Atlanta Falcons: A way too early 53-man roster prediction
Atlanta Falcons first look at the 53-man roster prior to training camp
Training camps are around the corner and I’m going to predict what the 53-man roster will look like for the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 season. The roster has many new faces from a year ago in the form of veterans and young talent as the Falcons kept busy throughout the offseason.
In free agency, the Atlanta Falcons worked with the limited about of cap space they had. They gained some cap room by releasing veteran players Desmond Trufant, Devonta Freeman, and Justin Hardy. The Falcons lost Vic Beasley Jr, Austin Hooper, Wes Schweitzer, and De’Vondre Campbell via free agency opening up more questions about their roster in 2020.
The Falcons were not planning on re-signing Beasley and Schweitzer but bringing back Hooper or Campbell would have been nice if the team could have afforded it. The Falcons did a nice job at replacing the players they lost in free agency by signing other free agents, negotiating trades, or via the NFL draft.
Hooper left Atlanta and signed a four-year deal worth $44 million with the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons at least traded for another tight end from the Baltimore Ravens. They sent the Ravens a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick for Hayden Hurst and a fourth-rounder.
The Atlanta Falcons added star running back Todd Gurley II to a one year deal worth $6 million to see if he can get back to his old form before his knee injuries sidelined him the past couple of seasons. Dante Fowler Jr. was brought in on a three-year deal and will fill the void left by Beasley.
Former Vikings first-round pick Laquon Treadwell was brought in on a one-year deal for some key depth at the receiver position. The Atlanta Falcons have also resigned players Tyeler Davison and Keith Smith on three-year deals as well as Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Brian Hill on one-year contracts.
The Atlanta Falcons were still not done making moves as they also inked linebackers Edmond Robinson and Deone Bucannon as well as offensive lineman Justin McCray to deals. The Falcons’ free agency along with a strong 2020 draft class opens up a chance that this roster will be highly competitive and some veterans and star players may not make the final roster.
One thing to note going into this season is you can have 55 players on game days by signing two practice squad members. Also, practice squads can now have 12 players instead of 10.
So who survives this cut as the Atlanta Falcons trim the roster this preseason from 90 to 53? I will give my first prediction here as to how I believe the roster will shake out for the 2020 season.