Prior to the weekend, the Falcons released cornerback Cornell Armstrong via an injury settlement, according to Tori McElhaney.
This follows news that Armstrong was waived/injured last week when the Falcons announced their 53-man roster. He cleared waivers and ended up back on Atlanta’s injured reserve list.
Typically, this isn’t a notable development, but it’s one I wanted to point out because of the spotlight it shines on the differences between past teams and this year.
The Falcons trotted out Cornell Armstrong (four starts) and Darren Hall (9 starts) last season multiple times after Casey Hayward and A.J. Terrell suffered injuries. One game, in particular, stands out — Week 7.
The club traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals without their starting cornerbacks, and it went exactly how you’d expect. Joe Burrow completed 34 of 42 passes for 481 yards and three scores. Tyler Boyd put up 155 yards, Ja’Marr Chase put up 130 yards, and Tee Higgins recorded a modest 93 yards.
It was one of the few games last year the Falcons weren’t competitive in, and I bring it up because Armstrong and Hall are no longer on the roster but started a combined 13 games last year. The former was released via injury settlement, while the latter was just waived.
It’s a stark difference from a year ago. No, the Falcons didn’t improve the top-end talent of the cornerback room. Jeff Okudah might be an upgrade over Casey Hayward, but I have a feeling they’ll experience similar tenures in Atlanta — injury-filled. It’s the depth of this group that’s the difference.
Dee Alford, Clark Phillips, Mike Hughes, and Tre Flowers beat out Cornell Armstrong and Darren Hall for a reason. Only time will tell, but it seems the Falcons are much more competitive down the depth chart than they were in past years.
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