Head coach Raheem Morris and the Atlanta Falcons are getting ready for the 2024 NFL season, which kicks off in less than a month. The Falcons made headlines this offseason by signing free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a big contract, then surprising many by using their first-round draft pick on another quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. from Washington.
This decision left Morris with two quarterbacks who both might expect to start. Critics argue that the Falcons contradicted their “win-now” approach by drafting a quarterback instead of addressing other roster weaknesses, particularly on the defensive line. Although the Falcons did use later draft picks to strengthen those areas, they received some bad news on Sunday about one of those picks. “The Falcons placed rookie edge rusher Bralen Trice on IR, ending his season,” reported Field Yates of ESPN on X (formerly Twitter). “A tough break for their third-round pick.”
Interestingly, Trice was a former teammate of Michael Penix Jr. at the University of Washington, where they helped lead the Huskies to a national championship appearance last season before Trice was drafted 74th overall by the Falcons in April.
The situation with the Falcons is intriguing. As mentioned earlier, the team appeared to be in “win-now” mode by signing Cousins in free agency but then seemed to contradict that strategy by not using their first-round pick to address key areas of weakness on their roster, especially the defensive line and secondary.
Although Atlanta’s defense showed improvement in 2023, it’s fair to question how much of that success was due to the weak slate of quarterbacks they faced last season. Given their 2024 schedule, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to rely on a lackluster pass rush, which has been a persistent problem for the team since the Matt Ryan era.
Cousins is expected to significantly improve the Falcons’ quarterback play compared to what they got from Desmond Ridder last year, but if the defense doesn’t hold up, Atlanta could miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.