Falcons Injury Update, Rookie Gets Big Opportunity

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith gives injury updates that offer a big opportunity for rookie Jalen Mayfield.

The Atlanta Falcons released their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday. Head coach Arthur Smith was quick to point out that it was an "initial" list, and he expected there to be changes.

Within 24 hours the Falcons had already placed cornerback Kendall Sheffield and offensive lineman Josh Andrews on the short-term injured reserve list.

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Sheffield, in his third year with the Falcons, has started 20 games for Atlanta including nine last season. While not debilitating, Smith said Sheffield's injury was enough to get him a stint on injured reserve.

"We’ll just re-access when we come back over the weekend," said Smith. "There's a lot of different mechanisms you can use now with the short-term IR, which we put Josh Andrews on, but we'll just monitor those situations over the weekend."

Smith won't mention specifics, but he didn't seem overly concerned about Sheffield's long-term prospects.

"Same thing that's been going on for a while," said Smith. "It’s been relatively moderate, but it’s taken some time, but he should be getting close."

Andrews' injury was a little more serious. He suffered a broken hand at practice on Tuesday.

"Well, the biggest assessment for him will be how quickly heals. I don't want to put a timeline on it. As you go into the regular season Week 1, and then it's kind of nice. I'm glad that that's one thing that's kind of evolved in the last couple years is it used to be a lot harder – you didn’t have to carry an extra guy on the 53."

"That could affect a lot of other – there's a ripple effect to it. So, it's kind of nice you get a roster spot back. It's not like we're sitting there trying to hide something that was unfortunate as a freak thing that happened. Now it's a job for these other guys to step up."

"It's a big opportunity for Jalen Mayfield."

Andrews has bounced around the league with multiple teams since signing as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014. He's played in 40 games, but his first four starts came last year with the Jets.

Mayfield was Atlanta's third-round pick in this year's NFL Draft. He has seen time at right tackle and guard. He excels as a run blocker, and guard seems like a more natural fit. He could be in line for his first start in Atlanta's season opener against the Eagles on September 12th.

The Falcons went 0-3 in the preseason, and Smith repeatedly said evaluation and development were more important than preseason results.

Those preseason reps will pay dividends for Mayfield if he's called upon in Week 1.

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"Yeah, its huge. You can't anticipate everything but that was part of our strategy, and so we feel better about where Jalen is at right now," said Smith. "This is life in the NFL. It's why we mixed and matched, and some of it was out of necessity with Kaleb (McGary) starting camp on PUP and getting guys in here and cross-training guys.

"Jalen, he's needs to be ready to go.''

Should Mayfield start against the Eagles, he'll get an imposing assignment right away in Fletcher Cox. 

"At some point you’ve got to get baptized, and every week, there's somebody," said Smith. "That's the NFL. That's why like preseason, you read a lot of false narratives." 

Smith offered an example of that, noting that top assistant Dave Ragone "claims he had the highest quarterback rating in the preseason ever.''

Atlanta also claimed former Cleveland Browns interior lineman Colby Gossett off of waivers.

Gossett last played in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 when he started four games. The 26 year old is a native of Cumming, Ga. and went to North Forsyth High School, roughly 25 miles from the Falcons training facility in Flowery Branch.

The Falcons have a week of practice to sort their interior line. Mayfield is the front-runner to replace Andrews next week, but Gossett will push him, and general manager Terry Fontenot could still add a player in the next week.