Jordan Miller re-joins Falcons roster, adding depth at cornerback

The Falcons could use some good news, given that everything is either injury or loss-related at the moment. They’ll take the return of Jordan Miller as exactly that.

The 2019 fifth-round selection at cornerback makes his return after a four game suspension for performance-enhancing substances, serving one game at the end of 2019 and the remaining three at the beginning of this season. He returns to a cornerback group currently down A.J. Terrell and Kendall Sheffield, though we’ll hope to have both back, and will slot in as the team’s sixth corner when everyone’s healthy.

Miller, 23, played in 10 games a year ago, managing 4 tackles and a fumble recovery while playing 2% of the defensive snaps and 21% of the special teams snaps in 2019. He came out of college with a reputation as a good athlete with length who could develop into a useful player, and I expect that to be true. Long-term, he figures to be a core special teamer and hopefully top-end reserve who could play his way into a larger role if all goes well.

Because I have a loose grip on time, I thought Miller would return next week after the Packers game. Happily, the Falcons get a promising cornerback for a matchup they (say it with me, again) absolutely need to win. Given injuries and COVID-19 designations in the cornerback group, it would not at all be surprising to see Miller get playing time right away.

The team also sent Edmond Robinson, Delrick Abrams, and Tyler Hall down to the practice squad. All of them saw some time against the Bears, primarily on special teams, and all three are worth keeping an eye on in the future. Robinson looks like he can be a quality reserve if linebacker injuries stay a thing, while Hall and Abrams will hope to develop into quality reserves in their own right. The number of legitimately intriguing young cornerbacks either on this roster or on this practice squad is one encouraging sign for the future, even if it’s unlikely to pay off in a major way in 2020.

We’ll welcome Miller back warmly and hope he can be a factor right away, too.