FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons have made several roster adjustments ahead of their Week 12 trip to New Orleans to face the Saints.
The franchise has placed defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (Achilles) and defensive lineman Zach Harrison (knee) on injured reserve. In corresponding moves, the Falcons activated linebacker Divine Deablo to the 53-man roster and signed rookie undrafted free agent Cobee Brynat.
Additionally, they updated linebacker Malik Verdon’s game designation to ‘out,’ removed the ‘questionable’ designation for Deablo, and used a standard practice squad elevation on safety Jammie Robinson and wide receiver Dylan Drummond
Nickel corner Bowman suffered his injury during the team’s walk-throughs on Friday afternoon. Raheem Morris was asked about the severity of the injury, but he just said that it is not good for him. Now, the Falcons will be without him for at least the next four games, but potentially the season if the worst fears are realized.
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The rookie had shown lots of promise, but has struggled with several injuries this season that have cost him games. This is the second time an injury has happened during walk-throughs.
Harrison, the team’s leading sacker, reportedly experienced a setback that will need to be “fixed,” according to Morris on Friday. The defensive lineman had been working to return from a knee injury that had held him out of the last several games.
Those designations vacated the pair of roster spots that Bryant and Deablo will fill.
Bryant made his first NFL debut last week and performed well in limited action. The rookie played just 11 snaps on defense, finishing with one tackle, and he allowed catches on both of his targets for eight yards. He made some plays in big spots for the defense.
“He was able to go out there and really have [an impact],” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Monday. “The thing that's most noticeable is probably the big time third down stand up. He's covering the tight end man-to-man, and then [he] got us to that fourth and one, which Kaden Elliss made the great play on for us. He actually made a play down, backed up on another third down. He was able to make a tackle, get off the grass.”
Deablo is now officially going to make his long-awaited return on Sunday, and the Falcons will be hoping he can help them return to form.
Before his injury, the Falcons were at or near the top across several defensive metrics, including having the league’s No. 2 overall unit. After his injury (including the 49ers game), opposing offenses have hit them for an average of 7.8 more points, 97 more passing yards, and 49 more rushing yards per game in his absence. It is no coincidence that the Falcons dropped all five of those games since losing him.
The Falcons and Saints are set to kick off on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Casares Superdown in New Orleans.