The Atlanta Falcons continue to prepare for their regular season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but their training camp has been more about who could be leaving than who will make the 53-man roster.
Kirk Cousins was figured to be out of Atlanta dating back to last December, but entering the team’s final preseason game, he figures to be a $45 million backup. Other players such as edge Arnold Ebiketie were also figured to be gone with a surplus of young talent added this offseason, but he saved his job with a terrific preseason.
With so many fringe candidates staying in Atlanta, Raheem Morris will have some difficult decisions ahead of the 53-man roster deadline on Tuesday. But there’s one player that could be on his way to be a surprising cut in the coming days.
Clark Phillips III Could Be Odd Man Out in Falcons Secondary
An underrated strength for the Falcons coming into this season is their depth at cornerback. AJ Terrell, Mike Hughes and Dee Alford all have roster spots locked up and Atlanta added to the position by adding Nebraska corner Billy Bowman Jr. in the fourth round of April’s draft. With four spots set in stone, someone is going to have to be the odd man out and that player could be Clark Phillips III.
A fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Phillips has been a productive player on the Falcons. Although he had a modest 59.0 overall grade and 58.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus in his rookie season, he improved last year with a 76.5 overall grade and a 76.0 grade in coverage. The overall improvement convinced Morris to try Phillips out at nickel corner in his third season but he hasn’t had the chance to make a case due to a rib injury.
While Phillips has sat out, others have used the opportunity to take his spot. Natrone Brooks has allowed one catch on six targets with an interception this preseason while Mike Ford has stood out on special teams. It’s a competition that had Falcons team reporter Tori McElhaney stumped as she made her latest roster projection after last week’s loss to the Tennessee Titans.
“Cutting Phillips was by far the most difficult cut of the entire 53-man roster,” McElhaney admitted. “Do I think it will actually happen? Debatable. But truly, who was I going to take off the roster in order to put Phillips on? …And because of Phillips’ rib injury and the unfortunate timing of it, we just haven’t seen him enough.”
As McElhaney noted, Phillips could still make the roster. There’s also a chance he latches on somewhere else and carves out a significant role. But this is the game that most head coaches and general managers play at the end of training camp and it could leave Phillips finding a new team soon.