Falcons trade for safety Jordan Richards

Richards was core four-unit special-teams member for the Patriots
Jordan Richards was a second-round pick by the New England Patriots.

Credit: Elsa

Credit: Elsa

Jordan Richards was a second-round pick by the New England Patriots.

The Falcons added some depth at safety by trading for Jordan Richards, a second-round pick in 2015, the team confirmed.

The Falcons have until 4 p.m. Saturday to cut the roster from 91 to 53.

The Falcons sent a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick to the Patriots for Richards.

The Falcons are set at safety with free safety Ricardo Allen and strong safety Keanu Neal as the starters. Backup reserve Damontae Kazee was the star of the exhibition season.

The other safeties in training camp included Tyson Graham, Secdrick Cooper, veteran Ron Parker and Marcelis Branch.

Richards, 25, was drafted out of Stanford. He’s 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds. He has played in 41 games and made seven starts for the Patriots.

He has played some at linebacker and this may be bad news for safety Kemal Ishmael, who formerly played some at linebacker.

Jim McBride of The Boston Globe reported the trade first.