Khalil Herbert’s time with the Falcons is still in its early stages, but Sunday gave him a chance to show why Atlanta brought him in.
Signed on September 16 and elevated from the practice squad before facing the 49ers, Herbert made his presence felt in a win over San Francisco. He finished with 3 touches for 28 yards and chipped in on special teams, highlighted by a 38-yard kickoff return to start the second half. That return helped set Atlanta up with favorable field position during a crucial stretch, and the Falcons soon punched in a touchdown to grab their first lead of the day - one they never gave back.
For Herbert, just getting back into live action carried weight.
“It felt good. It felt good, you know, coming out there with the team, doing what I can. So it just felt good to be out there,” Herbert said.
He also had a little fun with one of the game’s biggest what-ifs. On a 19-yard catch, Herbert was ruled to have stepped out of bounds at the one-yard line, though he wasn’t exactly ready to accept that verdict.
“I think so. I think so.
Everybody else is telling me that, too. They have to go check the tape.”
Herbert entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2021 and spent four seasons there before bouncing through a string of stops. He has also spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, according to his own account of the last year. That kind of movement makes it harder to settle into a rhythm, but Herbert is focused on the chance in front of him now.
“It’s been a little journey the last year, just trying to get in where I fit in, contribute where I can, and, you know, hopefully stick it out here,” Herbert said.
The win meant a little extra because Herbert had been with the 49ers during training camp before landing in Atlanta. Beating a former team only added to the satisfaction of a productive afternoon.
Atlanta also had a practical reason to lean on him. Brian Robinson Jr. was out with a hamstring injury, leaving the Falcons needing more help behind Bijan Robinson. Herbert gave them depth in the backfield and helped on kickoff returns, too.
He knows the job could look different from one week to the next, and that staying ready is part of surviving in this league.
“I take the same approach whether I’m in or not,” Herbert said. “Honestly, preparing, always being ready mentally, practice, walkthrough, whatever. Any reps I’m not in, walking through, taking my steps, doing it.”
That kind of mindset matters when opportunities can appear without much warning.
“You never know. So just trying to stay ready and everything,” he said.
One game won’t lock anything down, but Herbert gave Atlanta something to think about. After a long stretch of moving from place to place, he has a chance to turn this opening into something more permanent.
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