Cornell Armstrong signed to Falcons active roster

Cornell Armstrong has spent most of the past calendar year with the Atlanta Falcons, joining the practice squad last December and finally finding himself cut back in late August. The team brought him back to the practice squad in early October, and then he was finally elevated to the final roster against the Bengals, just in time for a rash of injuries to hit that forced Armstrong to cover Ja’Marr Chase much of the day Sunday.

While it would be tough to say Armstrong had a great game—Chase was on fire and Armstrong was credited with allowing six grabs for 84 yards and a touchdown—the fact that he battled hard and had a couple of nice plays on a day where he was thrust into the starting lineup for an extremely rough matchup reflected really well on the 27-year-old cornerback. I thought he showed enough to at least earn another practice squad elevation against the Panthers with Terrell out again, but instead they rewarded him by signing him to a one-year deal to join the active roster.

Armstrong will likely step into a major role again on Sunday, potentially even as a starter opposite Darren Hall. The fact that he held up as well as he did against Chase means he should be able to hold his own against the Panthers pretty well, and he, Hall, Dee Alford, and Isaiah Oliver will likely dominate snaps at corner against Carolina. The Falcons just have to hope everyone from that group will be healthy when Sunday is over.

Congratulations to Armstrong, who has a chance to carve out a long-term role in this cornerback group with a few good games in the coming weeks. I’m glad he’s getting a shot to play a significant role in a game that doesn’t feature Chase.