Atlanta Falcons Trim Roster to 76 Players

The Atlanta Falcons began to trim their roster on Sunday, reducing the number of players on the squad down to 76.

The Falcons released 13 players yesterday, while place Lamar Holmes on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. These are the players that the Atlanta Falcons parted ways with on Sunday:

Boris Anyama – LB

Marquez Clark – WR

Michael Ford – RB

John Harris – WR

Warren Herring – DT

Derrick Hopkins – Nose Tackle

Matt Huffer – OT

Michael Lee – CB

Eric Lefeld – G

Terrell Manning – LB

Sam Meredith – DE

Mickey Shuler – TE

Valerian Ume-Ezeoke – C

These moves were to be expected on the part of the Atlanta Falcons, as most of these players were non-roster invitees to this year’s training camp. Per NFL rules, the Atlanta Falcons must trim their roster to 75 players by 4 P.M on Tuesday.

This is always a difficult time in training camp for the coaching staff of an NFL team, as many of these players will have to find other means of employment for the time being. Watching Hard Knocks last season made me understand how difficult it is for a player to be let go. Seeing how Ricardo Allen has played so far in the preseason after being released during last year’s training camp has made me appreciate all the hard work these athletes go through year-to-year to attempt to obtain a roster spot.

Before training camp is all said and done, the Atlanta Falcons must reduce their roster to 53 total players, meaning that an additional 22 cuts will occur before the end of training camp. It will be interesting to see who Thomas Dimitroff decides to let go before the start of the season.

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Going forward, some veterans that may be released from the Atlanta Falcons could be G Jon Asamoah, DE Malliciah Goodman, T Tyler Polumbus. Asomoah has not played much this preseason, and has been relegated to the second and third team offense. His lack of playing time has led many to believe that Asomoah may not be a good fit for Kyle Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme on the offensive side of the ball. Considering the lengths that the Atlanta Falcons went to procure Asomoah’s services 2 years ago, it is quite anti-climatic if the veteran guard gets cut during training camp.

The Atlanta Falcons finish their preseason slate of games this Thursday against John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens at the Georgia Dome. Many players on the chopping block will be playing for a roster spot on Thursday, so it will be interesting to see who performs well.

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