With so many key pieces of depth in question, the 53-man roster cutdown looms large.
Tori McElhaney
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. Let's be real for a second, yeah?
The Falcons' 2025 roster is set and has been. Save for a few position battles here and there on defense, I could give you the starting lineup right now. Both sides of the ball in fact. Truth be told, this is about as set as a roster has been in Atlanta in a while. We are not too far removed from the days (i.e. 2022) when there was little on the roster that we'd expect to stay the same from month to month. The phrase "initial 53-man roster" was beat into my brain during those days.
But the Falcons find themselves in different territory these days. Their lineups are mostly set. They essentially return their entire starting offense. The defensive additions they acquired in the offseason were obvious starters and role players. So, setting a 53-man roster should be easy, right? I can say with confidence that this was not the case. I'd argue nailing down this roster was even more difficult than it was in any of the five years before.
That's because injuries to key depth pieces has left me questioning what you weigh when ultimately making your decisions as to who to keep and who to cut.
Let's use an example: Carlos Washington Jr. Despite Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier being the stalwarts of the running back room, Washington has had a role to play on the 53-man roster for two seasons now. But Washington has been injured for majority of camp. It's a hamstring injury, and he won't see the field much if at all this week, either. Meanwhile, Nathan Carter has been carrying the preseason workload. If you have three roster spots available for running backs, who do you choose? The player you've had in the room for two years who hasn't been healthy enough to take any preseason reps? Or a healthy newcomer who has played his way into the conversation?
Let's take it a step further with another example: Clark Phillips III. A full-on former draft pick. Since sustaining his rib injury, Phillips' name despite it being an investment with previous draft capital attached to it is sliding down the pecking order. Everyone knows A.J. Terrell and Mike Hughes are the starters. Dee Alford and Billy Bowman Jr. are in active and heated competition for nickel. Natrone Brooks has been a standout performer throughout training camp. There's an argument to be made that Brooks has played his way onto the 53-man roster. And don't forget Mike Ford. He may be a special teamer first and foremost, but he's cross trained inside and outside all camp and preseason long. Doesn't he deserve a shot on the 53-man? If so, that's six players right there. Would you still carry Phillips? Knowing how many spots along the defensive line you need to fill because of the heaviness of the rotation there?
All of this to not even mention what's going on at receiver, where there is a chance the Falcons do end up carrying seven bodies in that position group because someone like David Sills V just can't fall off the roster. Oh, and did y'all forget Troy Andersen, too? He's on PUP right now, and if he's activated off of it he'd have to be put on the 53-man initially, even if you do stash him on injured reserve later and who knows if that is in the cards or not. Want me to get into the ripple effects of Storm Norton's injury lingering? Nah. I've probably given you enough to chew on.
As you can see, all of this is convoluted. Complicated. And the numbers can break over and over again. What do you value? And how does that change the numbers?
"You have to be able to manage what they've done, what they bring to the table, what they know, what you know they're capable of versus the person you're watching right now, (who's) actually doing it in those positions," Raheem Morris said. "Do you value that person more or do you value them less?"
But that's the puzzle, right? A 53-piece puzzle. It's not necessarily about finding who can play, who can start we have a very good idea who those individuals are. But its the role players, the men who find themselves churning at the tail end of a roster conversation. Injuries to key individuals have made the smooth edges of an easy to place corner piece feel jagged.
The Falcons have to decide do they go with players who have been on this roster before? Been in this building before? Those who have shown their worth before, but whose previous standout acts have been obfuscated by recent injuries? Or do they go with players who have been fighting through the dog days of camp? Increasing their preseason snap counts every Friday for the hope that one of those snaps gets the right coach to buy in?
What do the Falcons value most when the numbers force their hand?
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