Falcons sign LB Pita Taumoepenu and DB Shyheim Carter to practice squad

Coming off of their first win of the 2020 season, the Atlanta Falcons have turned their attention to Week 7’s matchup with the Detroit Lions. With a new week, a new series of moves have occurred, as the team has signed both linebacker Pita Taumoepenu and safety Shyheim Carter to the practice squad.

Those two practice squad spots were available because the Falcons released safety J.J. Wilcox and linebacker James Burgess was signed by another team, which we now know was the Green Bay Packers.

Taumoepenu and Carter were both on the team’s radar as they worked out for the Falcons on October 14, along with two other players who weren’t signed. Taumoepenu has spent time on NFC West teams, namely the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. He was a sixth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft by the 49ers where he appeared in six total games and has three career tackles up to this point.

With Carter being signed, the Falcons are adding another Alabama prospect to the team. He was undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft and briefly spent time with the New York Jets.

The Falcons did decide in the process to move on from safety J.J. Wilcox who tore an ACL with the team in 2019, and was later re-signed in August, released in September, re-signed in early-October and now released again in 2020. Burgess, who was signed to the Falcons practice squad last week, has been signed by the Green Bay Packers.