The Falcons made a move to help their depth along the offensive line and released 14 players Friday.
The Falcons parted ways with five players Wednesday, and the roster essentially stands at 71 players, not including exempted international player Alex Gray (who will join the practice squad) and a forthcoming quarterback cut after coach Dan Quinn said Friday that the team will carry two quarterbacks instead of three.
The team must be down to a 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Falcons traded their 2018 fifth-round draft pick to the Denver Broncos for tackle Ty Sambrailo, a second-round pick in 2015 who was thought be in danger of being released.
“I don’t think it was clear that they were going to cut him,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We had a strong discussion that they were going to keep him because of his talent and his versatility and what they have there.”
The Falcons, who are 31st on the waiver claim list, can’t risk trying to claim a player this season.
“We were at a spot where we felt like he was going to be a good addition to our (offensive) line and our versatility,” Dimitroff said. “There is no question that we wouldn’t have gotten him on waivers, but that’s a whole other topic.”
Sambrailo, 25, opened his rookie season as the team’s left tackle with Ryan Clady out injured.
Sambrailo, who’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, played in 10 games and made four starts last season. He was considered a second-round bust by some and was bullied by the Falcons in their break-through win in Denver last season.
He'll provide some depth behind starting tackles Jake Matthews and Ryan Schrader. The Falcons signed tackle Austin Pasztor, but he has a pectoral injury.
“We felt that was an important addition to solidify one of the tackle spots,” Quinn said. “We are pumped with where Austin is. He’s making good progress.”
The Falcons’ offensive line started all 19 games last season, and they didn’t re-sign last season’s swing tackle Tom Compton. He signed with the Bears in free agency.
The Falcons didn’t have any experience tackles in training camp.
“Both of those guys (Sambrailo and Pasztor) bring experience in the NFL,” Dimitroff said. “Austin a little bit more than Ty. Ty has had a lot of quick experience. They are very high on him in Denver for many reasons. Ty coming in, along with Austin, they help fortify the offensive line.
“We have some youth on the offensive line and we also have some experience. I think it’s a really good mix.”
Sambrailo will remain at tackle and not cross train as a guard, initially.
“He does have that versatility,” Quinn said. “But for the short-term it will be at tackle. Past that, we can talk about expanding the role. He’s actually played tackle, guard and center, but his first job will be at tackle.”
The Falcons also released offensive guard Travis Averill, center Larson Graham, cornerback Akeem King, wide receiver Anthony Dable, running back Kelvin Taylor, offensive tackle Andreas Knappe, linebacker Jack Lynn, wide receiver Josh Magee, defensive end A.J. Jefferson, cornerback Janor Jones, fullback Tyler Renew, offensive tackle D.J. Tialavea, quarterback Alex Torgersen and kicker Mike Meyer.
Also, given that Quinn said the Falcons plan to carry two quarterbacks, Matt Simms likely will get cut. There are three on the roster now, Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub and Simms.
The two-year experiment to convert King, a seventh-round pick (249th overall) in the 2015 draft out of San Jose State, to a cornerback is over.
King’s fate likely was sealed when he was beaten on a 43-yard pass play in Jacksonville’s 13-7 victory over the Falcons on Thursday night.
King, who was a safety in college, was trying to make the move to big cornerback. He’s 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and his lack of instincts showed on the touchdown pass.
King was cut and re-signed to practice squad in 2015. He spent last season on injured reserved with a foot injury.
The Falcons got a head start on trimming their roster down Wednesday when they waived wide receiver Reginald Davis III, offensive tackle Wil Freeman, and safeties Jordan Moore and Deron Washington. The Falcons also reached an injury settlement with offensive tackle Kevin Graf.
“Dan and I are in the process of discussing the next wave of releases,” Dimitroff said. “Usually that group, happens to be the ones that will be considered strongly, not all of them of course, but be considered as the potential practice-squad guys. We’ll continue to do more work tonight deciding on what direction we’re going to go with these players.”
Quinn said the Falcons still have some tough decisions to make.
“That’s why it was so important to play all of these rookies in the (exhibition) season,” Quinn said. “There are quite a few spots where we really wanted to evaluate the players. Let’s put them in the fire and see how they can compete. We (had) an excellent opportunity to do that.”
Quinn said there were no talks with Seattle about getting cornerback Jeremy Lane, who’s reportedly on the trading block.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
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