One of the stranger decisions of the Atlanta Falcons' busy 2025 offseason was bringing back current tight end and former quarterback Feleipe Franks. The veteran has a long history with the Falcons, starting his career as a backup quarterback behind Matt Ryan and Josh Rosen. This was short-lived, with it becoming quickly clear there was zero future at the position for the limited Franks. Moving to tight end and attempting to play a role on special teams made sense for the athletic quarterback.
However, the results were just as frustrating, with Franks unable to catch a single pass in Atlanta and often failing when used in gadget plays. It seemed fitting that his tenure would end with the lone pass attempt being an interception and having caught zero balls. The only catch of the veteran's career would come in the 2024 season on a 12-yard grab against Atlanta.
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The only proven value that Franks is going to bring to Atlanta is as a piece of the special teams unit. There is a level of hustle and production that has been established, even with the limited value when it comes to attempting to play the tight end position. Making the final 53-man roster was among the biggest surprises among Atlanta's decisions. Now, the tight end is going to be tasked with carving out a role and finding a way to stick on the roster past the first weeks of the season.
It is impossible to explain from a production standpoint why Franks is on the active roster over players who could have a higher ceiling. Everything we've seen from the quarterback turned tight end has indicated that he is quickly on his way out of the league, and yet the Falcons signed up for another season.
An easy explanation might be what Franks brings to the sidelines and in the locker room. It unquestionably isn't anything tangible that fans have seen on the field. This creates a level of pressure for a young roster to make sure it made the best decisions with the final fringe roster spots. Franks is included in this and is going to be playing for his job in the first weeks of the season.
Considering how sparingly the pass catcher is going to be on the field, it is going to take at least one surprise offensive moment and consistently showing up on special teams. If Franks can do both of these things in the first month of the season, his surprise roster spot will remain safe throughout the year.
As doubtful as it appears to be, it would be great to see the tight end undergo a surprise transformation and become a viable contributor. This is in no way cheering against this, rather pointing out the reality of a questionable roster decision that will stay under review through the early portion of the season. Leaving Franks under clear pressure to prove he belongs and isn't simply a case of the Falcons mistakenly visiting the past.