The Atlanta Falcons have finalized their initial roster and announced their practice squad as the 2025 NFL season approaches. The team made several moves this week, including acquiring offensive tackle Michael Jerrell from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a conditional 2027 seventh-round draft pick. In addition to Jerrell, Atlanta added two offensive tackles to its practice squad.
Injury updates were also part of the week’s developments. Starting right tackle Kaleb McGary was placed on injured reserve before Tuesday’s roster cuts, ruling him out for the entire 2025 season. Edge rusher Bralen Trice was later placed on injured reserve after the cuts; however, he may be eligible to return later this year. Head coach Raheem Morris addressed Trice’s situation Thursday, stating that more information about his recovery timeline is forthcoming.
“As Morris explained, Trice injured the same knee that kept him off the field for the entirety of his rookie campaign in 2024. Morris said the best-case scenario for Trice is that he would return after the bye week, but that a procedure on the knee is likely incoming. More information on his status will be known thereafter.”
Morris also commented on plans at right tackle following McGary’s injury. He indicated that new additions to the position would face tough competition from players who participated throughout training camp, with Elijah Wilkinson identified as the leading candidate.
“Those guys will be competing for the right now of being able to go out there and play right tackle for us and having those guys out there getting ready to go, giving those guys the best opportunity to mesh and move forward to go get a win versus Tampa,” Morris said. “… I got a lot of confidence in those guys that were here (for the preseason).”
For Week 1 against Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. are set to start at safety and nickel positions respectively.
Coverage this week also included an examination of roster decisions by Tori McElhaney in response to fan questions and an analysis by Terrin Waack on how teams across the league approached their initial rosters. Waack profiled Khalid Kareem, who recently changed his nutrition strategy after years as a vegan.
With no games scheduled ahead of Week 1, attention now turns toward next weekend when Atlanta faces Tampa Bay in its first game of the season.
