The Atlanta Falcons are still shuffling the edges of their roster as they get ready for next week’s opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Friday brought back a familiar name.
Bralen Trice is back on the practice squad after clearing waivers. The Falcons had already used up their final spot on the 16-man unit Thursday, but Khalid Kareem was claimed by another team Friday, which opened the door for Trice to return.
It’s another twist in a frustrating path for the third-round pick the Falcons took in 2024. Trice got hurt in his first preseason game as a rookie, a knee injury that wiped out all of 2024.
He came back to training camp in 2025, only to run into another setback that cost him the whole season. This summer, he had a chance to finally get on the field, then missed two weeks of camp before logging heavy snaps in Atlanta’s final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.
Even so, he was cut on cutdown day, and his next stop stayed quiet while moves piled up around the league.
Trice wasn’t the only practice-squad addition this week. On Wednesday, the Falcons brought back defensive lineman Zach Harrison, edge rusher Khalid Kareem, and safety Jammie Robinson. Each had spent 2025 with the team.
The bigger story, though, is how much the edge room has changed. Atlanta’s top four edge players in 2025 were Leonard Floyd, Arnold Ebiketie, Jalon Walker, and James Pearce Jr., and none are currently on the active roster.
Floyd remains a free agent. Ebiketie signed in March with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pearce is on the suspended list for the first four games of the year.
That leaves Samson Ebukam and Za'Darius Smith as the top true edge rushers on game day, with Cameron Thomas bringing extra size on run downs. The Falcons also added former Seahawks and Ole Miss standout Jared Ivey and former Buccaneer Yasir Abdullah off waivers on Monday.
This group looks different in more ways than one. Early in camp, Trice was the only player over 255 pounds, and he still hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game.
Now the Falcons are leaning into bulk. Trice, Smith, Thomas, and Ivey all check in at 270 pounds or more, and the addition of Gervon Dexter Sr. at 325 pounds should make Atlanta noticeably tougher against the run.
If the Falcons are going to generate steady pressure, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich may need to lean on blitzes. But the hope is that a sturdier front seven can force more third-and-long situations and create better chances to get after the quarterback.
There are plenty of new faces on this defense, and the way Atlanta plays could look new too.
In Other News...
Falcons Defense Is Taking On A New Identity Up Front
The Falcons have spent this stretch of roster building making their defensive intentions pretty clear, and it starts with the front. General manager Ian Cunningham has described a philosophy built around bigger, stronger, more physical players, and Atlanta has backed it up by adding defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. and claiming edge rusher Jared Ivey off waivers as part of a broader effort to reshape the line.
Those moves fit with a larger pattern that also includes a trade for Masson Smith, the drafting of Ethan Onianwa and a waiver claim on Cameron Williams, all with the same goal in mind: more size and more depth up front. The interesting part now is not just the accumulation of bodies, but how quickly this new identity can take hold once the Falcons get on the field and ask those additions to translate philosophy into pressure, leverage and control at the line of scrimmage. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Passed On A Veteran Edge Option They May Need
Azeez Ojularis brief run in Atlanta ended before it ever really got started, with the veteran edge rusher failing to make the Falcons 53-man roster or their practice squad after signing with the team in March. Ojulari, who has put together 22 sacks and 113 tackles across five NFL seasons, quickly found a new landing spot by joining the Raiders practice squad.
For a Falcons defense still sorting through its depth on the edge, the decision stands out because the team clearly continued to stock up elsewhere, adding several players to bring its practice squad to 16. Atlanta has options to evaluate, but passing on a player with Ojularis experience leaves a familiar question hanging over the roster: whether the pass rush is complete enough as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Still Have One Unsettling QB Question Before Week 1
The Falcons are heading into the final stretch of camp with the most important question on the roster still unresolved: who opens Week 1 at quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are competing for the job, and the decision appears tied to Penixs readiness more than anything else. Along the way, head coach Kevin Stefanski has publicly praised Penixs progress, but he has stopped short of naming a starter, leaving the team in a holding pattern as the opener draws closer.
Ian Rapoports read on the situation added another layer of uncertainty, suggesting Tagovailoa could get the first crack if Penix is not ready, though possibly with a short leash. A decision could come soon, but there is no guarantee it will, which is not exactly the kind of clarity a team wants with Week 1 approaching. For Atlanta, the bigger concern now is less about who wins the job than how much patience the staff will have if the first answer does not settle the issue for long. [Read more 🡒]