Falcons release seven players
Center Ben Wilkerson, who had played in 29 games with the Falcons over the past two seasons, was one of seven players released by the team Friday.
Others released were safety Eric Brock, cornerback Glenn Sharpe, offensive tackle Adam Speer, offensive guard Ryan Stanchek, cornerback Tony Tiller and wide receiver Chandler Williams. The Falcons need to release 13 more players by Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline to reach the NFL’s 53-man roster limit.
Last season, after cutting their roster to 53 on Aug. 30, the dust didn’t settle until three days later.
The Falcons made several other moves, including trading for cornerback Domonique Foxworth and signing safety Jamaal Fudge, tight end Justin Peelle and linebacker Tony Gilbert.
Given the play of the defense in the preseason, the team likely will scan the waiver wire, looking for depth and possibly some secondary help. Last week, they traded a seventh-round pick to St. Louis for cornerback Tye Hill, a former first-round draft pick from Clemson.
“This year they will be different,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Every year I think they are difficult. One of the reasons that they are going to be so different this year, we’re a lot more familiar with these guys.”
While making the cuts and looking at other team’s releases, the Falcons will assemble a practice squad that can have a maximum of eight players.
Quarterbacks D.J. Shockley and John Parker Wilson had an opportunity to impress the coaching staff against Baltimore on Thursday. One might make the team, with the other headed to the practice squad. The Falcons could elect to go with two quarterbacks, Matt Ryan and Chris Redman, in order to keep a special-teams contributor or an extra defensive back.
Wilson, an undrafted free agent from Alabama, came on for Ryan in the first quarter against Baltimore on Thursday and played into the third quarter. Shockley finished the game.
“I thought that John Parker and D.J. both did some really good things in the ball game,” Smith said. “They were in some adverse situations in terms of pressure. I thought they handled them extremely well.”
The only area of concern on offense is with the reserve linemen.
On defense, end Kroy Biermann helped himself against the Ravens and might have landed an expanded role.
“Kroy has improved immensely from last season,” Smith said. “He’s a guy that came in here and had two sacks last year. He’s going to be able to give us some help in that pass rush. I know that the pass rush is going to be a very integral part of the success we have this season.”
The Falcons’ cornerbacks had a rough preseason.
Rookie Christopher Owens, a third-round draft pick, didn’t have a strong game against Baltimore and could conceivably be on the bubble. The Falcons had high hopes for Owens and thought he might contend for a starting position.
“The thing that you have to realize in these [preseason] games is that you are going to call things defensively and offensively to put players in different situations to evaluate them,” Smith said. “You are not game-planning. You are putting players in situations to see how they are going to handle certain techniques and certain coverages. It was a very good evaluation process and sequence for us.”
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.
