FLOWERY BRANCH — Maybe the most revealing thing that Falcons coach Raheem Morris said in a 23-minute news conference Monday wasn’t anything about the team’s newest acquisitions — two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons and four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon.
It was instead a comment that Morris made regarding wide receiver Rondale Moore, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Aug. 7 during a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins. Morris hinted that GM Terry Fontenot would add a player to the roster to replace him.
“You just never know,” he said. “Terry is upstairs busy right now. Who knows what’s going to happen? After we come out of practice (Monday), you (media) guys might have more reports and ask me more questions tomorrow.”
Bringing in star players at positions of need is one thing. The Falcons made waves last week by trading a third-round pick with the Patriots for Judon and then signing Simmons, a free agent. Even before rookie edge rusher Bralen Trice tore his ACL, but more so after, the Falcons desperately needed a dynamic edge defender (Judon) and a hole opened at safety with DeMarcco Hellams going down with a severe ankle injury (Simmons).
However, while Moore was making an impression with his speed, he was not expected to be a starter. He was acquired in a March trade with the Cardinals for beleaguered quarterback Desmond Ridder. And yet, Morris was hinting that the Falcons were ready to spend more (though perhaps not a lot more) for a replacement. The injury, the coach said, had created urgency to find someone to fill the role that Moore was starting to define for himself.
Needing a playmaking pass rusher when the roster lacks one is understandable. Going out and signing a top safety when one is available makes sense. They’re both applaudable moves and clearly have made the Falcons better and their playoff aspirations more legitimate.
But the Falcons are feeling urgency to go out and find a capable No. 4 receiver, the time-honored practice of “next man up” apparently not to be honored in this case. That would seem to say something about the urgency that the Falcons — who in March dropped $100 million guaranteed on quarterback Kirk Cousins and are one of only four teams in the NFL that have not made the playoffs in each of the past six seasons — are feeling in general.
From owner Arthur Blank on down, the belief is that this is a playoff-worthy team. The acquisitions of Judon and Simmons only cement that expectation. And maybe the need that the club feels to go out and find another No. 4 receiver (even when backup KhaDarel Hodge seems more than capable) highlights it even more.
“I knew that when I got here, when I got the job,” Morris said. “Arthur Blank made that really clear what he wants to do, and that hasn’t changed.”
That belief exists far beyond the walls of 4400 Falcon Parkway.
With Simmons and Judon, the only significant hole that really exists in the starting 22 is at No. 2 cornerback, where Mike Hughes is the likely starter. Hughes was ranked the No. 107 cornerback last season by Pro Football Focus.
Morris likely wouldn’t mind some help there, but beyond that, where else do the Falcons have question marks? The offense has the quarterback it lacked the past two seasons, and there’s young talent at the skill positions and experience on the offensive line.
Especially with Judon, who had 28 sacks in 2021-22 before tearing his bicep in 2023, the defensive front seven looks more than capable. Cornerback A.J. Terrell is playing with the motivation of earning a new contract. If there are better safety pairings than Jessie Bates III and Simmons (a combined 19 interceptions over the past two seasons), there aren’t many.
Said renowned Las Vegas sportsbook director Jay Kornegay in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I’m not saying they’re going to the Super Bowl, but they have a very good chance to win the division and make some noise in the playoffs.”
However, the all-in mindset also comes with a reckoning. Because of the Falcons’ overall poor drafting and their using first-round picks on offense each of the past four years, the Falcons’ defense is composed largely of players who were acquired as free agents (or in a trade), meaning it’s older and more costly.
Of a potential starting 11 — defensive linemen Grady Jarrett, Eddie Goldman and David Onyemata, inside linebackers Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen, outside linebackers Lorenzo Carter and Judon, cornerbacks Terrell and Hughes and safeties Bates and Simmons — seven were signed as veteran free agents and one (Judon) was acquired in a trade. Five players are 30 or older, Carter is 28 and Elliss is 29.
Only Terrell and Andersen are playing on their rookie (read: cheaper) contracts, and Terrell is playing his fifth season on a club option paying him $12.3 million, which makes him among the higher-paid members of the team.
This is a group whose playmaking potential has grown significantly since last week, but so has its age. This probably isn’t a defense that’s going to stick together for long. Judon is playing on the last year of his contract and Simmons has signed a one-year deal.
Compare the Falcons’ situation with the starting defense (per Sports Reference) for defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City. The Chiefs’ defensive starting 11 last season was all under 30. Ten were drafted by Kansas City. Eight of the 11 were still on their rookie deals.
Which emphasizes all the more the urgency for the Falcons to make something happen this year, a mandate that comes from the top of the org chart. Cousins turned 36 Monday. The team won’t have third- or fifth-round picks due to the trade for Judon and the tampering violations. The team has the 12th least salary-cap space for 2025, according to Spotrac. That’s even before a potential extension for Terrell, which would likely be at a much bigger number and force the club to make hard decisions elsewhere.
It’s not to say the sky will fall if the Falcons don’t win this season. But a lot of people (starting with a particular 81-year-old Home Depot co-founder) sure would like it if they did.
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