Falcons sign former Saints CB Taveze Calhoun to practice squad, waive WR Julian Williams

Just as the world will never stop spinning, Thomas Dimitroff will never stop shuffling the roster. This one perked up a few ears, as the Atlanta Falcons brought in a former Saints player. I wonder if he will get in a lot of office time with the coaching staff.

Per the Atlanta Falcons, Calhoun’s one NFL game came with the New Orleans Saints.

Calhoun has appeared in one NFL game with the Saints in 2016. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound cornerback played four seasons at Mississippi State, where he recorded 158 tackles, 21 pass defenses, 12 tackles for a loss and six interceptions.

Is it gamesmanship for the Falcons to sign a former Saints player right before their Week 3 matchup? Probably, but he wasn’t on the Saints’ practice squad when the Falcons brought him in, so it’s within NFL rules. From our Jeanna Thomas back in 2016, who coincidentally used these two teams as an example:

An opponent cannot sign a player off of a rival’s practice squad to use them to prepare for an upcoming game. Say the Saints are getting ready to play the Falcons, and Sean Payton wants to be sneaky, so New Orleans wants to sign a player off of Atlanta’s practice squad. The Saints can’t do that fewer than five days before the game against the Falcons, and if there’s a bye week before that matchup, the minimum is nine days.

He additionally was on the Saints practice squad, and spent the offseason with the Miami Dolphins. While the Falcons could definitely use some additional depth with Isaiah Oliver still nursing an injury, Calhoun may be more valuable for some info on the Saints. The coaching staff should have a pretty good idea on their tendencies, especially since Calhoun last spent time with New Orleans in 2016.