Instant Reaction: Atlanta Falcons Announce Practice Squad

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons made their roster cuts on Tuesday and officially unveiled their initial 53-man roster. Attention quickly turned to the development of the team’s 16-man practice squad. 

Now that we have a list of who has officially made the Falcons’ practice squad, we were able to put together a few initial thoughts on what we have learned from this release. 

Falcons Make No Waiver Claims, Sign a Pair of Tackles Instead

With the level of uncertainty at the right tackle position, I projected the Falcons would be active during the waiver period in adding some depth. After the waiver deadline passed at noon, the Falcons had not only made no additions on the line of scrimmage, but they opted not to make any moves at all. 

Esa Pole of the Kansas City Chiefs was a notable player who was waived this week, but he was scooped up by the New York Jets. While there is a chance that the Falcons had their eye on him, New York was higher up the waiver order and got priority, so we’ll never know.. 

Other than Pole, no other tackles were picked up during the waiver period. 

Instead, the Falcons opted to sign offensive tackles Ryan Hayes and Carter Warren after they cleared waivers. These moves come one day after they also traded a conditional seventh-round pick to Seattle for Michael Jerrell. 

Warren, a former 2023 fourth-round pick from the New York Jets, and Hayes, a former 2023 seventh-round pick from the Miami Dolphins, will help provide immediate depth and competition at the tackle position with Jerrell, Elijah Wilkinson, and rookie Jack Nelson. 

Pair of Popular UDFAs Retained

Nick Nash was a promising undrafted free agent signing for the Falcons, and many thought he had an outside chance of making the initial roster at the onset of camp, but he struggled to make an impact during camp. The rookie from San Jose State was named a first-team All-American and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award last fall. He led all FBS pass catchers in touchdowns (16) and yards (1,382), and was tied for second in receptions (104). 

Now we know that he was one of the first players to come back to the team on the practice squad. Despite being an older prospect (26), Nash is a raw wide receiver. He initially went to college to play quarterback before moving over to wideout as a junior. 

He was an instant impact player, though, and was named to the second-team All-Mountain West in his first year as a starter in 2023 and followed it up with his All-American season in his final year last fall. 

With good size and the ability to develop as a route runner, Nash could make an impact for the Falcons with more coaching and polish. 

In addition to the wideout, the Falcons opted to retain UDFA cornerback Cobee Bryant. 

The former three-time All-Big 12 performer from Kansas had a standout collegiate career, finishing with 128 tackles (9.5 for loss), 13 interceptions (two that he returned for touchdowns), three forced fumbles, and 22 pass breakups. 

The fan-favorite missed the early parts of training camp after being added to the NFI list and then picked up an injury later on in camp. As a result, he was not able to be as involved during practices or in preseason action. That inactivity cost him a roster spot, but his ball-hawking ability will be retained on the practice squad. 

Kicker Lenny Krieg 

The Falcons opted to retain kicker Lenny Krieg, allowing them to add one additional practice squad spot by virtue of the NFL’s international pathways program. Krieg will provide immediate depth for Younghoe Koo, and they could retain him without counting against the 16-man limit. 

The German-born kicker wowed fans with his powerful leg this preseason, highlighted by a 57-yard field goal against the Lions in Week 1. While he showed promise, his camp performance was not enough to earn a roster spot over Koo. He will look to continue with his development on the Falcons’ practice squad. 

With only 14 names on this official list, it appears the team did not take advantage of that extra roster spot. The other two practice squad players will likely be Hayes and Warren once they officially join the team. 

Some Unsurprising Veterans Retained

The Falcons made an unsurprising move to cut running back Carlos Washington after he picked up a hamstring issue that forced him to miss extended time, but they also opted to waive quarterback Easton Stick. 

Washington spent the 2023 season on the team’s practice squad before being activated last season for the Falcons’ Week 18 game against the Panthers. He did not record a stat, but played 11 special teams snaps. 

While Washington did not play in the preseason, Stick led all quarterbacks in passing over his three games of action. Stick was also widely expected to be the third quarterback on the team’s roster. After signing to the practice squad, he will still hold onto that role, just without the active roster spot. 

Additionally, the Falcons retained veteran cornerback C.J. Henderson on Wednesday. The former top-10 draft pick was a late addition to the secondary, but still made a run at the active roster after a strong final week with the team. He will provide some critical depth for the cornerback room on the practice squad after clearing waivers.