Atlanta Falcons Edge Bralen Trice Eager to Contribute: 'I'm Back Like Nothing Happened'

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – Through a week of Atlanta Falcons training camp at Flowery Branch, the talk all revolves around the young pass rushers. 

When anyone reads that sentence, Jalon Walker – the Falcons’ top draft pick – or James Pearce Jr. – their other first-rounder – likely come to mind. Through no fault of his own, Atlanta’s third-round pick in the 2024 draft may not.

Bralen Trice, the 74th overall selection in that class, was expected to come in and play a significant role last season as a rookie. After tearing his ACL during the team’s first preseason game, he was placed on injured reserve and missed the season. 

“That injury was heartbreaking for all of us,” said head coach Raheem Morris last week. “It was heartbreaking for him. It was heartbreaking for us, and to watch him fight and to watch him work, and to watch him come back, and to watch him get to this moment is what football is about.”

As we come up on one year post-injury, Trice’s name may not carry the same buzz it did last year, but the former All-American will still be counted on to be an important piece in a deep edge room that “excites” Morris. 

“It feels great just getting back into it,” Trice said Sunday about being back out at practice. “Getting back to the routine of practicing and being out here in the heat moving around on the field is so much better than sitting back and doing rehab and just watching.

The road back for Trice started with something many of us would probably take for granted – a bent knee. 

"When I finally hit that," Trice said, "I was like, 'All right, smooth. I'm going to get this done.'"

A boisterous reaction followed that simple action because a major step was taken, and the first of many for Trice through the rehabilitation process. 

Getting to that moment was special. 

“It was huge because you never think that’s going to be you in that situation when it happens you’re kind of surprised,” Trice said. Me and my wife were just ecstatic, my surgeon was ecstatic, PTs, and everyone.” 

Fast forward a few months, and Trice has been cleared to participate in team activities. After missing the entire offseason program, head coach Raheem Morris said he will be practicing with some “modifications” during camp. 

“He’s worked really hard to get back. I still kind of got the chain on him a little bit,” outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith said about Trice. “Because I told him the ultimate goal, obviously, is for him to get through this training camp healthy so we can hit the ground running.”

Trice says he feels “100% healthy” as he continues adapting to his new defensive coordinator’s system alongside several new teammates. 

“I love it,” he said about the competition in the room this summer. “We’re all making each other better. Coming out here and seeing other dudes like James and Walker and Flo [Leonard Floyd] out here, it just drives me to work harder.” 

The new system Jeff Ulbrich is bringing prioritizes a strong point of attack from its edge, with something the new coordinator describes as an “attack” mentality. He demands that from this group, and he sees the second year pass rusher as a player who is “built for it.” 

“Bralen is absolutely one of those guys,” said Ulbrich. “So, to see these guys get accustomed to what we're doing because just on paper at the surface level, it's just get off and go.”

Trice will get the chance to play a prominent role in solving a Falcons pass rush that's been dormant for nearly two decades. With the second day of padded practice coming on Thursday, the 24-year-old will continue his path to pick up where he left off last summer.

In a room stacked with talent and fueled by competition, Trice doesn’t need to be the loudest name, just the most relentless. His return may not come with the headlines of a first-round pick, but if he can channel the frustration of a lost rookie year into production, the Falcons’ pass rush might finally find the edge it’s been missing.

“[The knee injury] was a struggle, for sure, and it definitely hit me hard,” Trice said. “But I’m back like nothing happened and I’m trying to get back to it.”