Falcons make practice squad addition of OL Willie Wright official

Over the weekend, it was reported that the Falcons had added former Browns offensive lineman Willie Wright to their practice squad. This morning we got confirmation from the team that Wright is on board, joining John Wetzel and Sean Harlow.

While Harlow and Wetzel are on hand as seasoned, veteran players who can step in if the Falcons have a need on the interior of their line or at tackle, respectively, Wright is a different sort of addition. Atlanta is well aware of what Wetzel can do based on his versatility, time with the team, and years of NFL starting experience, while Harlow has been around forever even if he doesn’t have a ton of playing time.

Wright, meanwhile, is just a 24 years old and can play basically anywhere. The Browns switched him to center from tackle coming out of college in 2019. so he has experience at both positions to draw on. He’s also a plus athlete, as you’d expect from a Falcons offensive line addition, and a strong player who the Browns thought could be a compelling option at center long-term.

We don’t yet know where the team is going to play Wright primarily—he’s listed as a tackle at the moment—but he’ll be intriguing wherever he winds up, so long as nobody else poaches him this year. The Falcons will head into 2021 needing affordable, promising depth more or less across the board with the coming cap crunch, and Wright could fit the bill. If the team can walk into next year with Timon Parris and Matt Gono locking down tackle spots and Wright filling a hole on the interior, it’ll be an excellent start.

Welcome Willie Wright to the Falcons!