Falcons Coach Arthur Smith Debunks Rumor on New OL Chuma Edoga

Will Edoga compete for a starting role? Smith revealed the answer.

Just a day after hundreds of NFL players were cut, the Atlanta Falcons are offering another chance to one offensive lineman.

In the first opportunity on the waiver wire, the Falcons claimed former New York Jets offensive lineman Chuma Edoga. Upon his addition, NFL Network reported that Edoga would compete at right tackle, implying he'd be in contention to unseat starter Kaleb McGary.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith put the rumor to bed, almost completely unprompted, during Wednesday's press conference.

"The one thing I will say, we had a national guy claim that the guy was going to compete for a spot; that's not true," Smith asserted. "We're bringing guys in here, we'll evaluate them. It's funny, I don't know where people get their sources or whatever, that's not the case. Check to see if somebody's a fit, see what it looks like. But nobody we claimed is competing for the right tackle spot."

Edoga is a former 2018 third-round pick of the Jets from USC. He's 6-3, 308 and 25 years old. He has been a part-time starter in New York ... but no, this isn't a star-quality guy. Maybe "star quality'' comes later, but a move like this adds depth for the Falcons.

The team opted to keep just eight offensive linemen in its own initial 53-man roster ... Jake Matthews, Elijah Wilkinson, Matt Hennessy, Chris Lindstrom, Kaleb McGary, Germain Ifedi, Drew Dalman, and Jalen Mayfield.

The starters seem pretty concrete with Matthews and McGary at the tackle spots, but Edoga could challenge for time as the swing tackle against Germain Ifedi.

The team also got a closer look at Edoga during the team's joint practices with the Jets earlier this month, so the team has some familiarity with the fourth-year tackle.

For Edoga, joining the Falcons represents a homecoming. Edoga is from nearby Powder Springs, which is less than an hour away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

A corresponding move has yet to be announced by claiming Edoga, but the Falcons will have to waive a player in order to get back down to the 53-man limit.

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