The Atlanta Falcons made a late move at running back Monday evening, adding veteran Trey Sermon to the roster just as preseason week arrives.
Falcons senior reporter Tori McElhaney first reported the signing, noting: Falcons signed veteran free-agent running back Trey Sermon.
For Sermon, it’s another stop in a winding NFL journey. The sixth-year back arrives from the Pittsburgh Steelers after one season there, and Atlanta becomes his fifth team since entering the league in 2021. The Falcons are also bringing him back to Georgia, where he’ll try to recapture the kind of production that once made him such a buzzworthy college runner.
Sermon entered the NFL as a third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers, but injuries kept him from carving out a steady role there. After the 2021 season, he moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Steelers, though his most recent stint didn’t produce any statistics.
His college résumé still stands out. Sermon came to Ohio State after playing at Oklahoma from 2019-20, and his biggest moment came in the 2020 Big 10 Championship, when he rushed for 331 yards - the most in an FBS championship and the most in program history.
Now he joins a Falcons backfield led by third-year star Bijan Robinson. With Tyler Allgeier gone to the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta has a job open behind Robinson, and Sermon will get a chance to make his case in preseason action.
The Falcons also added Brian Robinson Jr. to the mix, while Tyler Goodson, Nathan Carter and Cash Jones are in the room as well. Sermon’s task is clear: earn a place on the 53-man roster when the cuts come at the end of the summer.
Across his NFL career, Sermon has logged 134 carries for 505 yards and three rushing touchdowns, plus 138 receiving yards and one touchdown as a receiver. He has appeared in 46 games and started five.
Atlanta opens its four-game preseason slate this Friday at home, beginning with Denver at 7 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will air on ESPN Unlimited.
In Other News...
Falcons Suddenly Face A James Pearce Jr. Problem They Feared
James Pearce Jr. has spent most of camp working with the Falcons third team, a reminder that his role has already been in flux before the real questions around his status arrive. The first-round pick played in all 17 games last season, but Atlanta has been bracing for a much different kind of update as roster cutdowns approach, one that could force the team to rethink how it plans to open the year.
The uncertainty around Pearce now centers on discipline that has been hanging over camp, with the Falcons preparing for a suspension announcement before the roster deadline. For a team that drafted him to be part of its future up front, the timing could not be much worse, and the length of the absence would leave Atlanta sorting through a depth chart issue it hoped to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Jr. Is Already Forcing A Tough Falcons Decision
Michael Penix Jr. is already at the center of one of the Falcons biggest offseason questions, and it has less to do with upside than availability. Atlanta is sorting through its quarterback options under a new coaching staff, while fans remain split on what Penix can become and how quickly he can be trusted to lead the offense. The comparisons to other first-round quarterbacks from the 2024 draft only sharpen the scrutiny, because the Falcons are not just weighing talent here - they are weighing timelines.
The health piece makes the decision even murkier, and it helps explain why the organization has been forced to keep its options open. Penixs performance has given Atlanta enough reason to believe in the long view, but the uncertainty around his readiness has created a real test for the teams planning and patience. For a franchise trying to settle its future under a fresh regime, the quarterback conversation is already becoming a referendum on how much risk it can afford to take. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Needed This Divine Deablo Injury Update More Than Ever
The Falcons had a scare at practice when linebacker Divine Deablo went down after an apparent ankle injury and had to stop scrimmaging. It was the kind of moment that can tighten a training camp sideline fast, especially for a defense that needs to keep building chemistry and getting a feel for how its new pieces fit together.
Kevin Stefanski later said Deablo was rolled up on, and the early concern eased once imaging and testing were done. Hell miss the next practice as a precaution, but the expectation is that this is not a long-term issue, which is about as good a result as Atlanta could have hoped for after the initial injury. [Read more 🡒]