Falcons Add Former Packers Safety, Release DB 5 Days After Signing

The Atlanta Falcons made a roster move involving a safety that they had signed less than a week ago.

Former Green Bay Packers safety Benny Sapp III / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Atlanta Falcons are making a change to the secondary depth they possess on their practice squad.

The Falcons announced Monday that they have signed safety Benny Sapp III to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the team released veteran safety Dane Cruikshank.

Atlanta had just added Cruikshank to its practice squad on Dec. 4. However, he's been on and off the Falcons practice squad and active roster throughout the 2024 campaign.

Sapp arrives in Atlanta having not been with an NFL team since the Green Bay Packers released him on roster cutdown day at the end of the preseason. Sapp signed as an undrafted free agent with the Packers following the 2023 NFL draft.

Sapp appeared in five games for the Packers last season. He posted 2 combined tackles while mostly playing on special teams. Sapp lined up for 40 special teams snaps and 3 snaps on defense in his five contests.

He played college football for Minnesota and Northern Iowa. In 11 games with Northern Iowa during his final college season in 2022, he posted 53 total tackles, 4 interceptions, 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble.

The Falcons first signed Cruikshank on May 11. He didn't make the team's roster out of the preseason, but the Falcons added him to their first practice squad.

Since the start of the regular season, the Falcons have released and then re-signed Cruikshank twice. So, it's quite possible that he could find his way back to the team at some point during the final month of the regular season.

Cruikshank has appeared in two games for the Falcons this season. He didn't record a tackle while playing 37 special teams snaps. He didn't receive any playing time on defense.

The Tennessee Titans drafted Cruikshank in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft. He played four seasons with the Titans before joining the Chicago Bears in 2022. Cruikshank returned to the Titans last season before signing with the Falcons in May.

Sapp joins cornerback Lamar Jackson as the only two defensive backs on Atlanta's practice squad.