Falcons Provide Return Timeline for OLB Bralen Trice

The Atlanta Falcons have high expectations for first-round defenders Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. Those expectations are so high, in fact, that it's easy to forget the Falcons could potentially receive another defensive boost from a young player returning from injury.

2024 third-rounder Bralen Trice, who didn't play at all last season, is on his way back from an ACL injury. Before suffering the ailment in the 2024 preseason opener versus the Miami Dolphins, Trice was working with the first and second-team Atlanta defense last summer.

Trice is not healthy enough to fully participate in Atlanta's offseason workouts, which began Tuesday. But Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told reporters training camp is a "realistic goal" for a Trice return.

"He is at the point where he's out there with our PT," Morris said, via the team's website reporter Terrin Waack. "I don't want to misstep with my words. He is with him most of the time. He's doing a couple things on the side. He's doing a lot of the running things.

"But definitely not at the 'full' category yet if we were doing some of those things. So, he's working his way back."

The Falcons drafted Trice at No. 74 overall in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Trice was set to be one of three Atlanta rookie defenders last season who could play a significant role for the team.

But Trice missed the entire season and defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro and defensive end Brandon Dorlus were big disappointments. Orhorhoro posted 11 combined tackles with one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit with no sacks in eight games. Dorlus had three combined tackles in two contests.

In addition to Walker and Pearce, the Falcons also signed veteran edge rusher Leonard Floyd this offseason. With those three new arrivals, Trice is not guaranteed to receive substantial playing time coming off the ACL injury.

But the sooner he can get on the field, the better chance he will have at carving out a role.

In three college seasons at Washington, Trice had 18 sacks in 40 games. During his final college campaign, Trice registered seven sacks, two pass defenses and one forced fumble with 49 combined tackles.