The Falcons suffered another injury along the interior of their defensive line during Saturday’s practice. Defensive tackle Bryce Rodgers was carted off the field with what appeared to be a knee injury.
Atlanta has struggled to find a new nose tackle ever since the team released Tyeler Davison over the offseason. After signing Eddie Goldman, the veteran lineman retired just 13 days later. Making matters worse, Falcons DT Vincent Taylor suffered an Achilles injury on Tuesday.
In today’s recap, we look at some highlights from Jaylinn Hawkins and Feliepe Franks, and bring you all the injury updates and developments from Saturday’s practice.
1
DT Bryce Rodgers goes down during 11-on-11
#Falcons DT Bryce Rodgers was injured during 11-on-11s, going down and holding his knee. He was helped to the cart on the sidelines. Smith didn’t have an update after practice. The Falcons are thin at defensive tackle after Vincent Taylor ruptured his Achilles. per @GabeBurnsAJC https://t.co/21shwCsjjd
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) August 6, 2022
Rodgers is the latest Falcons interior lineman to go down. The team has been cautious with presumptive starter Anthony Rush in recent days, but it may be time to hit the free-agent market to add another space-eating nose tackle following today’s injury.
2
Jaylinn Hawkins INT
J-Hawk soaring 🔒@jhawko6 | #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/5SC3qr662x
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 6, 2022
Hawkins has been part of a strong Falcons secondary through the first two weeks of camp. The third-year safety out of Cal finally has a chance to make his mark this season as he will likely start on defense. If Hawkins makes more plays like the one shown above, those chances will only go up.
3
Offensive line still a work in progress
Arthur Smith said when it comes to making a final decision about the offensive line he’s willing to take it as long as he needs to go to get a fair assessment of the guys he has.
To me, this means the Dalman/Hennessy rotation at center isn’t ending any time soon.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) August 6, 2022
The Falcons have not been shy about ramping up the competition along the offensive line. Elijah Wilkinson and Drew Dalman appear to be seriously in the mix at left guard and center. However, as we saw last year with right tackle Kaleb McGary, we can’t make too much out of Smith’s starting lineups this early into camp.
4
Jalen Mayfield out, Cam Batson returns
WR Cameron Batson back at Falcons practice today. Still no Jalen Mayfield (as expected)
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) August 6, 2022
Mayfield is dealing with a lower-back injury that kept him out of the last two days of practice. On the bright side, WR/KR Cameron Batson returned to the practice field on Saturday, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.
5
Feleipe Franks catch
That's tough @18franks 💪 pic.twitter.com/jOxo33KO0u
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 6, 2022
Franks got some reps at QB this week, but his development at tight end is probably the key to him making this Falcons roster. Franks definitely has some speed in the open field and is a big target at 6-foot-6.
6
Arthur Smith: Healthy players will play in preaseason
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said everyone who is healthy will play in the preseason. How much? That remains to be seen, but if they are healthy they’ll be out there at least a little bit.
(My opinion: you won’t see certain guys like Patterson all that much)
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) August 6, 2022
Smith appears to be making sure he doesn’t take it so easy on his starters in the preseason like he did last year. Atlanta was among the healthiest teams early on, but both the offense and defense struggled mightily out the gate last season. We’ll see just how long of leash he has for the starters in the team’s first preseason matchup against the Lions on Friday.
7
WATCH: Full Saturday highlights
Puttin' in that work 😤 pic.twitter.com/Oguvzig1au
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 6, 2022
8
53-man roster projection
Updated #Falcons 53-man roster projection following the second week of training camp. https://t.co/wGPmXzWe8B
— The Falcons Wire (@TheFalconsWire) August 7, 2022
We’ve made a handful of changes in our latest 53-man roster projection. See who makes the cut as the team prepares for its first preseason matchup this Friday in Detroit.
9
Free Agency: 11 DT options for the Falcons
Free Agency: Looking at some defensive tackle options for the Falcons following Vincent Taylor’s injury. https://t.co/tta5We3621
— The Falcons Wire (@TheFalconsWire) August 3, 2022
Ndamukong Suh, Brandon Williams, Linval Joseph, Zach Kerr? Which free-agent defensive tackle should the Falcons look to sign in free agency? Here are 11 options for Atlanta.
