The Atlanta Falcons have struggled to put together an above-average pass rush for many years, and this year they knew they would need a lot of help from young players to effectively pressure the quarterbacks. Unfortunately, those plans are already being derailed by the serious injury of a key rookie, which is terrible news for the team and the player alike.
On Sunday, the Falcons announced that they had placed outside linebacker Bralen Trice and cornerback Harrison Hand on the injured list, cutting ties with quarterback Nathan Rourke. They signed quarterback John Paddock, previously reported receiver and returner Jakeem Grant, and running back Spencer Brown. While these moves all have consequences, the loss of Trice casts a large shadow for the Falcons.
As you might have guessed, the fact that Trice and Hand land on the reserve/injured list at this point in the summer means that both players will miss the entire 2024 NFL season. While Hand was a hopeful candidate to make the roster at cornerback, Trice was used on defense with the starters and was considered a savvy, capable and promising pass rusher and run defender who would get plenty of plays for a team that needs to rely on him. There’s little doubt that this is an extremely consequential loss for the Falcons, and now Trice will have to wait until 2025 to make his mark on the field for Atlanta.
The team can’t just keep going like this without Trice out of the running. The Falcons now have Arnold Ebiketie, Lorenzo Carter and free agent Lorenzo Carter as players they expect to continue to use heavily at outside linebacker, while DeAngelo Malone now has a greater chance of making that roster. That’s not a particularly large group, though, and whether through trade or signing, they’ll need to bulk up the lineup and hopefully add someone can especially strengthen the pass rush.
We are still waiting for concrete news on safety DeMarcco Hellams, who also left last Friday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, but we can hold out some hope for him since he was not part of that wave of transfers.
That line also included the release of Nathan Rourke, a player the team wanted to look at for a while but quickly decided he wasn’t a potential solution for the third quarterback position, which Taylor Heinicke will vacate sometime next month. Instead, they’ll take another look at Paddock, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent after the draft. In addition to Grant, who replaces returner/receiver Rondale Moore on the roster, they added another option to the depth of their running back group in Spencer Brown, a former Panther who saw a bit of action in 2021 and 2022 before spending most of last season on Carolina’s practice squad. Brown likely won’t make that roster, but gives Atlanta another option for the upcoming preseason game against the Ravens.
We wish Trice the best in his recovery and will see what the Falcons do regarding the position group following this deeply depressing news.
