Replogle have filled the two newly-opened spots on the Falcons’ practice squad, reports Ledbetter (via Twitter). Both players were cut by the team at the end of the preseason.
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.
Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons:
Carolina Panthers:
New Orleans Saints:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
After officially announcing a first wave of cuts that included veteran linebacker Pat Angerer yesterday, the Falcons have confirmed their second wave of final cuts. According to a team release, Atlanta has parted ways with the following 10 players: