Falcons make a flurry of roster moves

Ahead of their home contest against the Texans, the Falcons made a flurry of roster moves in the wake of another injury.

Troy Andersen was placed on the injured reserve last week, and Parker Hesse will join him on the IR, per the Falcons’ Terrin Waack.

Hesse has been an undervalued member of the Falcons offense over the last two seasons as a blocker. He’s mostly been on the practice squad in 2023 with Jonnu Smith, MyCole Pruitt, and John FitzPatrick taking up roster spots.

In a couple of corresponding moves, the Falcons added Frank Darby back to the practice squad while signing defensive lineman Eli Ankou away from the Bills practice squad, according to Sal Capaccio.

Darby competed for one of the last roster spots this offseason but suffered an injury and was eventually waived in August. Josh Ali wound up taking that fifth receiver spot, but he has also been nursing an injury of his own, not making the trip across the pond. It’s certainly possible that Darby is a gameday elevation on Sunday if Ali is unable to go. His role will be in the third phase of the game, though.

As for Ankou, the run-stuffing defender actually spent time with the Falcons in 2021. He spent time with the Jaguars as a rookie and most recently with the Bills.

Albert Huggins and Joe Gaziano are the most likely candidates to have their spots taken by Ankou. I assume it will be the latter because of his diminished role over the last couple of weeks.

Expect the Falcons to continue tweaking the bottom of the roster as injuries arise.