Deion Jones Injury Creates Opportunity For Falcons Rookie LB Troy Andersen

When one door closes, another one opens.

Jeremy Brener | May 29, 2022

The Atlanta Falcons faced a crushing blow earlier this week when it was announced that veteran linebacker Deion Jones would not participate in this summer's offseason program after undergoing a procedure on his shoulder.

Deion Jones

There was potential that the team was going to cut or trade Jones by June 1, considering that the team could have saved some cap space. But for now, Jones is not going to be suiting up for the Falcons this summer.

That means more reps are in store for the other linebackers: Rashaan Evans, Nick Kwiatkoski, Mykal Walker and second-round rookie Troy Andersen, who might be the biggest beneficiary from Jones' absence.

The Falcons took Andersen with the No. 58 pick in April's draft and view him as a long-term part of the Falcons defense.

The 6-4, 235-pound linebacker tallied 147 tackles last season to go along with two sacks. Andersen also recovered a fumble and had two interceptions.

Andersen ended a brilliant career at the NCAA FCS Championship game in January, held in Frisco, Texas.

Troy Andersen

His resume is pretty accomplished: 2021 FCS ADA Defensive Player of the Year, Unanimous All-America, Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, and First Team All-Big Sky, along with CoSIDA Academic All-America and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. He also earned All-America honors as a junior at outside linebacker, and as a sophomore at quarterback.

Now, he'll be able to continue to add to that long list of accolades in the NFL, and he'll start doing that in a Falcons jersey.

Published May 29, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.