Falcons Sign DL Justin Ellis; What's Next?

Justin Ellis played 17 games last season with the New York Giants. Now, he signs with the Atlanta Falcons.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 28, 2023

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Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are adding to their roster just days into training camp.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Falcons are signing defensive tackle Justin Ellis to a contract.

Ellis, 32, worked out with the Falcons on Friday alongside former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Kemoko Turay.

Ellis brings a ton of experience with him to the Falcons defensive line. As a fourth-round pick in 2014, he brings a decade of an NFL career with him to the table. He spent the first five seasons of his career (2014-18) with the Oakland Raiders before signing with the Baltimore Ravens and spending three years there (2019-21).

Last year, Ellis played with the New York Giants, recording 22 tackles and appearing in all 17 games.

Now that Ellis is in the fold, what does it mean for the Falcons?

Atlanta's roster now sits at 90 people, so the Falcons won't have to cut a player, but the team could look to say goodbye to someone currently in camp.

It's possible that this signing could mark the end of Eddie Goldman's attempted return to the team. Goldman showed up on Tuesday in great shape, but left voluntarily since then.

"There’s a possibility," Smith said via The Athletic's Josh Kendall regarding Goldman's return. "He looked phenomenal when he showed up the other day, but you never know what somebody is going through. We’ll have a final answer by tomorrow."

Perhaps signing Ellis is a contingency plan in case Goldman doesn't return, but for now, Atlanta is continuing to add veterans to a defensive line that needs to improve if the Falcons want to return to the playoffs.

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Published Jul 28, 2023

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.