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NFC South Rival Panthers Name Starting QB - NFL Tracker

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Falcon Report Staff

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With the 2022 NFL season taking shape, the roster is set to have more turnovers than a bakery with free agents coming in, going out and draft picks staking their place on the roster.

Who else is on the hot seat? Who will receive a pink slip? Follow along with FalconReport.com for up-to-date information on all the moves.

AUGUST 22 PANTHERS NAME BAKER MAYFIELD STARTING QB

The Atlanta Falcons are weeks removed from naming Marcus Mariota as the starting quarterback, but now the rival Carolina Panthers have named their starter.

Baker Mayfield has won the starting job for the Panthers over Sam Darnold and will start Week 1 against his former team, the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns traded Mayfield earlier this offseason for a conditional draft pick after the team acquired Deshaun Watson in March.

Mayfield is set to meet the Falcons on Oct. 30 in Atlanta.

AUGUST 16 FALCONS CUT 4 PLAYERS FROM ROSTER

With NFL teams required to trim rosters from 90 players to 85, the Atlanta Falcons, who stood at 89 entering the day, have released four players.

Punter Seth Vernon, linebacker Rashad Smith, tight end Tucker Fisk and defensive back Tre Webb are the four who didn't make it through the opening round of cuts.

Smith, Fisk and Webb were all viewed as camp bodies from the start, but Vernon entered the preseason as one of only two punters on the roster, giving him a chance to fight for the job. However, with his release, the Falcons have all but committed to veteran Bradley Pinion to be the starting punter.

The Falcons will have to trim the roster from 85 to 80 next Tuesday.

AUGUST 12 KOREAN FAN MEETS KOO AFTER LONG JOURNEY

A Korean fan travelled thousands of miles to Atlanta Falcons training camp to meet Korean kicker Younghoe Koo.

Koo, who turned 28 last week, grew up in Seoul and moved to New Jersey when he was in the sixth grade. He's also the only active player of Korean descent in the NFL.

The Georgia State alum is entering his fourth season with the Falcons.

AUGUST 10 JERSEY SCHEDULE RELEASED

The Falcons have released their uniform schedule for the 2022 season, specifying the dates the team will wear each jersey.

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The Falcons will be wearing their alternate red helmets in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers and Week 13 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Atlanta will wear the gradient jerseys in a Week 11 matchup with the Chicago Bears.

For the remainder of the season, the Falcons will be in their usual colors of black for home games and white for away.

AUGUST 8 ANOTHER TITAN TO A-TOWN

According to reports, the Falcons are signing former Titans tight end MyCole Pruitt to a one-year deal. Pruitt recently also worked out for the New Orleans Saints. 

Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth-round draft from Southern Illinois, Pruitt spent last season with the Titans as the team's replacement for Jonnu Smith. prior to suffering a season-ending injury, Pruitt posted a career-high 14 receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.

Prior to joining the Titan, Pruitt also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears. At Southern Illinois, he was an All-American and caught 211 passes for 2,601 yards and 25 touchdowns.

AUGUST 7 ROSTER MOVES The Falcons have signed defensive linemen Abdullah Anderson to a one-year deal.

The 6-3, 297-pound Anderson has made prior stops in Chicago, Minnesota, Tennessee and Green Bay. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Anderson has played in 10 games, recording six total tackles and one sack.

The Falcons' defensive line has taken multiple blows in the past week at training camp, as Vincent Taylor suffered a torn Achilles and Bryce Rodgers was carted off with a knee injury.

The addition of Anderson gives Atlanta 10 defensive linemen as the team prepares for its first preseason game on Friday.

JULY 28 ROSTER MOVES The Falcons have signed safety Henry Black, and in a corresponding move have cut tight end Brayden Lenius.

Black was originally signed by the Packers as a post-2020 NFL Draft UDFA. Black, 25, appeared in all 17 games for Green Bay in 2021, playing both in the secondary and on special teams.

