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We’re a bit over a week away from the Falcons’ first regular season game in Minnesota. Standing in the way, of course, is that final preseason game against the Jaguars tonight. The Falcons have their last shot to snap the preseason losing streak this evening, but regardless of the outcome, we’re full speed ahead to Week 1.
Read on for Falcoholinks for your Thursday morning.
The preseason finale in Jacksonville
The Atlanta Falcons head down to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars tonight, putting a cap on their preseason campaign. Breathe a sigh of relief: we’re nearly done with these exhibition games, folks. As it stands, the Falcons hold a 3-3 all-time record against the Jags, so that stalemate will be broken tonight, possibly via some sloppy football.
The fourth* preseason game is typically football Ambien, but it’s also the last opportunity for some guys to make the 53-man roster. We’ve keyed in on some roster locks, but that leaves 16 spots available — and tonight’s game could prove pivotal as to who’s in and who’s out. Our guess for the final roster compilation can be found right here.
Cuts are coming
Cut Man was one of the original Mega Man bosses, and also a pretty wild song from Horse the Band. These things are pretty irrelevant other than the fact that Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff will both morph into their version of Cut Man this weekend, their heads mutating into large shears as they make the decisions to trim the roster to 53.
(That paragraph brought to you by too much coffee and nostalgia).
We’ll have a running list of the cuts as they come in, and here are the key dates/times that you should be aware of. The Falcoholic staff also took a stab at who would be the most surprising roster cut this weekend.
Dieugot Joseph waived
One of the roster moves the Falcons made this week was to waive offensive tackle Dieugot Joseph, reaching an injury settlement with the third-year player. Atlanta appears set at tackle with Jake Matthews, Kaleb McGary, Ty Sambrailo, and Matt Gono, so they deemed Joseph expendable.
Best of luck as you continue your NFL journey, Dieugot.
Brian Hill and a backup battle
Brian Hill has looked extremely good thus far in the preseason, and as Atlanta has already let him slip through their fingers once, and letting him get away once more would definitely not be a good idea.
The Falcons are entering the 2019 NFL season with potentially five running backs on the roster — which is a lot — but when a player has established himself the way that Hill has, it behooves a team to keep that talent around.