The Falcons have added another familiar face to the mix, and this one comes with a Tommy Rees tie that stands out from the usual offseason connections.
Atlanta was awarded guard Jaeden Roberts off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles, giving the rookie lineman a chance to continue his NFL climb in a place where his college coach already knows him well. Roberts and Falcons offensive coordinator Tommy Rees overlapped at Alabama in 2023, back when Rees was calling plays for the Crimson Tide.
That makes Roberts the first clear “Rees guy” to land with this new Falcons regime. The team has spent much of the summer building out a collection of players linked to Kevin Stefanski, but this move is different.
Rees and Roberts only shared two seasons together in the Browns’ orbit, not nearly enough time for that kind of coaching tree to grow. Their real connection came in Tuscaloosa.
Roberts spent the last four seasons at Alabama, playing for both Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer. He went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, then signed with the Eagles in early May. His release before preseason gave Atlanta the opening to bring him in and reunite him with Rees.
At 6-foot-5 and 333 pounds, Roberts will get a shot to battle through the rest of training camp, but the path is crowded. The Falcons are deep on the offensive line, and the guard spots are already their strongest area up front.
Matthew Bergeron and Chris Lindstrom are locked in as two of the NFL’s highest-paid guards, and Atlanta has more interior depth behind them. Kyle Hinton stepped in adequately when Bergeron missed time last season, while 2026 UDFA Kam Dewberry also brings a solid résumé.
Roberts is now part of a group that includes Layden Robinson, Andrew Stueber, and Brandon Walton, too. If he can outlast Dewberry and Hinton, he’d have a real chance to stick, but both have had more time with this coaching staff.
For now, the reunion with Tommy Rees is the storyline worth watching. Whether it changes Roberts’ odds is another matter, and he still looks to be on the wrong side of the Falcons’ roster bubble.
In Other News...
Falcons Rookie Hype Is Facing An Early Camp Reality Check
The first two weeks of Falcons training camp have offered a quick reminder that rookie excitement can run into roster math in a hurry. Zachariah Branch has shown promise since arriving, but his on-field reps have been trimmed some in favor of a familiar veteran in Olamide Zaccheus, a sign that Atlanta is sorting through more than just raw talent as it pieces together the passing game.
Zaccheus has been making a strong case in practice, while the Falcons also seem headed toward formations that may not feature as much three-receiver football as some teams do. For Branch, that means the path to an immediate role is not just about making plays, but about fitting into a setup that could leave fewer openings in the slot right away. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Rookie Tight End Just Saw His Week 1 Chances Get Worse
The Falcons tight end group was already crowded before training camp got much traction, with Kyle Pitts headlining the room and Austin Hooper and Charlie Woerner behind him. For undrafted rookie Jack Velling, the path to a roster spot had been narrow from the start, as he was trying to carve out a case for a potential fourth tight end role on a team that already had established options.
Now the competition is even steeper. Atlanta has brought in Nick Muse, a free agent with more NFL experience, and that only adds to the pressure on Velling as he tries to hang around through the summer. With limited guaranteed money and no game experience at the pro level, he is going to need a strong camp to turn a long shot into something more real by Week 1. [Read more 🡒]
3 Falcons Enter Camp With Their Roster Spot On The Line
Preseason is when the margins get thin, and for a few Falcons, every snap is now part of the evaluation. Jack Strand, JD Bertrand and Bralen Trice are all in the mix as Atlanta uses camp and exhibition play to sort out who belongs on the final roster and who does not. For each player, the challenge is different, but the standard is the same: show enough in limited chances to make the coaching staff keep investing in you.
Strand is battling for a quarterback spot, Bertrand needs to clean up his defensive play to avoid being cut loose, and Trice is trying to prove he can still offer real value to the team. None of those jobs comes with much wiggle room, especially this time of year when practice reps and preseason game tape carry so much weight. For Atlanta, these decisions are less about name recognition than finding the players who can help when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]