Atlanta’s preseason finale in Miami gave the Falcons’ bubble players one last shot to swing the decision makers, and a 17-12 win over the Dolphins left a few of them with a much stronger case than they had a week ago.
The stakes are simple now: roster cuts are here, and three weeks of camp plus three preseason games have been the proving ground. The starters got some run at Hard Rock Stadium, but the real pressure sat with the second- and third-teamers trying to turn one more outing into job security.
Some helped themselves. Others made the choice easier for the staff.
Cooper Rush was the clearest winner among the offensive backups. There was plenty of summer chatter that Jack Strand’s rise might have pushed Rush out of the Falcons’ QB3 picture, but the coaching staff has stuck with the veteran.
Against Miami, Rush was Atlanta’s sharpest quarterback, going 13 of 18 for 106 yards and a short touchdown pass to UDFA TE Jack Velling. He hasn’t been flawless this summer, but he’s still the most seasoned arm in the room, and he’s making it tough for Atlanta to justify not carrying four quarterbacks if the team wants Strand to stay in the mix.
Vinny Anthony II kept building his case too. The undrafted rookie has been turning heads all offseason, and Friday was another step in the right direction even if it wasn’t his most explosive stat line.
He caught three of four targets for 21 yards, then added a 52-yard kick return that showed why he’s been so intriguing beyond just the receiver spot. He’s pushing Dylan Drummond for WR6, and he’s doing it by showing value in multiple phases.
Carlos Allen Jr. also strengthened his grip on the roster conversation. The undrafted defensive tackle has been one of the preseason’s more interesting developments, and he backed it up again in Miami.
Pro Football Focus gave him an 82.5 overall grade, which ranked fifth among all Falcons defenders, and his 86.2 run defense grade was second only to Devonnsha Maxwell. Allen appears to be battling Chris Williams for what could be the final spot at defensive tackle, and he’s made that competition feel far less settled than it looked at the start.
C.J. Henderson had an uneven night, but he still landed on the plus side of the ledger.
The corner has been one of the summer’s quieter standouts for Atlanta’s defense, and while he gave up five catches for 63 yards, he also broke up two passes. He’s in the mix with Clark Phillips III and Cobee Bryant for a roster spot, and even with the rough patches, Henderson continues to look like someone this staff trusts.
Not everyone helped themselves, though, and Cobee Bryant may have done the most damage to his own chances. The second-year corner has been slipping all summer, especially in coverage, and Friday didn’t stop that slide.
Miami targeted him three times and got three completions for 66 yards, plus a 118.8 passer rating when throwing his way. Pro Football Focus tagged him with a 37.6 coverage grade, which ranked 22nd among 26 qualified defenders who saw the field.
If the Falcons are leaning toward Henderson and Phillips, Bryant’s night only made that easier.
Ethan Onianwa’s preseason finale also raised more questions than answers. The seventh-round tackle had earned some positive buzz earlier in camp, along with a few first-team reps, but game action has kept exposing how much work he still needs.
He was slow to react to plays in Miami, and his 23.7 pass block grade was the worst on the team. The size is there, but the rookie still looks like someone who needs a year on the practice squad.
Cash Jones, meanwhile, couldn’t build on last week’s momentum. After leading the Falcons in receptions and receiving yards against the Indianapolis Colts and scoring his first NFL touchdown, he looked like a player who had finally found a real lane as a versatile depth piece.
Against the Dolphins, though, he was quiet: three carries for four yards and a seven-yard catch. Four touches didn’t give him much room to shine, and he didn’t do enough with them to leave a lasting mark.
In Other News...
Falcons Roster Cuts Just Put More Bubble Players On Notice
The roster squeeze has already started in Flowery Branch, with the Falcons moving to trim down to the NFLs Sunday, 6 p.m. EST deadline. Atlanta has begun its cuts by parting with linebacker Channing Tindall, offensive lineman Brandon Walton and defensive tackle Eric Johnson, a first wave that also included wide receiver Keelan Marion, tight end Josh Simon, guard Jaeden Roberts, tackle Andrew Steuber, defensive tackle Devonnsha Maxwell, linebacker Daveren Rayner and safety Keidron Smith.
Those names are part of the annual hard part of camp, when depth-chart hopefuls and practice-squad candidates suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the numbers. More moves are still expected before the deadline, which means the bubble has only gotten hotter for the remaining players trying to survive the final round of roster trimming. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Made A QB Decision Fans Were Hoping For
The early roster picture in Atlanta got a little more interesting when undrafted rookie quarterback Jack Strand survived training camp and cracked the Falcons initial 53-man roster. For a player who arrived without draft-day fanfare, making the cut is a sign the team saw enough in him to keep him around as it sorts out the rest of its quarterback room.
Atlanta is expected to carry four quarterbacks, with Strand joining Cooper Rush, Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. The move also suggests the Falcons were unwilling to take the chance of exposing Strand to waivers, where another team could have claimed him, and that alone says plenty about how much value they see in keeping him close. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Made A Cutdown-Day Move That Changes The D-Line
Amid the final waves of roster trimming, the Falcons added a notable piece to their defensive front by bringing in defensive tackle Gervon Dexter from the Bears in a deal that sent cornerback Clark Phillips II and a fifth-round pick to Chicago. It is the sort of late-summer move that can quietly reshape a depth chart, especially for a team trying to sort out its line while dealing with injuries and locking in the 53-man roster.
Dexter arrives with the kind of pedigree that makes this more than a stopgap swap. A former second-round pick, he gives Atlanta another body inside and a player the staff can plug into the pass rush and the broader defensive rotation as the season approaches. The Falcons have been looking for ways to stabilize that group, and this trade suggests they were willing to spend some value to make the front sturdier now. [Read more 🡒]