JULY 28 MCCLURE TO RING OF HONOR The Falcons announced today that offensive lineman Todd McClure would join the franchise's Ring of Honor.

McClure, a 7th-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, played his entire 13-year career with the Falcons and started 195 games for the team until his retirement in 2012.

McClure joins Tommy Nobis, Jessie Tuggle, Steve Bartkowski, Claude Humphrey, Warrick Dunn, Roddy White, Jeff Van Note, Gerald Riggs, William Andrews, Mike Kenn and Deion Sanders in the Ring of Honor. 

JULY 26 SANU SIGNS WITH DOLPHINS The Miami Dolphins are adding veteran wide receiver Mohamed Sanu to their receiving corps, per his agent.

Sanu spent the 2016-19 seasons with the Falcons and appeared in Super Bowl LI with the team.

Since leaving the Falcons, he has played for the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Now, he'll team up with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in Miami.

JULY 25 FALCONS WORK OUT CORNERS The Falcons invited two cornerbacks for a workout Monday, per Pro Football Network's Aaron Wilson.

Demarkus Acy spent training camp last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before tearing his ACL. Cortez Davis signed as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos, but was released earlier this offseason.

JULY 24 'BAMA'S METCHIE HAS LEUKEMIA  Alabama product and Houston Texans rookie wide receiver John Metchie III has announced he's been diagnosed with leukemia. His statement:

“Recently I was disagnosed with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia), the most curable form of Leukemia. I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time. As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery. Thank you in advance for your support and well-wishes. I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever. God bless.”

Metchie was drafted by the Texans in the second round of this past draft and was expected to compete for a starting role in the offense this season. We wish him well in his fight. Read more here.

JULY 22 WEDDING BELLS RINGING Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder has had quite the year.

After losing the College Football Playoff semifinal on the final day of 2021, Ridder has accomplished a number of major milestones in 2022.

In April, the Falcons drafted him with the 74th pick in the draft.

This fall, he'll participate in his rookie season in the NFL, but he'll do so as a married man.

Last weekend, the Falcons quarterback married his wife Claire just before he reported to training camp and signed his rookie contract this past Tuesday.

JULY 21 QB MOVE The Cleveland Browns, in a bit of QB limbo, are signing former first-round Josh Rosen to a one-year deal, per an ESPN report. Rosen, just 25, will be joining his sixth  NFL team after a 2021 “cup of coffee” time spent in Atlanta.

The Browns may have to use Jacoby Brissett as their top QB depending on a league suspension that could be coming for Deshaun Watson.

JULY 11 INJURY UPDATE Falcons cornerback Isaiah Oliver is still working his way back from his 2021 ACL tear and surgery, with ESPN reporting on an “on-track” rehab.

“Just make sure you’re keeping him right and in a good head space,” cornerback AJ Terrell said. “And just letting him know that we got him and just taking care of his body and get back as soon as possible.”

The injury won’t likely allow him to start right up at camp. But Oliver is taking the right approach.

“I essentially get, like, a re-do,” Oliver said. “I get that year over again, being in the same system with the same team and the same guys.”

JULY 7 HAWKINS CUT In a corresponding move to sign defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, the Falcons cut Michigan defensive back Brad Hawkins, per sources.

Hawkins was viewed as a quality undrafted free agent and signed with Atlanta shortly after the draft. Now, the former Wolverine will get a chance to sign with one of the 31 other teams in the league before training camp kicks off later this month.

JULY 6 NEW DT The Atlanta Falcons’ Bears connection continues as they are signing veteran nose tackle Eddie Goldman to a one-year deal, as NFL insider Jordan Schultz first reported.

Goldman, 28, started in Chicago as a second-round pick in 2015. In 2021, he started 14 games serving as an interior run-stopper.

JULY 6 BAKER TRADED TO PANTHERS The Carolina Panthers acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick. NFL Network was the first to report the news.

Now, the Falcons are expected to face Mayfield twice in 2022, both in Weeks 8 & 10.

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