Falcons initial 53: four quarterbacks, two running backs, and a lot of unfinished business

The Falcons posted their first 53-man roster under Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham on Sunday night. Twenty-three on offense, 27 on defense, three specialists. Billy Bowman Jr. came off the PUP list and landed on the active roster. Gervon Dexter is listed as a Falcon pending his physical.

It is an initial 53, not a finished one. Week 1 is still Sept. 13 at Pittsburgh. This sheet is what they were willing to protect through waivers.

Four quarterbacks, two running backs

Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand all made it. Four quarterbacks on a 53 is not how most rooms look in September. The Falcoholic's Tre'Shon Diaz put it plainly: Atlanta is not walking into Heinz Field with that count, so the QB decision is still in pencil.

The cost showed up immediately at running back. Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. are the only two. Tyler Goodson — the North Gwinnett kid who actually looked like a third-down and special-teams answer all summer — was released. As a vested veteran he skips waivers. If somebody else wants him, they can have him tonight.

That is the trade: protect every arm in the building until Stefanski names a starter, and hope the practice squad (or a re-sign) papers over the third back.

The cuts that actually sting

Azeez Ojulari did not make it. He was the offseason edge signing who was supposed to matter after Jalon Walker's torn ACL and James Pearce Jr.'s eight-game suspension. Bralen Trice, back from consecutive ACL tears, was waived. The edge room on the 53 is Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, and Cameron Thomas.

Wanya Morris, the June swing-tackle trade, was waived after a camp injury parked him in the second half of preseason games. Chris Williams, who had been in the interior mix, is gone. Carlos Allen Jr. — the UDFA camp favorite — was waived and is the obvious practice-squad candidate if he clears.

The IR pile is not a surprise: Walker, Darren Hall, Trey Sermon, Malik Verdon. Pearce is on the reserve/suspended list. Beaux Collins is reserve/injured, designated to return.

What they kept on purpose

Nine offensive linemen. Thirteen defensive backs. Nine on the defensive line once Dexter's physical clears. Bowman on the 53 instead of short-term IR is the hopeful one — The Falcoholic and the AJC both read it as a sign the Achilles rehab is ahead of the worst-case calendar. Da'Shawn Hand staying active is the same kind of tell.

Malcolm DeWalt IV, the UDFA corner, made it. Special teams was the argument, and it won. Dexter is the football move from Sunday afternoon: a 2023 second-round interior rusher for Clark Phillips III and a 2027 fifth, because this front cannot wait for Pearce to come off the commissioner vacation.

Four QBs and 13 DBs is how you keep players you do not want claimed. Two RBs and a thin edge group is how you admit the next 10 days of the waiver wire still matter.

Bird Gang bottom line

Cunningham and Stefanski protected the quarterback competition and the secondary, then let Goodson and Ojulari walk into the market. The Dexter trade was the only aggressive cutdown swing. This 53 will not be the Pittsburgh 53. If you are opening a league at pickembaby.com, lock the Falcons card in pencil until somebody takes the first snap on Sept. 13 — and until this roster stops looking like a holding pattern.

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