Tori McElhaney

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. I think we all knew this week was going to be a crazy one, right? There were too many metaphorical balls in the air for it not to be. And between the Falcons leaning on nearly every possible designation to keep guys from hitting the waiver wire, coupled withmore news on injuriesand their ramifications, along with trades and signing? Phew. It's been a doozy of the week.

Some questions have been answered since the last time we spoke via this mailbag, but others remain. Let's go through a few of the ones you all still have.

From @RiseUpReader on X/Twitter

Will the RT situation derail our season? Losing Kaleb McGary and Storm Norton is devastating.

If a right tackle situation derails your entire season then you did not have a strong enough roster to begin with. So, the question feels a tad dramatic for me if I am being completely honest.

Now, is losing McGary and Norton concerning? Yes. It is. But you still have four of five starters returning from last year's line to this year's group because yes,I do consider Ryan Neuzil a starterseeing as he played nearly equal games as Drew Dalman did in 2024. That's still more than a lot of offensive lines across the league when comparing their plight.

I will add that as long as you have Chris Lindstrom on the right side, he has the talent to make up for a lot of other players' deficiencies. I know people are concerned about Michael Penix Jr.'s blindside. But they were concerned about that when it was McGary slated to be the blindside protector, and honestly, even he said he wasn't concerned about it considering the nature of offenses nowadays. Modern offenses dictate that at some point? A quarterback is going to have his back to one side or another, and it's not always his natural blindside.

I also think it is some times easier to cover up a deficiencies at tackle because you can put a tight end beside him, or you have a running back chipping the edge rusher. Heck, maybe the Falcons will deploy a few more 12 personnel looks to add more oomph on the offensive line.

Regardless, this tackle situation is not the end of the world, but it definitely isn't great. I will give you that.

From @DavidJo2437 on X/Twitter

What's going on with Troy Andersen?

Andersen on is on reserve/PUP still working through the knee injury that he sustained last season. Raheem Morris has not provided an update on his return yet. However, we do know that reserve/PUP rules dictate that a player must miss the first four games of the season before they can return to the field of play. So, the earliest anyone will see Andersen even suit up for Atlanta would be after the team's Week 5 bye.

Still, even that timeline is speculation on my part.

From @AtlasPryme and @chat85982 on X/Twitter

Why was Khalid Kareem not elevated from the PS to fill in for Bralen Trice going on IR? | Why a safety to replace an edge rusher/OLB?

Elevations from the practice squad are not one for one. Just because you lose an edge rusher does not mean you have to or even want to replace them on the 53-man roster with another. It's a numbers game, and at the time of the Falcons' placement of Trice on IR, the numbers were in edge rushers' favor.

Prior tosigning Jordan Fuller to their active roster, Falcons were only carrying three safeties (Jessie Bates, Xavier Watts and DeMarcco Hellams). You usually like to keep that number safely around four. Meanwhile, they were carrying five edge rushers outside of Trice, which I deem to be a pretty healthy number for the position for the time being.

The Falcons did not feel they needed to replace Trice's number on the 53-man roster with another edge rusher when they needed that number for the safety position. It's as simple as that.

Now, as for Kareem: I have no doubt you'll see him again. Heck, you could see him active as a practice squad elevation come Week 1's matchup with the Buccaneers. So, don't worry about this decision too much.

From @KeyshawnVlad on X/Twitter

With all the DBs we have on the roster, do you believe there will be a lot of dime formations from our defense?

At this point in time, no. I don't think you're going to see the Falcons rolling through a lot of dime looks. Now, could I be eating my words come Week 1 with Baker Mayfield attempting to take the top off this defense? Sure. But I think that is really the only time in certain situations against certain looks will the Falcons roll in a dime package. I don't see it being their go-to look though.

I don't think this will be the case because of one person in particular: Divine Deablo. He's not someone very many people have talked about this preseason, but he is someone who I think matters a great deal to this defense. He's a former college safety turned linebacker, so we know his coverage skills are there. Do you really need another defensive back in the secondary to do something Deablo is efficient in? I don't think so.

Now, could you run out a look that includes DeMarcco Hellams as a big safety? Maybe even closer to the box? Sure. But again, to your question of whether or not I believe they'll run out six defensive backs "a lot" no I really don't think they will. I think we will see it at times, but not with a frequency that is astronomically different than last year.

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