Falcons return to field Monday before joint practices with Titans
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons, who are set to host the Tennessee Titans for joint practices Tuesday and Wednesday, return to practice Monday.
The Falcons (0-1) and Titans (0-1) will play in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Falcons had a couple of days off after their 17-10 game Friday against the Lions that was suspended in the fourth quarter after safety Morice Norris suffered a potentially serious injury.
The joint practices will be important for quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, who did not play in the exhibition opener. They are not likely to play in the remaining two exhibition games, as Morris has said he’d have a similar plan for the QBs like he did last exhibition season (when Cousins, the starter, didn’t play at all and Penix played sparingly in just the first game).
The Falcons have been happy with the quarterbacks getting their work in 11-on-11 scrimmages in practice.
“You can feel the culture that’s been set by Raheem (Morris), the rest of our coaches, our players,” Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “It’s a competitive atmosphere out there, on both sides of the ball.”
The timing of the passing attack on short and intermediate routes will be scrutinized. There is less of a concern with the Falcons’ deep-passing attack with Penix.
“We know he’s going to be aggressive, throwing the ball down the field,” Robinson said. “We’ve had some intentionally scripted days where we’re trying to throw some underneath stuff just to kind of get some of that game going because I know he’s going to be aggressive on game day, and that’s what we want.”
The Titans, who have rookie quarterback Cam Ward, were defeated 29-7 by the Bucs on Saturday in Tampa, Florida. Ward, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, completed five of eight passes for 67 yards. He finished with a passer rating of 89.1. He left after two offensive possessions.
Former Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley is with the Titans, along with tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, who played at Hillgrove High and Maryland.
The Titans will be without running back Tyjae Spears, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the loss to the Bucs. He’s expected to miss a few weeks.
The Titans’ defensive front, which features three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, will provide the Falcons’ interior offensive linemen with a good test.
The Falcons held joint practices with the Dolphins in Miami before the past three seasons. The Falcons started joint practices in 2010, when they hosted the Jaguars and Patriots in Flowery Branch. In 2011, they held joint practices at Jacksonville.
In 2012, the Falcons held a joint practice against the Titans in Dalton. In 2013, the Falcons hosted the Bengals and in 2014 held joint practices in Houston with the Texans.
Former coach Dan Quinn didn’t hold joint practices from 2015 to 2020. He preferred the “iron-sharpens-iron approach” for his team, which embraced his “Brotherhood” theme.
The league banned joint practices for the 2020 season because of COVID-19.
Under coach Arthur Smith, the team held joint practices at Miami in 2021 and 2023 and at the Jets in 2022.
Last year, under Raheem Morris, the Falcons held joint practices at the Dolphins.
Former coach Mike Smith liked to use the practices to gauge how his offensive and defensive lines performed. That will be important this season for the Falcons, who have several young players trying to land spots in the rotation along the defensive front and with Ryan Neuzil taking over at center.
It will be a good test for rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. Also, second-year outside linebacker Bralen Trice may get some action as he’s battling back from a season-ending Achilles injury suffered during the joint practices with Miami last season.
He did not play in the exhibition opener against the Lions.
In 2014, the Falcons offensive line was beaten pretty badly by the Bengals, signaling a rough season up front.
Most of the joint practices have gone smoothly.
However, the practice with the Jets in 2022 had a spate of fights before the coaches restored order. Arthur Smith spoke with the Jets, and coaches from the Jets spoke to Falcons to get the players refocused on the practices.
The Titans, who held joint practices with the Bucs last week, went 3-14 last season.
Falcons tryouts: Safety Ronnie Harrison, linebacker Chance Campbell, linebacker Max Tooley and linebacker Jailin Walker had tryouts with the Falcons on Tuesday.
Harrison is reportedly set to sign with the Falcons, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed to the AJC on Sunday. ESPN was the first to report the signing. The team later announced the move along with the signing of center Jake Hanson.
Center Michael Gonzalez was released and cornerback Grayland Arnold was placed on injured reserve.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
