FLOWERY BRANCH —The Falcons moved on from running back Qadree Ollison and signed Wayne Gallman, because he can help on special teams.
“It’s obviously not the end of the road for Qadree, but Wayne was a guy we thought, we wanted to bring in here and maybe he could add something for us out of the backfield and more importantly on fourth down,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said Monday. “So that was a big part of it.”
Gallman played 174 snaps on special teams (39%) for the Giants in 2017. He played 84 snaps (18%). He didn’t play much of special teams in 2019 (4%) and in 2020, when he didn’t play a single snap.
Ollison didn’t play on any of the Falcons’ special teams units.
Gallman, who’s from Loganville and played at Grayson High and Clemson, was a fourth-round pick of the Giants in 2017. He has rushed 336 times for 1,444 yards (4.3 avg.) and scored nine touchdowns over four NFL seasons. He also has caught 80 passes for 498 yards (6.2 avg.) and two touchdowns in his career.
Gallman, who’s 6-0 and 216 pounds, most recently was with San Francisco.
Ollison, a fifth-round pick in 2019, showed promise as a short-yardage back in his rookie season, but played sparingly in 2020 because the former staff thought he was a liability in pass protection.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
For more content about The Atlanta Falcons
Follow me on Twitter @DOrlandoAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
Atlanta Falcons coverage on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
