Falcons Lose Rookie to Injured Reserve, Sign RB

The Atlanta Falcons swapped running backs on their active roster Wednesday.

The Atlanta Falcons placed running back Jase McClellan on injured reserve due to a knee injury. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

As external chatter grows about the possibility of the Atlanta Falcons starting rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., another offensive player in the Falcons' 2024 draft class will miss the remainder of the regular season.

Atlanta placed sixth-round running back Jase McClellan on injured reserve Wednesday, the organization organized in a press release. McClellan has missed each of Atlanta's past two games due to a knee injury.

The injured reserve requires players to miss at least four weeks, meaning McClellan won't be eligible to be activated until the week leading into the first round of the playoffs.

Yet amid Atlanta's four-game losing streak, McClellan may never get that chance.

The 22-year-old McClellan has appeared in two games this season, taking 13 carries for 32 yards in mop-up duty against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. A healthy scratch the majority of his rookie season, McClellan has played eight special teams snaps during his two active games.

In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed running back Carlos Washington Jr. to the active roster. Washington has been on Atlanta's practice squad the entire season after the Falcons chose McClellan over him for the final spot on their 53-man roster out of the preseason.

Washington, a training camp standout, struggled during the preseason, rushing 29 times for 71 yards -- an average of 2.4 yards per carry -- and one touchdown. His longest run went for just nine yards.

Nonetheless, the Falcons appear poised to ride the running back tandem of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier as they've done the entire season.

But now, they'll do so with Washington, not McClellan, serving as the third-string option.