Falcons sign S Shawn Williams to active roster, WR Chad Hansen to practice squad, make other moves

The Atlanta Falcons may be all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs after their Week 15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but the show must go on over the remaining three weeks of the 2021 NFL season. A Week 16 contest with the Detroit Lions—which theoretically should be a pretty winnable game—awaits this weekend.

On Tuesday, the Falcons made a flurry of small moves, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

First of all, Atlanta rewarded practice squad safety Shawn Williams with a spot on the active roster after elevating him over the previous few weeks. Williams has mostly played on special teams thus far, but has been solid when called upon on defense. To fill Williams’ now-vacant spot on the squad, the team signed WR Chad Hansen.

The Falcons also made a few additional moves, including activating CB Cornell Armstrong and EDGE Quinton Bell from the practice squad’s reserve/COVID-19 list. To make room, the team released DB Will Sunderland from the squad.

Atlanta has been searching far-and-wide for receiver help, and thus far haven’t unearthed much. Marvin Hall was signed, to significant fanfare, but has barely seen the field. Chad Hansen is a legitimately interesting signing—he was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. The Jets waived him after his rookie season, and he’s bounced around the league ever since.

Hansen finally found a legitimate role with the Texans in 2020, playing in five games and starting two. He caught 17 passes for 236 yards (13.9 YPR) and 1 TD. He graded out as an above-average athlete, with a 7.39 RAS. Hansen is 6’2, 200 with 4.5 speed and a very impressive 6.74 3-cone time.

Congratulations to Shawn Williams for earning a roster spot, and we’ll hope Hansen can find a real role in this receiving corps going forward. The Falcons could certainly use him.